Disk Cleanup - Should I Delete - Compress Old Files?

[mijremlap]

I'm trying to squeeze out a little more space on my laptop running Windows2000 Pro.

Running Disk Cleanup, I've noticed that the item in the Files to delete: list - Compress old files is unchecked and this item has approximately 1.5 GB of space associated with it. :Q

What kind of issues will I be facing if I delete these files?

TIA

-mij

 

[Green Man]

If you check the box, it's not going to delete any files...it's going to compress files that you don't access frequently.
The price you pay is increased time to access the files, because they will have to be decompressed anytime you do.
The 1.5GB is just an estimate of how much space will be freed. It depends on how well the files compress (e.g. MP3's don't compress well at all, and actually may take up more space when compressed).

 

[mijremlap]

I get it.

I don't have much "entertainment data" on my system, so let me ask -

What files would get compressed and do they become uncompressed?

If I start using them with more frequency or do they stay compressed "forever"?

What is the criteria for determining if the files are old enough to be compressed?

Regards,