Tiny Core 8.0 is a desktop operating system that only needs 16 megabytes of storage

By Brad Jones April 12, 2017

tiny core desktop operating system 18480824 plugging removable flash disk memory into laptop usb slot — nomadsoul1 / 123RF Stock Photo

It can be very annoying when your desktop operating system takes up a significant amount of space on your hard drive. Fortunately, if you’re truly short of space and need an option that can work without a huge amount of storage, there’s Tiny Core 8.0.

The disk image for the most basic version of Tiny Core 8.0 weighs in at just 16MB, according to a report from Liliputing. By comparison, Windows 10 typically takes up around 16GB of space for a 32-bit install, and around 20GB of space on a 64-bit system.

Recommended Videos

There are various builds of Tiny Core for different purposes, like variants that are tailored to work with ARM, x86, and x86-64 processors. While the smallest version with a graphical user interface is 16MB, there’s also a version that sticks to a command line interface instead, reducing its size down to just 11MB.

At its heart, Tiny Core is a Linux distribution that specializes in modularity, which allows its file sizes to be so small. Its creators assume that users are going to combine the basic package with whatever content they need for the task at hand, so the OS itself only contains the bare necessities.

Its small size helps Tiny Core offer compatibility with a broad range of hardware, and allows the OS to boot in just a few seconds, in most cases. However, it’s capable of running full-fledged software packages like image editor GIMP, the Firefox web browser, and the LibreOffice suite.

If you’re interested in tinkering with Tiny Core, you can find installation packages and instructional materials on its official website. However, remember to perform a comprehensive backup before you try install the OS on your system, and make sure you know what you’re doing before making any serious changes to your computer.

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Brad is an English-born writer currently splitting his time between Edinburgh and Pennsylvania. You can find him on Twitter…

Computing

Intel Battlemage GPU: everything we know so far

Intel Arc A770 GPU installed in a test bench.

Despite a rocky start, Intel's Arc GPUs are now among the best graphics cards you can buy. Targeting budget PC gamers, Intel has established itself as a major player in gaming graphics cards, and all eyes are on Team Blue with its next generation of GPUs, codenamed Battlemage.

We know Battlemage GPUs are coming, and Intel has slowly been dropping hints about the graphics cards over the past year. Although we're still waiting on an official release date, specs, and pricing details for Battlemage GPUs, there's a lot we can piece together already.
Intel Battlemage: specs

Music

Spotify vs. Pandora: which streaming service should you choose?

spotify vs pandora on iphone

Let's settle a musical debate: which music streaming platform should you use: Spotify or Pandora?

Both services have their unique strengths and weaknesses. Spotify boasts a more extensive music catalog, robust social features for sharing and discovering music with friends, and a more polished user experience across devices.

Computing

Ryzen AI nearly hits 60 fps in Black Myth: Wukong, but it’s not that simple

OneXFly F1 Pro gamig handheld.

Although AMD APUs appear in some of the best gaming handhelds, the latest Strix Point chips are still hard to find in new releases. However, the new OneXFly F1 Pro gamin handheld is making its debut with the Ryzen AI HX 370 chip in tow, and according to a benchmark in Black Myth: Wukong, it managed to average an impressive 58 frames per second (fps) at a 15-watt thermal design power (TDP). That's an impressive result, but digging deeper reveals that AAA gaming on the go is still not without any sacrifice.

The OneXFly F1 Pro comes with the Ryzen AI HX 370, which sports a total of 12 cores -- four Zen 5 and eight Zen 5c -- as well as 24 threads. The maximum boost clock on the Zen 5 cores reaches 5.1GHz, but the smaller Zen 5c maxes out at 3.3GHz. The default TDP was rated at 28 watts, but it can be configured between 15W and 54W. For an APU, the AI HX 370 delivers solid graphics capabilities, as it's equipped with the AMD Radeon 890M. It also sports a 7-inch OLED screen with a refresh rate of 144Hz.