Compressing Old Files

[LythincaMan]

Hello. I'm running out of disk space on my laptop. I have 19.5 gb out of 32 gb.

I was wondering, I could compress some files on my computer (1.3 Gigs worth).

When I just have a questions.

1) If I have a certain driver, that has not been accessed in a while. (My wireless router driver, it doesnt need to be accessed to work, as its a driver.)
Would that driver get compressed?

2) Does anything thats compressed still work?

3) If I compress a file, can I still use it? Or do I need to uncompress it?

[shade11]

Re: Compressing Old Files

1. It wouldn't get compressed. Don't worry much about that though.

2. What do you mean by work?

3. It depends, certain zip files can work properly compressed, but if you want maximum compression, like say you want to use an RAR or 7z compression, you cannot.

A few suggestions:
If you plan to archive things, then try using 7-zip, it is perfect for maximum compression. If you want to you could do something like "Gmail Drive" and upload the compressed files online, so you can keep your space.

[LythincaMan]

Re: Compressing Old Files

I dont know if you follow me. Windows wants me to compress old files, to save disk space.

[shade11]

Re: Compressing Old Files

Oh that old thing.

1. Yeah, well drivers wont be compressed as far as I know

2. It all depends, I don't think it compresses applications, just documents. I've never actually used it before.

3. See number two.

If your trying to give it a nice cleanup then try CCleaner, it finds a bunch of junk to take out, and is much more efficient than windows. Just, don't use the registry cleaning tool.

[Tps222]

Re: Compressing Old Files

Run a disk cleanup, and a defrag of your hard drive. This will not allow you to use your comp for a couple of hours, but should clear up some space.

[LythincaMan]

Re: Compressing Old Files

It says I dont need to defrag. and I also dont need to Clean up, as I just did.

[Tps222]

Re: Compressing Old Files

Hmm.

Well, you don't want to compress drivers. I suggest clearing all your internet temporary files for a start.

After that, XP takes about 2.4 gb on it's install.

19.5 gb is still a decent amount. Window's shouldn't run slow at all, as the page filing is sufficiently over 10%.

I guess just .rar anything you don't use too often. MP3's, pics ect.

[Pyroshock]

Re: Compressing Old Files

If your trying to give it a nice cleanup then try CCleaner, it finds a bunch of junk to take out, and is much more efficient than windows. Just, don't use the registry cleaning tool.

Holy wow. That just cleared off a gb for me.

[Tps222]

Re: Compressing Old Files

Yeah, not trusting that. For all I know it's deleting my registry and converting my processing power to the equivelant of an abacus.

EDIT:
"Registry cleaner
Advanced features to remove unused and old entries, including File Extensions, ActiveX Controls, ClassIDs, ProgIDs, Uninstallers, Shared DLLs, Fonts, Help Files, Application Paths, Icons, Invalid Shortcuts and more... also comes with a comprehensive backup feature. "
Oh yay, take away everything I have cached that makes my computer fast to make space to alledgely make my computer run fast!

[Pyroshock]

Re: Compressing Old Files

That's why I disabled mostly everything system-related.

[Tps222]

Re: Compressing Old Files

So all it does is delete stuff you can do straight from your browser