Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but it doesn't seem to me that the author
answers the question about whether it's a good idea to let Disk Cleanup
remove the Compress Old Files.
If you open Disk Cleanup and click the "compress old files" option, you'll
see from the description that files are not deleted when that option is
checked. Instead, selecting this box and clicking OK will compress files
that qualify as "old" (defined using the Options button).
Tough call when asked for advice about compressing.
On the up side: Compressed files take up less space on the disk. They will
only be compressed while residing on the NTFS disk. A file copied to other
media will be in "normal" form instead of compressed. There could be a
slight hit in performance accessing the files - they have to be
uncompressed to memory - but if you rarely access them that shouldn't be a
problem.
Down side: If you've ever had a bad experience with compression in Windows
before, this is something you would shy away from. Loss of data is never
pleasant.
Personally, I don't use the option to compress files. Not that I've had a
bad experience. I'm just not a fan of compression. If I need more space,
I'll find other methods of resolving that problem.
