Re: Disk Cleanup: Compress old files or not?
- From: "Ken Blake, MVP" <kblake@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 23 Feb 2007 13:53:08 -0700
thricipio wrote:
Need advice . . .
I'm considering using the Disk Cleanup option to compress old files.
My
boot partition¹ is 4.5GB
That's *much* too small for almost everyone. Anything you do short of making
it bigger or replacing it with a bigger drive will at best be a stopgap
measure.
and I currently have 870MB free space. Last
evening I received a system warning that I'd gotten down to 80MB of
free space. That lead to some immediate action to purge my temp
files and now. to this inquiry.
I think I have a pretty good understanding of the general
implications of compressing old files, but I still have a couple
questions:
a. how can one determine, after the fact, *which* files actually got
compressed
They will be blue instead of black when you see them in My Computer or
Windows Explorer.
Finally, I'd recommend any advice and/or experiences anyone would
care to share regarding using this option to reclaim disk space.
Don't do it. As I said, you should address the *real* issue, and get
yourself a much bigger partition--at least 10-20GB.
1. FWIW, my boot partition is used for system files and whatever
application-related files my apps insisted on placing there when I
installed them. I've installed my apps into my D-partition and
reserved my E-partition for data and media files.
You don't say how big your drive is, how large the other two partitions are,
or how free they are, but if you have sufficient overall free space, I would
repartition the drive with a third-party tool. Otherwise, you need to buy a
bigger drive.
Also, a word on your partitioning scheme: Most people who create a separate
partition for their program files do so because they think that if they ever
have to reinstall Windows, their program files will be safe in a separate
partition and they won't have to reinstall the programs.
In fact, that is false. All programs, except for a rare trivial one, have
many associated files and entries pointing to them within Windows, in the
registry and elsewhere. So if you ever have to reinstall Windows, you also
have to reinstall all your programs.
So there is really no advantage to having program files in a separate
partition. Programs will all have to be reinstalled if Windows has to be. I
recommend that program files be kept in the same partition as Windows is in.
The fewer partitions you have, the less likely it is that you will run out
of space on one while still having lots of space left on another.
Separating data from Windows can be useful for many people. My view is that
most people's partitioning scheme should be based on their backup scheme.
If, for example, you backup by creating a clone or image on the entire
drive, then a single partition might be best. If, on the other hand, you
backup only your data, then the backup process is facilitated by having all
data in a separate partition.
Rarely, if ever, does a partioning scheme with more than two partitions make
sense, except for those running multiple operating systems.
--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
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