Windows 8.1 gets WIMBoot and 16GB devices can have 12GB free space

Microsoft announced that it has introduced a new install option for Windows 8.1 called Windows Image Boot, or WIMBoot, that's been made to allow those kinds of products a way to get a full version of the OS while still having room for the installations of apps and other programs. In a blog post, Microsoft said they dislike the typical way that Windows is installed on a new PC via extracting folders from an image file, WIMBoot keeps all of those files compressed. However, the user of the device sees no difference when they explore their storage in the C: folder.

Now that Windows 8.1 Update has been released, we want to talk about a new way that Windows 8.1 can be installed on Windows 8 logo-certified devices (since UEFI is a requirement) with smaller disks, e.g. devices with 16GB or 32GB SSDs or eMMC storage, while still ensuring that there is plenty of storage left for apps and data. 

This new deployment option, called Windows Image Boot (or WIMBoot), takes a different approach than traditional Windows installations. Instead of extracting all the individual Windows files from an image (WIM) file, they remain compressed in the WIM. But from the user's perspective, nothing looks any different: You still see a C drive volume containing Windows, your apps, and all of your data. 

This is supported with all SKUs of Windows 8.1, with the Windows 8.1 Update. (Remember, we're not talking about a different version of Windows, just a different way of installing it.)