You not only get the feeling that the Windows 10 ISOs are getting bigger from version to version. An ISO with an install.wim no longer fits on a DVD.
Therefore Microsoft provides the ISOs with a compressed install.esd. We have described here how you can find out whether you have a * .wim or * .esd. Michael Niehaus was once curious whether it was possible to reduce an ISO with the official MDT (Microsoft Deployment Toolkit).
He has chosen a Windows 10 20H2 as the starting version and especially the Enterprise version. First, Michael tried to remove the "In-Box Apps" (not the system apps). There are enough in the system. These were then removed using a PowerShell script. Result: 34 MB less was achieved by this intervention.
Then he took on the optional functions. Sounds logical, because you can install it later if necessary. With a script that gradually tries to determine whether the components can be removed, the result was just 15 MB. This is because many optional features can be installed and only disabled. That's why you can't save a lot here.
Next came the integration of updates. The MDT also offers this option. The result: an increase of 2.4 GB. Also logical, because the updates were integrated, but not cleaned up. So the start components are cleaned with / Cleanup-Image / StartComponentCleanup and / ResetBase afterwards. Result: Still 700 MB more. But at least less than the 2.4 GB.
As Michael writes, it was the script. Because Silverlight was also downloaded via the MDT and the update function. So it has to be excluded. Other files were also stored in the various folders. This was followed by CLEANMGR.EXE and further attempts to make the ISO smaller.
In the end, Michael came to the conclusion that Microsoft's ISO itself is completely ok and that you can save yourself the need to reduce the original size. But he also dreams that at some point we might get a modular operating system that can be reduced either beforehand or after installation. You're allowed to dream.
Of course, there are other methods to shrink a Windows 10 ISO, incorporating updates, and more. There would be NTLite, MSMGToolkit or WinReducer.
You just have to be careful what you remove. One component too many and the system no longer starts or can no longer be used correctly. Therefore, you should always test such an ISO first in a virtual machine or on another partition.
In case you want to read the whole article by Michael: oofhours.com/creating-the-smallest-windows-10-image.
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