Files That Are Wasting Space on Your PC Without You Realizing

Uncompressed files can silently take up gigabytes of space on your Windows PC—slowing things down and cluttering up your drive without you even realizing it. Luckily, you can easily compress files to save space without having to delete anything.

Table of Contents

• Uncompressed files can take up a lot of storage space on your PC.
• These are the files you should compress!
• How to compress files using Windows built-in tools
  • Compress NTFS files
  • Create ZIP file
• Third-party compression tools worth trying
• Don't compress the wrong files!

Uncompressed files can take up a lot of storage space on your PC.

Most of us don't think much about the trove of files we store on our PCs. However, over time, those files can build up and eventually you may find yourself facing a warning message about your PC being low on storage space.

This is really annoying, and even if you practice saving storage space on your PC, you will probably find that files are taking up more space than they should. Luckily, Windows has an easy fix for this problem.

Most people probably have never thought about using the file compression system that comes with Windows, and why would you? After all, you need those files and don't want to create any obstacles when using those files when needed.

But file compression doesn't have to be a hindrance in your path. In fact, file compression can make your files easier to access while saving storage space.

These are the files you should compress!

Of course, you don't need to compress everything on your computer. In fact, compressing files you use every day can actually slow things down a bit because Windows has to decompress them every time you open them.

Instead, you want to focus on large, infrequently accessed files. Good examples include:

• Old project folders from work or school
• Large text files such as diaries or spreadsheets
• Store photos and videos you're not editing
• Installation packages that you ran but don't want to delete
• Backups or exported data that you retain for safekeeping

Also, keep in mind that some file types—like JPEGs , MP4s , and PDFs —are compressed by design. You can still compress them into archives for organization or sharing, but the space savings may be small.

How to compress files using Windows built-in tools

Windows provides two easy ways to compress files, and you don't need to install anything extra.

Compress NTFS files

This method works right inside File Explorer and compresses files immediately. This means you can still open and use them without having to manually unzip them.

Here's how to compress NTFS files:

1. Right-click the file or folder and select Properties .
2. Click the Advanced button under the General tab .
3. Check the box that says Compress contents to save disk space .
4. Click OK , then select Apply .

Windows will automatically compress the selected files or folders. You'll still see and open them as usual, but they'll take up less space on your drive. If you find that accessing those files is much slower, you can turn off compression by following the same steps above and unchecking the Compress contents to save disk space option .

Create ZIP file

Compressing files into an archive is another convenient way to compress files. This is often used for long-term file storage - like backups - or for sharing files with others.

To add files to a zip archive using Windows built-in tools:

1. Right click on the file or folder.
2. Select Send to > Compressed (zipped) folder .
3. Windows will create a .zip file in the same location as the original file.

You can unzip the file later by double-clicking on it and extracting the file contents anywhere on your PC.

Third-party compression tools worth trying

If you want better compression or more control over file compression formats, there are some great third-party tools.

7-Zip is the most recommended compression tool because it is completely free. It supports many formats, such as 7z , ZIP , and TAR , and has some of the best compression ratios of any of these programs. Overall, it is the best way to compress files in Windows.

PeaZip is another free option that has a clean, easy-to-use interface and a variety of formatting options. If you want to store your data and files with a little more security, you can also take advantage of the encryption features. These encryption features are especially great if you want to follow these tips for keeping your data safe.

WinRAR is another great compression tool, and while it's still recommended by many, both 7-Zip and PeaZip do a better job. Plus, while WinRAR's free trial technically never expires—you can keep using the program virtually indefinitely—you'll get pop-ups about purchasing a full license after the trial ends.

Any of these tools are great to use when you're compressing large folders or want to apply strong encryption to archives that Windows doesn't provide by default.

Don't compress the wrong files!

It's best to know which files are taking up the most space on your Windows PC before you start compressing any of them. That way, you can focus your work on the files that are taking up the most space.

Additionally, there are many files that you may want to avoid compressing for whatever reason. These include system files, important files that you access daily or frequently, and working projects that you don't need to back up or share at this time.

Compressing files in use will require you to decompress them when you use them again, which will slow down your workflow exponentially.