You can compress an individual file, but that’s not really all that useful, so I’ll show you how to compress (and then decompress) an entire folder. You don’t need to use the Disk Cleanup Utility to compress files – you can make choices yourself and pick and choose which files or folders of files you want to compress. Compressing files with Windows File Compression I’ve done so in the past only on laptops, where adding or replacing a hard drive just wasn’t in the cards for me, and only after other options didn’t free up enough space. I have no compressed file systems on any of the computers I run. On the other hand, if you can’t afford a hard drive, or one can’t be added or upgraded for some reason, compression might be a viable option as a last resort in fact, it might be the only option. What’s taking up all that space? If there’s nothing that you can remove or otherwise manage, you’re probably better off upgrading your hard disk or adding a hard disk to your system. If you’re really running into space problems, you should probably start instead by looking at exactly what is on your hard disk. On average, compression may recover only about 50% of the space used by files you compress. My advice? In general, I wouldn’t bother. Make sure you’re appropriately backed up. Realize that compressed files and compressed file systems are much harder to recover in the event of a crash.It can slow down your machine as the CPU gets more involved in every disk access. I definitely wouldn’t compress files I use frequently on an older machine. If you have a powerful enough CPU, you might be able to compress files used more frequently and not notice.There’s no way for me to know what files disk cleanup is pointing you towards, so I can’t say how this might apply to you. If the files you’re considering compressing aren’t already compressed, it could make sense.The “old files” from a disk cleanup utility probably fall into this category. If the files you’re considering compressing are used infrequently, they might be candidates.MP3, JPEG, MPG, and similar file types are all already compressed and typically do not benefit much, if at all, from attempts to compress them further. Typically, audio, video, and image formats are already using compression algorithms as part of the file format. In fact, in the worst case, “compressing” a compressed file can even make it bigger. Many files you use every day are already compressed. A file that has already been compressed by a reasonably good compression algorithm will typically not compress well if you try to compress it again with another. Others compress comparatively poorly, but take less time to do it.Ĭompressing files that are already compressed doesn’t help. Some require a great deal of CPU processing to compress the data, while the decompression can be lightning fast. That means when you compress or decompress a file on your computer, your CPU needs to do more work than if the file were not compressed. Different algorithms have different calculation characteristics. One thing that all compression algorithms share is that they require calculation. If good compression can “makes things smaller,” what’s the catch?Ĭompression is work. Suffice it to say that real compression algorithms are exceptionally complex technologies, bordering on an art form. For example, we need a way to make sure that if there’s actually a “10*” in the data before compression, we don’t try to turn it into “**********” on decompression. When decompressed, the “10*” would get transformed back into “**********”. For example, the 10 character string “**********” (10 asterisks) might be replaced with three characters – “10*” – meaning “ten asterisks”. Seems simple enough, right?Īs a gross oversimplification, compression means replacing one representation of data with another that takes up less space. When enabled, it automatically compresses files to take up less space on the disk. Windows File Compression is a part of the NTFS file system. We’ll also discover that later versions of Windows itself have made a not-too-subtle suggestion as well. In fact, without knowing more, I get to use all three of my favorite answers:Īfter you’ve finishing beating your head against the computer, read on, and I’ll explain why I say all three. Whether or not it makes sense to use isn’t necessarily a slam dunk. Using file compression to save space is nothing new, even when it’s native in the file system used by Windows. While you’re only asking about the Disk Cleanup utility, I’m going to talk about Windows File Compression in more general terms.
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