Windows 8.1 x64 on a 16GB SSD?

So I just got a small SSD to use. It's not big, but quite small - 16GB.

However I think it'd speed things up in my old HP 8530W a LOT. But Windows 8 by default is way too big for that.

Is there a chance that it could run from there, say, after a serious trimming of drivers, extra apps and features I do not use, and moving around some folders to my main drive? I'd prefer to have the core OS, the preinstalled apps, and a few small utilities (Total Commander, uTorrent, etc.) on the SSD.

Also, which tool is the recommended one for modifying a Win8.1/Win10 image?

Solution 1:

When you use the WIMBOOT Feature of Windows 8.1 Update 1 (KB2919355), Windows will work fine with such a small amount of storage. Here Widows runs directly out of the WIM File which is much smaller compared to extracting all files in the regular way.

Windows image file boot (WIMBoot) lets you set up a PC so that it runs directly from a compressed Windows image file (WIM file).

WIMBoot can significantly reduce the amount of space used by Windows files. This helps you provide more free space to users, and helps you manufacture Windows on PCs with smaller drives.