Folders take too much Space on my hard disk

The more data you have stored in folders, the more hard disk space that is consumed. This is particularly true for multimedia files, such as pictures, music, and video, which consume a lot of megabytes on the hard disk. The good news is that Windows XP supports a compression feature that reduces overall folder size, which helps conserve hard disk space. Once you compress the folder, you can still use it just as you normally would.

If multiple people use your computer, or if your computer is on a network and you are worried about someone looking at files in your folders, you can also encrypt folders so that no one can view what is inside except you. To you, the folders and files appear the same, but if anyone else tries to access them, he or she gets an Access Denied message.

Prevention:

• Compression and encryption are not compatible with each other. You can
• compress a folder or you can encrypt a folder, but you cannot do both. Also,
• compression and encryption only work on NTFS formatted drives—not FAT32.

If your hard drive is not formatted with NTFS, you can’t use compression or encryption. It should also be noted here that compressed folders are not the same as zipped folders, which can be compressed with the popular WinZip utility. WinZip works on either FAT or NTFS folders.

Solution:

To use compression or encryption on a folder, follow these steps:

1.  In the folder that you want to compress or encrypt, click File--> Properties.

Note: Encryption is not available on the Home Edition of XP. You’ll see the option listed, but it is grayed out.

2.  The properties pages appear. On the General tab--> click the Advanced button (if the Advanced button is not there, the folder is on a FAT32 drive. Compression and encryption are not available on FAT32 drives).

3.  Click the Compress Contents check box to compress the folder. If you want to encrypt the folder--> click the Encrypt Contents check box. Click OK and OK on the General tab. You can remove the compression or encryption at any time by returning to this window and removing the check from the box.

File Compression In Windows XP

Compressing files, folders, and programs decreases their size and reduces the amount of space they use on your volumes or removable storage devices. Volume compression decreases the amount of space that is used by all of the files and folders that are stored on that volume. Because of a potential loss of performance, you may not want to compress some files.

NTFS Compression:

This type of compression is available on volumes that use the NTFS file system, and NTFS compression has the following features and limitations:

1. You can use NTFS compression to compress individual files and folders, as well as an entire NTFS volume.

2. You can compress a folder without compressing its contents.

3. You can display NTFS-compressed file and folder names in a different color to make them easier to identify.

4. You may notice a decrease in performance when you work with NTFS-compressed files. When you open a compressed file, Windows automatically decompresses it for you, and when you close the file, Windows compresses it again. This process may decrease your computer performance.

5. NTFS-compressed files and folders only remain compressed while they are stored on an NTFS Volume.

6. You cannot encrypt an NTFS-compressed file.

How To Compress files or folders on NTFS Volume:

1. Click Start--> and then click My Computer.

2. Double-click the NTFS Volume that contains the folder or folders you want to compress.

3. Right-click the file or folder you want to compress, and then click Properties.

4. On the General tab--> click Advanced.

5. Click to select the Compress contents to save disk space check box--> and then click OK.

6. In the Properties dialog box--> click OK.

7. In Confirm Attribute Changes--> click the option you want.

Note: If you move or copy a file into a compressed folder, it is compressed automatically. If you move a file from a different NTFS Volume into a compressed folder, it is also compressed. However, if you move a file from the same NTFS Volume into a compressed folder, the file retains its original state, either compressed or uncompressed.

Display Compressed Files in Color:

You can change the display of files and folders that are compressed in Windows Explorer and My Computer, so it is easy to identify them.

To display compressed files in color:

1. Double-click Folder Options in Control Panel.

2. Click Start--> and then click Control Panel.

3. Click Appearance and Themes--> and then click Folder Options.

4. On the View tab--> click to select the Show encrypted or compressed NTFS files in color check box.