by Martin Brinkmann on November 18, 2014 in Windows - Last Update: July 05, 2017 - 11 comments
Well, I don't know what is going on in my case, but I have that same option in my disk cleanup, and yet when I check drive properties, the 'compress this drive.' Option is NOT ticked. However, the general consensus seems to be that this option should be UNCHECKED when doing the disk cleanup, or it WILL compress the drive, is that right? The all-important “C” drive is, for most people, the core of their PC, where their operating system is installed, and all the crucial system files are kept. Inevitably, this is also the drive that gets filled up most easily due to endless Windows updates, downloaded files that you forget about, and the fact that by default everything saves to the “C” drive.
It is quite easy to fill up hard drives or partitions with data. This is true for Solid State Drives which are blazing fast but don't come close to the storage that platter-based hard drives offer but also for traditional hard drives.
Programs such as CCleaner or the native Windows tool Disk Cleanup help somewhat by offering to remove temporary data or data that is usually not needed from the system to free up disk space.
It is possible to free up Gigabytes of space this way. The Disk Cleanup tool for example can free up quite a bit of space after the installation of system updates, new service packs or the upgrade to a new version of Windows.
While it is suggested to make sure everything works before you run the operation, as you cannot go back afterwards anymore, it is an effective method to free up space on a system that is running stable.
Disk Cleanup is part of the Windows 10 operating system as well and while it works similar to previous iterations of the tool, a new option has been added by Microsoft in the latest version.
It includes an option to compress the system now. Disk compression works only on NTFS drives and uses the same compression feature that you can run manually on folders or files of the system.
As is the case with this type of compression, it offers advantages but also disadvantages. It should be largely beneficial on systems with fast processors regardless of hard drive speed. It may slow things down, when it comes to file loading times especially, on systems with slow processors on the other hand.
Compression works well on files that are not yet compressed. Plain text documents for example while mp3 or zip archives yield little to no benefit.
Disk Cleanup and compression
To make use of the feature do the following:
Tap on the Windows-key and type Disk Cleanup or cleanmgr.exe and select the Disk Cleanup result from the list.
Select the drive (c:) that you want to clean.
It may take a while before the interface is displayed.
Click on the 'Clean up system files' button at the bottom of the window.
Select drive c: again.
Scroll down until you find the new system compression option. It is disabled by default.
Conclusion
While it may be tempting to free up Gigabytes of space using the option, it is important to remember that you have no control over the feature other than to turn it on or off.
Windows does not list the files that it will compress which may result in files being compressed that should not be compressed in first place.
It is usually better to compress files manually using the option. To do so right-click on a file or folder in Windows Explorer and select properties from the context menu.
Switch to the general tab when the properties window opens and click on the advanced button there. All that is left then is to check the 'compress contents to save disk space' button.
Windows 10 Disk Cleanup includes file compression option
Description
The Windows 10 Disk Cleanup tool contains an option to compress files on the system to free up disk space. Find out why you should or should not use it.
Author
Ghacks Technology News
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We have seen how we can compress files, folders or even drives to save some disk space. To many compressing the System Drive or the C drive to save some more space may look tempting. But this can create problems!
Compressed System Drive – Windows will not boot
Using the Compress feature on the system drive can compress some of the files required to boot the Windows OS. This could simply make your Windows computer NOT boot! You could even end up with a boot-loop!
In this article, I’ll show you what you can do if your Windows computer fails to boot or goes into a boot-loop after compressing the system drive OS drive.
There are a couple of methods we can try. I’ll list all of them you can find the best method that works for you.
Run Startup Repair
The first method is to run the Startup Repair. It may or may not work, but it’s the easiest method to try. Run the Startup Repair, three different times. Because sometimes it sometimes takes three runs to fix it. If this does not fix your problem move on to the next option.
Manually uncompress the files
The next method is to manually uncompress the files of the Windows installation drive. Follow these steps:
Insert the Windows installation disc or USB flash drive, or a system repair disc, and then shut down your computer.
Then restart your Computer
When prompted, press any key, and then follow the instructions that appear
On the Install Windows page, or on the System Recovery Options page, choose your language and other preferences, and then click Next.
Click Repair your computer.
Select the Windows installation you want to repair, and then click Next.
Now click on “Load Drivers.”
You’ll get this screen. Click OK.
Now you’ll get an explorer window. Click on Computer
Right-click on Installation Drive which would be the C drive in most cases. Select Properties.
Uncheck on “Compress this drive to save disk space” and click Apply/OK.
Make sure it says “uncompress” and ensure that “Apply changes to drive C:, subfolders and files” is selected.
Now click “OK” and wait for few minutes until it uncompresses.
Once it’s done reboot your computer normally and see if it loads.
This should work. If it does – great! If not, you have just one last chance!
Manually rebuild the MBR
The last method is to manually rebuild the MBR or Master Boot Record. There are a lot of ways to do that. You can follow this video tutorial created by me on how to Rebuild MBR. For details on this, check this tutorial on how to fix the Bootmgr is Missing issue.
Hope something helps! If none of the steps work, then feel free to post it in our forums. We’ll be glad to assist you there.
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