User reports Windows 11 26H2 uses only 16% of 16 GB RAM after Rufus installation

A Windows 11 system equipped with 16 GB of DDR4 RAM was reported to use only about 2.5 GB of memory (roughly 16 % of the total) while idle after being installed with the 26H2 update using the Rufus utility. The user, who posted on X, said the installation involved skipping components such as Secure Boot and TPM and employing a stripped-down ISO, possibly Tiny11, to remove pre-installed bloatware.

Rufus, a free tool for creating bootable USB drives, offers options that can reduce the amount of unnecessary software included in a Windows installation. The user’s configuration showed the system running at 2,133 MHz and achieving the low memory usage before Microsoft’s subsequent updates were applied.

The report notes that while the result represents a reduction compared with earlier observations of Windows 11 notebooks using up to 70 % of RAM when idle, the low usage is contingent on minimal active applications; opening a few web browser tabs can quickly increase consumption.

"The Windows 11 system is running 16 GB of DDR4 RAM operating at 2,133 MHz, with only 2.5 GB being used from the total, bringing the utilization to just 16 percent when running idle," the user wrote.

The findings suggest that customized installations can lower baseline memory demands, though users with only 16 GB of RAM may still need to manage workloads carefully.