Windows 8 Highly Compressed Google Drive Official

If you see both options, always choose Windows 8.1 highly compressed. Microsoft released Windows 8.1 as a free update that restored the Start button and improved memory management. Windows 8 (original) mainstream support ended in 2016, while 8.1 received updates until January 2023.

No. Compression affects only the download and extraction phase. Once installed, the OS is identical to a full-size version (assuming no components were removed). windows 8 highly compressed google drive

You will need 7-Zip (free) or WinRAR.