That is an eye-catching number for an OS that many people assume idles at several gigabytes. The tidy "Rufus makes Windows 11 tiny" headline is much shakier than the screenshot. It's worth separating what the evidence shows from what the headlines imply.
What was actually reported
The facts are thin and come from a single post:
- Hardware: Ryzen 5 3500, 16GB DDR4 at 2,133MHz. Task Manager lists the memory speed and the 2.5GB in use. Wccftech's write-up gives the visible total as 15.9GB.
- Version: Windows 11 26H2, which Microsoft released at the end of September. Another report puts general availability at September 29, 2026.
- The user's own description: The post says he used Rufus to remove all bloatware, installed another version, and then applied 26H2. That is a multi-step process, not a single toggle.
This is one snapshot, not a benchmark. We don't know when it was taken, what was running, or what the machine looked like before.
Rufus alone doesn't explain it
Neowin's headline credits a "Rufus installation trick". Wccftech is more careful. It says Rufus doesn't remove bloatware by itself, and that the user's wording suggests a trimmed or alternate ISO, such as Tiny11. That is an inference, not a confirmed fact. The post doesn't name the image.
Rufus's own documentation shows how modest the built-in option is. The "Quality of Life" option in the Windows User Experience menu was added in Rufus 4.14 in May. Neowin's release coverage describes it as a way to disable Teams, Outlook, Copilot and other Microsoft nuisances. Rufus's FAQ lists what it does as of 4.15:
- Forcefully removes and disables OneDrive.
- Forcefully removes Outlook.
- Disables Copilot.
- Disables Fast Startup.
- Disables Windows Phone features.
- Changes the default Start menu pins.
- Adds shortcuts next to the power button.
- Collapses the taskbar search box to an icon.
The FAQ says none of this works by adding or removing Windows installation files, so the tweaks are reversible. I can't quote that sentence exactly, so treat this as a paraphrase of the Rufus FAQ. Switching off a handful of startup nuisances can plausibly trim memory. But that list doesn't amount to a gutted OS image. It also doesn't prove which options this user picked.
The 26H2 factor
Separately from Rufus, 26H2 itself reportedly lowers idle memory use. Windows Latest, as relayed by TechPowerUp, found a 16GB laptop that usually idled at 10GB now used 7GB, with 4GB of that cached and 8.8GB available. OC3D notes that Microsoft has not documented the change.
The evidence here is mixed. WindowsForum's own earlier coverage pointed to a GO-EUC controlled test of the 26H2 preview, which found a resource footprint effectively identical to 25H2 under an identical knowledge-worker workload. That was a preview build, not the shipping release. So the savings are real in some people's screenshots, but not yet established under controlled conditions.
Put those together and the 2.5GB figure has at least three possible contributors: a customized image, whatever was removed or disabled, and any real 26H2 improvement. Nobody has isolated them.
Reading Task Manager correctly
Neowin pairs "2.5GB used" with "2.1GB cached" as though they were two kinds of consumption. They aren't. Microsoft's Windows hardware documentation, which I'm paraphrasing, treats standby memory as cached data that the system can hand to apps when they need it. Available memory is standby plus free memory. So cache is not wasted RAM, and you shouldn't add it to the in-use figure.
The screenshot is therefore good news in one narrow sense: the "In use" number is low. It says little about how Windows will behave once you add a browser, drivers, security software and the usual pile of tray apps. Wccftech makes the same point: a couple of Chrome tabs can push utilization up quickly. Windows 11 isn't running on 2.5GB when you're actually working.
How to compare fairly on your own PC
If you want to test whether a clean install or debloat changes anything, do it methodically:
- Restart, sign in, and wait a few minutes without opening any apps.
- Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open Task Manager, then go to Performance > Memory.
- Note "In use", "Committed", and "Available". Also check the Startup apps page to see what loads at sign-in.
- Repeat after each change, such as a clean install, enabling the Rufus option, or the 26H2 update. Change one thing at a time.
- Don't judge by "In use" alone. Look at available memory under a realistic workload.
Pitfalls to consider before wiping a machine:
- Custom ISOs: Trimmed images from third parties can lack components, updating behavior or servicing that you may need. Know what you're installing and where it came from.
- Requirement bypasses: Neowin notes that tools like Ventoy can bypass hardware checks, though some requirements like internet and a Microsoft account may be unskippable. Unsupported installs carry their own update and support risks. This is general industry knowledge, not a claim from the report.
- Enterprise use: Admins should prefer supported methods, such as unattended answer files and Group Policy or Intune controls, over unofficial images.
The bigger picture
Microsoft has said it wants to improve Windows 11's memory use, and Neowin says the work targets systems with 8GB or more. That is a quiet admission that 4GB machines remain a poor fit, even though 4GB is still the official minimum. Meanwhile, Notebookcheck reported that an 8GB Windows 11 machine uses almost 6GB at idle, and a 16GB one about 10GB. Against that backdrop, a 2.5GB screenshot looks dramatic. It also shows how much of a typical install's memory goes to startup apps, vendor software and preinstalled components, not to the core OS.
Bottom line
One user's Task Manager reading on a customized, Rufus-assisted 26H2 install is interesting. It isn't proof that Rufus, or 26H2, makes Windows 11 idle at 2.5GB. The honest takeaway is narrower: what you install and what starts at boot matters a lot. If you want to chase that number, measure before and after, and don't trust a single screenshot, including this one.