A video worth knowing

Linus Tech Tips tests the Windows-folder compression shortcut

A Reddit storage mishap leads Linus Sebastian through an important distinction: archiving Windows is not the same as letting Windows compress itself.

Channel:

Linus Tech Tips Story of October 26, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? 1,193,115 views so far, and here is what is inside it.

Hard Drives are Expensive...What if I Compress my Windows folder instead?

Things we can learn from the video

Press to jump

0:53WinRAR encounters locked Windows files; deleting archived originals can leave the operating system unable to function.
2:20Small files can leave unused space within disk allocation units, helping explain the appeal of early storage-saving techniques.
5:25Stacker, DoubleSpace and DriveSpace offered whole-disk compression when storage space was much more expensive.
6:48Windows includes Compact OS, a system-file compression tool distinct from archiving the Windows folder with WinRAR.
8:52Lossless compression preserves exact information; lossy compression discards information to reduce media file sizes.
10:05Sebastian concludes that modern storage capacities make operating-system compression largely unnecessary.

Linus Sebastian starts with a computer user's predicament: they compressed their C: drive with WinRAR to save space, then wanted to know how to unzip it from the BIOS. Linus Tech Tips tries the Windows-folder version of that idea, and immediately runs into locked system files.

The dangerous part is deleting the originals after archiving them. Packing files into an archive doesn't leave Windows able to use them where it expects to find them. Saving space that way can cost you a working operating system.

But the underlying idea isn't as absurd as the Reddit post makes it sound. Sebastian traces a period when whole-disk compression programs, including Stacker, DoubleSpace and DriveSpace, helped squeeze more usable storage out of expensive drives. Before that, he explains how small files could leave unused space inside the disk's allocation units.

The answer to the title's question arrives around seven minutes in: Windows 10 and 11 have a built-in tool called Compact OS for compressing system files. That's a different proposition from putting the Windows folder into a WinRAR archive.

Sebastian also separates lossless compression, which preserves the exact information software needs, from lossy compression used for media. Many familiar photos, songs and videos are already compressed, leaving less room for another dramatic reduction. His conclusion is that operating-system compression has historical roots and legitimate tools, but offers limited value with modern storage capacities.

Among the viewer responses are requests for an explanation of NTFS compression, another Windows option, and a small moment of recognition about why file properties distinguish "size" from "size on disk."

Published on Trari

Where next?

Also in Technology reviews and gadgetsVideo taking off 10x its usual first dayTech Spurt tests Motorola Signature 27 in Tromsø's short daylightChris Barraclough's launch-trip vlog puts the phone behind the camera, with a battery check before dinner.Channel: Tech Spurt · Story of November 11, 2026

A different discovery todayVideo taking off 49x its usual first dayWomen in ITV's Power and Silence say David Walliams pursued them as teenagersTwo of the women were 15 when they met him. Walliams denies all wrongdoing, saying in a statement: "I am not a sexual predator".Channel: ITV News · Story of November 11, 2026

What viewers say

So thats why windows says "size on disk"
@jit_xSee it on YouTube
Surprised you didn't talk about the NTFS compression option
@EmpyreanFirmamentSee it on YouTube
There are only 2 filetypes: ZIP and TXT
@ChrisLincolnSee it on YouTube

1 more comment

My rule of thumb I give for the non-tech savvy is that if an idea you read from some rando on the internet seems simple and makes you ask “why aren’t we all just doing [x]?” Then it’s probably something that either breaks something else,or is already being done behind the scenes, completely transparent to the user.
@cheeseisgreat24See it on YouTube

Public comments from the video's page on YouTube