On Thu, 06 Sep 2007 15:35:59 GMT, frank1492 <frank1492@verizon.net>
wrote:

> I have an old Dell Inspiron laptop with a 20GB hard drive. Since
> installing SP2, I only have about 700M left. I was thinking of
> compressing the files to save space which is a "check box"
> option in XP.

> (1) Does compression involve *any* data loss
> risk?


Certainly.


> (2) Overall, what are the advantages/disadvantages?


Advantages: only one--less disk space used.

Disadvantages: Increased risk, possible decrease in performance
(especially on an older computer).


> (3) Any good free programs that can help me make the
> decision of what files I can safely delete?
> As usual. thanks very much for your advice!


Anything you do will at best be a stopgap measure. For almost
everyone, these days a 20GB drive is insufficient. Unless your use of
this computer is minimal, my advice is to bite the bullet and buy a
larger drive (or perhaps even a newer computer).

--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User
Please Reply to the Newsgroup