UN-compressing files in XP Pro

[cutie_pyie]

Hi Guys (and other Gals),

I went to compress OLD files only on my (Media Center Edition 2005) PC and when it was done it told me that some operating system files were replaced with older versions, did I really want to do this? It asked me to insert the Windows CD, of course being a Dell PC - I didn't have an OS CD, so I finally accepted the option to accept the replacement of the files. I don't know why this error message came up!! The PC was NOT connected to the internet and only thing ON the PC is the OS! I rebooted the system & all seems ok so far.

Has anyone else ever had an error like this while compressing files??

And should I really be concerned about whatever files got replaced?

Anyway, just to undo the compression, in case that had something to do with the error message, I tried the following from a command prompt:

1.) compact /u /s:c:\windows

worked -- but only for files in main Windows directory!

2.) compact /u /s: c:\windows\*.*

I got the following err message ---- C:\Windows\*.*: file name, directory name or vol label is incorrect.

3.) compact /u /s: c:\windows *.* Left out the backslash before *.*

worked -- but only for files in Windows directory!

4.) compact /u /s

Only worked for directory I was in!

How do I format the "compact" command to UN-compact all folders, subfolders, and files on "C" without having to do each & every directory and subdirectory individually??

I have looked up and read about the "compact" command and its' parameters but can not get it to work on anything other than 1 directory at a time.

What am I missing in using the command??? Or does it NOT work that way, which I find hard to believe?

Thanks as always!

CP

[allen2]

Did you tried compact /u /s c:\windows\* ?

[Takeshi]

It is possible that during the process of compression, those Windows files normally protected by WFP were included.

It strikes me that it's never a good idea to compress OS files.

[Andromeda43]

It is possible that during the process of compression, those Windows files normally protected by WFP were included.

It strikes me that it's never a good idea to compress OS files.

Correct.....absolutely correct!!!!!!

When you don't know history, you're bound to repeat it.

(that's a very famous quote....sorry I don't remember who said it.)

Compressing any file on a computer has always been problematical.

In Disk Cleanup, the experts recommendation has always been to turn off the file compression thingy.

Here's a little registry tweak to turn it off.

***************************************************************

Hanging of Disk Cleanup

Hanging of Disk Cleanup during compression is a known problem with Windows XP. To solve it, you must edit the Registry.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ VolumeCaches

Under VolumeCaches is "Compress Old Files". Click it once to highlight,then click the Del button. Close the Registry editor. Disk Cleanup should no longer hang. Temporary files can also cause Disk Cleanup to hang. If the previous change does not solve your problem, try this.

Click Start>>Run. Enter "%temp%" (without the quotes) in the box. Click OK. The Temp folder will open. In the Edit menu, click Select All. Press the Del key and click Yes to confirm the deletions. That will send everything to the Recycle Bin. Next, click Start >> Control Panel. Double-click "Internet Options" On the General tab, click Delete Files. Select "Delete all offline content." Click OK. This could take a while. Disk cleanup gets rid of temporary files, old applications you no longer use and Internet cache files. It asks before any of these are deleted.

***********************************************************************

I automaticly install this tweak for all my customers using Windows XP, before I ever run Disk Cleanup to remove junk files from their computer.

Good Luck and have a great day now, Y'hear?

Andromeda43 B)

[Takeshi]

4.) compact /u /s

Only worked for directory I was in!

Trying cd to WINDOWS first. Don't know if adding the /A would help.

Since you want to uncompress all of C, you can probably do it in the GUI.

R click C > Properties,

untick the box

[ ] Compress drive to save...

Your DELL PC didn't come with OS CD, whether it's XP Pro (it should) or MCE (don't know about that)?