Compressed file question

[Academia]

I've let the clean disk program compress files that haven't been accessed on
a long time.

What I would like is, if I now use one of those files the system would leave
the file uncompressed since it is now into play again.

Is that possible?

Thanks

 

[Plato]

I've let the clean disk program compress files that haven't been accessed on
a long time.

In the future, NEVER let Windows compress your files.

 

[Academia]

Why, what is the down side?


Thanks

In the future, NEVER let Windows compress your files.

 

[HeyBub]

Why, what is the down side?

Nobody else can read the file.

Suppose you have to place your un-bootable drive in another machine that's
running, oh, Win98 or Win2000 to recover the data.

If trash gets slung into the middle of a compressed file, the file is
unusable. Period. In an un-compressed file only the garbage records are
affected.

 

[Academia]

Thanks for the info

Nobody else can read the file.

Suppose you have to place your un-bootable drive in another machine that's
running, oh, Win98 or Win2000 to recover the data.

If trash gets slung into the middle of a compressed file, the file is
unusable. Period. In an un-compressed file only the garbage records are
affected.

 

[LVTravel]

Different system than what you are thinking of. Windows
automatically uncompresses the file whenever it is accessed,
even a file copy to another source if done from within
Windows.

 

[Academia]

I wish it would save the file as uncompressed once used.
No way I can get it to do that is there?

Thanks

 

[Patrick Keenan]

Nobody else can read the file.

... Nobody except another XP machine, which aren't exactly hard to find, or
other OS's like Linux that understand the NTFS filesystem.

Suppose you have to place your un-bootable drive in another machine that's
running, oh, Win98

You could not do this, as compression requires NTFS, which Win98 can't deal
with. *None* of the NTFS partition would be accessible to a Win98 system.

Easy to get to the data with an XP machine though, and there are lots of
them around.

or Win2000 to recover the data.

Frankly, it's a lot more likely that you'll connect to another XP machine,
since they are far more common than either Win98 or W2K systems.

If trash gets slung into the middle of a compressed file, the file is
unusable. Period. In an un-compressed file only the garbage records are
affected.

I really don't see many reports of problems with NTFS compression.

HTH
-pk

 

[Patrick Keenan]

I wish it would save the file as uncompressed once used.
No way I can get it to do that is there?

You could turn off compression, or save it to an uncompressed folder.

Compression is generally used to save drive space. On the other hand, 500
gig drives can be had for just over $100.

HTH
-pk

 

[Poprivet`]

In the future, NEVER let Windows compress your files.

In the future, beware this person't advice. It's
incorrect and there is no reason to do that.

 

[Poprivet`]

I've let the clean disk program compress files that
haven't been
accessed on a long time.

What I would like is, if I now use one of those files
the system
would leave the file uncompressed since it is now
into play again.

Is that possible?

Thanks

It will become uncompressed once it's used. You could
of course go back and manually set it to compressed
again, or let it age out and automatically go back to
bein gcompressed, but ... IMO neither is worth fiddling
with.

I'm curious what you see as a problem or issue to
request this info.

HTH

 

[Poprivet`]

Nobody else can read the file.

Suppose you have to place your un-bootable drive in
another machine
that's running, oh, Win98 or Win2000 to recover the
data.

If trash gets slung into the middle of a compressed
file, the file is
unusable. Period. In an un-compressed file only the
garbage records
are affected.

An XP compressed file is no different than any other
compressed file created by winzip or any of the myriad
other file compression apps around. For fast
compress/uncompress it doesn't compress as much,
basically using one of the other apps lower compression
settings.
Placing an NTFS drive in a win98 machine is futile;
nothing can be read.
2k or later, if they support NTFS compression will
see/read the files just fine, else you might need to
get an unzip utility to expand them.

Whatever it is you're talking about is nonsense. Maybe
you're just mis-speaking, but it's pretty misleading.

HTH

Pop`

 

[Poprivet`]

I wish it would save the file as uncompressed once
used.
No way I can get it to do that is there?

Thanks

Not unless you got to Properties and set it to
compressed again. "Compress" is nothing but "zip"ping
BTW.

Also, compression serves absolutely no purpose other
than saving a litte hard drive space. If you're tight
for space, better to look into an added drive; they're
pretty cheap nowadays.

HTH

Pop`


HTH

Pop`

 

[Academia]

It will become uncompressed once it's used. You could of course go back
and manually set it to compressed again, or let it age out and
automatically go back to bein gcompressed, but ... IMO neither is worth
fiddling with.

I was under the impression that when a compressed file is used it is
uncompresed for usage, then compressed when closed. Is that incorrect.

I'm curious what you see as a problem or issue to request this info.

No problem. It just that I was thinking that if I didn't use a program for a
long time and it got compressed, it would then be constanly uncompressed and
recompressed if it later became popular. (Maybe the assumption of
recompresion is not even correct.)

thanks

 

[Bob I]

Not unless you got to Properties and set it to
compressed again. "Compress" is nothing but "zip"ping
BTW.

That is incorrect, please review "File Compression Overview" in Windows
Help and Support.

