Windows 11

Updated 9 February 2026

I own three computers: A laptop computer, a mini PC, and a Raspberry Pi 400. Windows won't run on a Raspberry Pi, at least not yet. The other two have been running the Cinnamon Edition of Linux Mint since shortly after purchase.

The Mini PC

I bought my Beelink Mini S12 Pro in May of 2024, while living in the Philippines. It was less expensive here than in the United States. Windows 11 was preinstalled on it. When I first booted it up, the Wi-Fi settings wouldn't work. I knew I needed to reinstall it, but the license key wasn't included, and it wasn't embedded in the firmware. After contacting Beelink in China, I received two license keys instead of one. I only used the first one.

After about a week of trying to get used to Windows 11, I replaced it with Linux Mint and relegated Windows 11 to a virtual machine. After not even looking at it for more than six months, I deleted the virtual machine. That version of Windows 11 didn't include Copilot, Recall, or any AI nonsense.

I don't want to run Windows anything on the mini PC, but I want to dual-boot Windows 11 and Linux Mint on the laptop computer. It's not because I use Windows for anything, but my children and grandchildren only know Windows. I travel back and forth from my home in the Philippines to their homes in the United States with only my laptop computer.

I had previously learned about "Winhance" as a tool to remove all the unwanted Windows applications and features I would never need or want, and as a tool to install what I actually needed or wanted. I intended to run it after creating a Tiny11 version of Windows 11 using the "tiny11builder" script, and after installing Tiny11 on the laptop computer.

I installed Windows 11 as a virtual machine, setting up the unattended guest OS installation. Luckily, it created a local account, and I didn't have to worry about logging into my old Microsoft account.

I don't remember how long it took to create the Tiny11 ISO file ("tiny11.iso"), and I was busy doing other things at the same time anyway. After it was finished, and after I installed Tiny11 on the laptop computer, I deleted the virtual machine.

The Laptop Computer

I bought the laptop computer in 2023, while I was staying with my younger son and his family in the United States. That version of Windows 11 also didn't include Copilot, Recall, or any AI nonsense. After a very short period of time, I replaced it with Linux Mint.

I installed Windows 11 on the laptop computer a few days ago. When I saw all the unnecessary advertising and bloat, I was motivated to do something else. I started over with Tiny11. After I finished installing it, I ran Winhance on it to remove the things the tiny11builder script didn't touch. From the terminal as an administrator:

    irm https://get.winhance.net | iex

I installed my preferred web browser and my preferred text editor and then I tried to activate Windows so I could change the default screen. It wouldn't activate even though it could read my license key from the firmware. The troubleshooter didn't help at all.

I had previously read about "Microsoft-Activation-Scripts" as a way to force activation. Even Microsoft employees used it to handle activation problems. From the terminal as an administrator:

    irm https://get.activated.win | iex

In just a few minutes, Windows 11 was permanently activated. After I rebooted, and just before installing Linux Mint alongside Windows, I resized the Windows partition to 112 of the 512 gigabytes available. I will be spending far more time with Linux Mint.

Notes

The mini PC has 16 gigabytes of memory. The laptop computer has only 8. I obviously prefer to work with more memory, but both operating systems on the laptop computer are lean enough that 8 gigabytes is more than sufficient.

I won't install virtual machines on the laptop computer, which I only use when going to the United States for a few months at a time.