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Topic: Windows XP Disk Cleanup "Compress Old Files" Question (Read 9790 times) previous topic - next topic
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Windows XP Disk Cleanup "Compress Old Files" Question

My disc space was recently running low and a Windows "pop-up" suggested that I run Disk Cleanup. I ran it as I usually do, but then I noticed that it was compressing old files - I never have this box checked so it must have checked it by itself! My question is this - I cancelled Disk Cleanup before it went too far, but how do I tell if it compressed any files and how can I tell which ones it compressed? Is there a way to search for them? Or is this nothing to worry about...

Thanks

Windows XP Disk Cleanup "Compress Old Files" Question

Reply #1
but how do I tell if it compressed any files and how can I tell which ones it compressed?


Compressed files and folders have a blue color (Example: C:\WINDOWS\system32\dllcache). You can turn compression off in the advanced properties.

Windows XP Disk Cleanup "Compress Old Files" Question

Reply #2
I absolutely recommend compressing entire drives.  I saved 16GB on C: when no slowdown at all.  Just remember to defrag thoroughly after.

Windows XP Disk Cleanup "Compress Old Files" Question

Reply #3
I absolutely recommend compressing entire drives.  I saved 16GB on C: when no slowdown at all.  Just remember to defrag thoroughly after.


I recommend not to compress except if you're really low on disk space, then it's worth a shot.

Compression causes slowdowns in Windows XP (I have experienced that), it is time consuming and plus it increases the frequency of fragmentation.

And this is only logical.

Windows XP Disk Cleanup "Compress Old Files" Question

Reply #4
There's a difference between theory and practice.  I have a reasonable PC (3.6Ghz / 1024) but I also use it as a multi track recorder and DAW - so any slowdown or increased fragmentation would certainly have been noticed by now.
Especially recommended for laptop with minuscule drives.

Windows XP Disk Cleanup "Compress Old Files" Question

Reply #5
Oft-changed files should not be compressed. Rarely-changed files can be compressed with impunity.

Rarely- (or never-) changed files but frequently accessed actually benefits from compression. Why? Because there is less data to be read from the hard drive, and in-memory decompression is waaaaaaay faster than hard-disk access.

Be careful not to compress files required at WinXP startup.

Compressing archived files (or compressed audio files) causes slowdown in writing; the file will not be compressed further, but Windows will spend some time analyzing the file trying to compress it. It also does not give a speed advantage when reading, in fact, makes it sliiiiightly slower.