My disc space was recently running low and a Windows "pop-up" suggested that I run Disk Cleanup. I ran it as I usually do, but then I noticed that it was compressing old files - I never have this box checked so it must have checked it by itself! My question is this - I cancelled Disk Cleanup before it went too far, but how do I tell if it compressed any files and how can I tell which ones it compressed? Is there a way to search for them? Or is this nothing to worry about...
I'm not sure how or if you could find which files were compressed but, it is nothing to worry about. It's similar to "moving file..." when defragmenting. Mostly what is being compressed are temporary files and Windows Disk Cleanup doesn't do a good job of cleaning these unecessary files. It's cleaning is very limited. I'd recommend these free cleaning programs, especially since you are recieving the popup.
If you are getting that dreaded pop up, that means you have really limited free disk space left, if I was you I'd go a step further.
The apps Niobis listed for you will do a great job of removing unnessecary "waste" from your computer, though you'll probably need more than that..
*Disable and Re-enable System Restore
WindowsXP
Disabling the System Restore Utility (Windows XP Users)
1. Right click the My Computer icon on the Desktop and click on Properties.
2. Click on the System Restore tab.
3. Put a check mark next to 'Turn off System Restore on All Drives'.
4. Click the 'OK' button.
5. You will be prompted to restart the computer. Click Yes.
Note: To re-enable the Restore Utility, follow steps one to five and on step three remove the check mark next to 'Turn off System Restore on All Drives'.
*Uninstall un needed programs in Add Or Remove programs (via Controll pannel)
@pjcarr and Niobis: Compressed files show up with a blue file name in explorer. Thats how you know they are compressed. Once you open the file they are uncompressed on the fly. Using the file compression from the disk cleanup wizard is not a bad thing. It really wont hurt performance at all. Its only going to compress files that havent been used in a long time, so odds are you are not going to be using them any time soon.