 

[Poprivet`]

message


I was under the impression that when a compressed
file is used it is
uncompresed for usage, then compressed when closed.
Is that incorrect.

That's correct. You might have to test this out, but
I -think- if the system compresses a file, it becomes
uncompressed when you use it again. However, if you
should manually set a file to be compressed via the
file's Properties, then it stays compressed even if you
used it.

No problem. It just that I was thinking that if I
didn't use a
program for a long time and it got compressed, it
would then be
constanly uncompressed and recompressed if it later
became popular.
(Maybe the assumption of recompresion is not even
correct.)

Ah, I see. Although the compression is standard zip
compression, it's a fairly "light" compression. It
makes the file quite a bit smaller in some cases (not
all), compared to "regular" compression with other
programs such as WinZip.
The smaller amount of compression means it can
uncompress faster. Plus, it leaves the disk
compressed, is uncompressed in buffers etc. and finally
fed into accessible memory as uncompressed.
Also, when a file is to STAY compressed, it WILL
stay compressed on the disk. It's only uncompressed on
its way to memory; so, in memory it's uncompressed.
Then, if changes have been made to the file, it is
recompressed in memory and put back to disk that way.
So in this case the compression/decompression is
actually happening in fast memory while nothing on the
hard drive changes until it's written back to from
memory. The time required is thus minimized and
hopefully unnoticeable to the user, which is true in
most not all cases.
IF I understand it correctly, anyway<g>. Try
googling for "XP compress" +how (with quotes)
and I think you can find the nitty gritty of what goes
on.

HTH

Pop`

 

[Poprivet`]

That is incorrect, please review "File Compression
Overview" in
Windows Help and Support.

No, you're the one clarifying; it's up to you to submit
information. Which contention are you referring to?
Properties setting or zipping? I experimented on both
before replying and that's what I described.

Pop`

 

[Bob I]

No, you're the one clarifying; it's up to you to submit
information. Which contention are you referring to?
Properties setting or zipping? I experimented on both
before replying and that's what I described.

Pop`

There is NTFS compression and the are Zip folders. "Compress" is not
""zip"ping", it's NTFS compression

 

[Shenan Stanley]

I've let the clean disk program compress files that haven't been
accessed on a long time.

What I would like is, if I now use one of those files the system
would leave the file uncompressed since it is now into play again.

Is that possible?

In the future, NEVER let Windows compress your files.

Why, what is the down side?

Nobody else can read the file.

Suppose you have to place your un-bootable drive in another machine
that's running, oh, Win98 or Win2000 to recover the data.

If trash gets slung into the middle of a compressed file, the file
is unusable. Period. In an un-compressed file only the garbage
records are affected.

Thanks for the info

Different system than what you are thinking of. Windows
automatically uncompresses the file whenever it is accessed,
even a file copy to another source if done from within
Windows.

I wish it would save the file as uncompressed once used.
No way I can get it to do that is there?

You could turn off compression, or save it to an uncompressed
folder.
Compression is generally used to save drive space. On the other
hand, 500 gig drives can be had for just over $100.

Not unless you got to Properties and set it to
compressed again. "Compress" is nothing but "zip"ping
BTW.

Also, compression serves absolutely no purpose other
than saving a litte hard drive space. If you're tight
for space, better to look into an added drive; they're
pretty cheap nowadays.

That is incorrect, please review "File Compression Overview" in
Windows Help and Support.

No, you're the one clarifying; it's up to you to submit
information. Which contention are you referring to?
Properties setting or zipping? I experimented on both
before replying and that's what I described.

There is NTFS compression and the are Zip folders. "Compress" is not
""zip"ping", it's NTFS compression

NTFS can compress files using a variant of the LZ77 algorithm (also used in
the popular ZIP file format)...
The basics (the algorith used to compress) are the same.

http://www.ntfs.com/quest7.htm

So - yes - there are two different terms and results produced on a Windows
XP machine where 'compression' is concerned. You have the NTFS compression
(which is built into the system for 'on-the-fly' compression of files to
save space on a hard disk drive - not recommended for shares/network drives
or external media) and the "Send to... Compressed (zipped) folder" function
in Windows XP (for creating ZIP files - like one would with WinZIP or other
similar utilities.) The former is done by the OS and automagically
compresses/decompresses as the files are utilized. As this will take more
time and processor to do - it is, by default, only done on files that are
not frequently utilized. The latter is a manual process - by which a user
has a purpose in compressing one or more files/folders into a single
'file' - which Windows XP will treat as a folder using the built in
compression algorithms.

 

[Academia]

That's correct. You might have to test this out, but I -think- if the
system compresses a file, it becomes uncompressed when you use it again.
However, if you should manually set a file to be compressed via the file's
Properties, then it stays compressed even if you used it.

I asked: Is that incorrect?
and you answered: That correct.
I believe you are saying that the statement above"Is that incorrect." is
incorrect.

And that, if the file's Properties is not set to compression then the file
will become uncompressed on the disk if it is accessed.

If that is what you're saying then that is what make sense to me and I'm
glad XP does that.


I'd appreciate you confirming or denying what I said above.

Thanks again