Compressing 'C' drive

Question

Running Win XP Home SP2. Came across an option in the properties of my C drive to 'compress'. I have done this with a couple folders but not my whole C drive. In an effort to save some space (40% left) would this have any negative effects on anything ?   MrMars

fireberd · Answer

Generally, compression should only be used as a 'last resort'.  Compression will slow down disk I/O and general PC operation - how much depends on the CPU and I/O bus speeds.  With the price of hard drives, if you are running low on space the best option is to install a larger drive or add a second drive.  I've seen 80 Gb drives for under $50 and even 120 Gb drives for under $80 (on sale or with rebate).    Depending on the size of the drive, 40% can be a lot or very little.    Compression for hard drives was an early attempt at space, back when a 40 MB (not GB) drive was a 'large' drive.  It's like the standby and hibernate for a desktop, it's something that really should be done away with.

mrmars · Answer

I currently have a 40 GB hard drive with 40% space left. The majority of my space is taken up by pictures and music. I have compressed the 'My Documents' folder in an effort to save space. Do you suggest I leave it this way or revert back to a 'un-compressed' format ?

osprey4 · Answer

You will find that working with compressed folders (aka, zipped folders) is cumbersome and slow.

If you have a lot of picture and music files, you have a few options to help keep your hard drive uncluttered. First, you could back them up onto CD-Rs. Second, you could purchase and install an additional hard drive.

Jim Hardin · Answer

Compressing is a very bad idea. Not only is it slow, it makes recovery of data nearly impossible under certain conditions!

Storage, Drives & Media

Compressing "C" drive

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