Free utility condenses Windows Vista from 15GB to 1.4GB

A Croatian college student has created a utility that installs a seriously stripped-down Windows Vista, saying the heft of Microsoft's biggest desktop OS was just too big to believe.

"Who can justify a 15GB operating system?" asked Dino Nuhagic, a fifth-year student from Split, a Croatian city on the Adriatic. Not Nuhagic, or the uncounted users who have turned to his creation, vLite.

vLite, a free program that lets users pick and choose which Vista components, hotfixes, drivers and even language packs are installed, then builds a disk image that can be burned to a DVD for unattended installation of the operating system.

"Why did I do it? Well, it's performance and work environment," said Nuhagic when asked why he came up with vLite. "Performance, that's easy to explain. The less things running, the more responsive the OS. But the environment part is where it gets down to personal preference."

Read the full article here
*www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9060378

Good to hear that he is getting global recognition too! He is a sort of a legend at MSFN, his tools have simplified and made customizations so easy.

His tool is one of the best freewares out there!

Now, this makes me wonder why Microsoft cudnt/didnt do it.
Does the part that vista can be stripped to 1.4gigs mean there's a lot of junk in it ?

Individuals do great work than a combined teams

rayraven said:
Now, this makes me wonder why Microsoft cudnt/didnt do it.
Does the part that vista can be stripped to 1.4gigs mean there's a lot of junk in it ?

J

ssdivisiongermany1933 said:
Individuals do great work than a combined teams

Quite true

i have been using his tools since nlite beta days.
really comes handy.

C

I have used vlite and nlite on many ocassions. But this utility deletes dll files, and i have always faced difficulties while doing an automatic update. Some of the updates wont be installed because the necessary dll files cannot be found in the system.

S

Somehow, I get the uneasy feeling that Microsoft may pull an Autopatcher encore...

Arun

rayraven said:
Now, this makes me wonder why Microsoft cudnt/didnt do it.
Does the part that vista can be stripped to 1.4gigs mean there's a lot of junk in it ?

No, it is wrong. Windows Vista cannot be stripped to 1.4 GB & still remain in usable state.

First of all the title is wrong. Vista requires 15GB HD space during the installation not after the installation. This 15 GB space is required to expand all the Windows Vista files during installation. Then Vista reboots, scans your hardware & deletes all the files which are not required for your hardware such as language files, drivers etc.

I would like to give my Example here. Out of 23 GB Vista partition, 10 GB is free, 13 GB consists of 1 GB Page file, 1.5 GB hibernation files, all my software installations etc. Real vista is about 7 or 8 GB here.

To reduce the size of Vista using vLite, all u do is to remove the components like language files, there support, inbuilt drivers which come in the Windows Vista DVD etc. However, this stripped down Vista installation is not meant for large scale deployment cos then if u need a feature u will need to reinstall Windows. A better way is to install Windows Vista completely & then remove components from Control Panel. Also, Service Packs & Updates will not install on Slim Vista installations.

Somehow, I get the uneasy feeling that Microsoft may pull an Autopatcher encore...

They have to, vLite although slims down Vista installations but it also deletes vital system components (IE 7 engine for example), due to which the system loses it's stability & reliability.

Some components can be indeed removed safely like language packs, printer drivers, graphic card drivers etc cos is most cases you already have the driver with you. Like the inbuilt support for nvidia & AMD drivers can be removed which will free up harddisk space but still leave VGA Compatible driver so that u can at least see the monitor, & after that you just install the latest nVidia drivers

This guy is a geneous. I havent used vLite but I have been using nLite for a long time.

gx_saurav said:
No, it is wrong. Windows Vista cannot be stripped to 1.4 GB & still remain in usable state.

First of all the title is wrong. Vista requires 15GB HD space during the installation not after the installation. This 15 GB space is required to expand all the Windows Vista files during installation. Then Vista reboots, scans your hardware & deletes all the files which are not required for your hardware such as language files, drivers etc.

I would like to give my Example here. Out of 23 GB Vista partition, 10 GB is free, 13 GB consists of 1 GB Page file, 1.5 GB hibernation files, all my software installations etc. Real vista is about 7 or 8 GB here.

To reduce the size of Vista using vLite, all u do is to remove the components like language files, there support, inbuilt drivers which come in the Windows Vista DVD etc. However, this stripped down Vista installation is not meant for large scale deployment cos then if u need a feature u will need to reinstall Windows. A better way is to install Windows Vista completely & then remove components from Control Panel. Also, Service Packs & Updates will not install on Slim Vista installations.

They have to, vLite although slims down Vista installations but it also deletes vital system components (IE 7 engine for example), due to which the system loses it's stability & reliability.

Some components can be indeed removed safely like language packs, printer drivers, graphic card drivers etc cos is most cases you already have the driver with you. Like the inbuilt support for nvidia & AMD drivers can be removed which will free up harddisk space but still leave VGA Compatible driver so that u can at least see the monitor, & after that you just install the latest nVidia drivers

some people never change

gx_saurav said:
A better way is to install Windows Vista completely & then remove components from Control Panel.

why dont MS introduce modularity in installation..so that end user select only the packages they use instead of loading & storing everything in the space..

axxo said:
why dont MS introduce modularity in installation..so that end user select only the packages they use instead of loading & storing everything in the space..

For a better out of the box experience & the fact that many Windows component depend on each other

gx_saurav said:
No, it is wrong. Windows Vista cannot be stripped to 1.4 GB & still remain in usable state.

First of all the title is wrong. Vista requires 15GB HD space during the installation not after the installation. This 15 GB space is required to expand all the Windows Vista files during installation. Then Vista reboots, scans your hardware & deletes all the files which are not required for your hardware such as language files, drivers etc.

I would like to give my Example here. Out of 23 GB Vista partition, 10 GB is free, 13 GB consists of 1 GB Page file, 1.5 GB hibernation files, all my software installations etc. Real vista is about 7 or 8 GB here.

To reduce the size of Vista using vLite, all u do is to remove the components like language files, there support, inbuilt drivers which come in the Windows Vista DVD etc. However, this stripped down Vista installation is not meant for large scale deployment cos then if u need a feature u will need to reinstall Windows. A better way is to install Windows Vista completely & then remove components from Control Panel. Also, Service Packs & Updates will not install on Slim Vista installations.

They have to, vLite although slims down Vista installations but it also deletes vital system components (IE 7 engine for example), due to which the system loses it's stability & reliability.

Some components can be indeed removed safely like language packs, printer drivers, graphic card drivers etc cos is most cases you already have the driver with you. Like the inbuilt support for nvidia & AMD drivers can be removed which will free up harddisk space but still leave VGA Compatible driver so that u can at least see the monitor, & after that you just install the latest nVidia drivers

Nicely explained.

gary4gar said:
some people never change

Ya, some people have the habit to clear out misconception & explain the reality.

^^^^
whatever

Lol!!!! :d

another fight about to start , i guess . . ;-)

on topic , i have used nlite , its a beautiful tool

Reg vLite : "Microsoft does not recommend using any tool to strip out applications from Windows Vista prior to installing it on your system, as it may affect your ability to download future Windows updates and service packs, and may cause your system to become unstable".

Its not for the non geek users or the noobs.
Its for those who like to squeeze evey ml of juice from their computers. For those who install their windows every 2 months.
It has compatibility issues and sometimes even stability issues. But we who use it, have no problems and are happy with it.

Those who like the full OS are welcome to install the vanilla vista. Nothing bad in this tool.

nLite has been on the scene for many years now, working properly. With some more trial and errors, he will bring vLite to that level too.