NTFS files and folders can be compressed using compact.exe command-line utility in Windows 2000 and later operating systems. It can also be accomplished by using the system drive option for compressing the drive in its properties section from My Computer. This saves your disk space. But for the reasons like inappropriate cluster size of the NTFS partition, you might fail to compress the drive. You cannot use the corresponding option or execute command-line compact utility. The solution requires you to reformat the disk using correct cluster size and restore data from backup. However if due to any reason, you find data backup inconsistent or incomplete to restore, you need to use a Data Recovery utility.

For example, the following error illustrates an error that you might encounter when trying to compact a G :\ drive:

Compressing files in G:\

Apps [ERR] Apps: The file system does not support compression.

0 files within 1 directories were compressed. 0 total bytes of data are stored in 0 bytes. The compression ratio is 1.0 to 1.

The error is encountered using Compact.exe command. The explorer option is unavailable in such situations.

Cause The error occurs while following set of situations:

The partition size is large The partition has been formatted using cluster size of more than 4,096 bytes in value. Compression fails as it doesn't support allocation units of more than 4k bytes

Solution

You should try the following sequence of steps to solve the issue:

Run CHKDSK to determine the allocation unit size If the cluster size comes out to be more than 4k, you need to reformat the drive for less value. For this, you can use Windows Explorer, FORMAT command-line utility or Disk Administrator to format and specify the cluster size Restore data from backup and try to compact the volume

A data backup might exist in invalid or corrupted state, which eventually prevents data from restoring. To deal with such problems, it is recommended to use an efficient Data Recovery Software. A Data Recovery utility proves to be suitable recovery application while maintaining data integrity. These are graphically rich Partition Recovery products.

Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery is a fully-fledged and reliable Data Recovery Software to provide complete recovery of lost data. It is compatible with Windows 7 RC1, Vista, XP, 2003 and 2000 operating systems. It is an advanced application providing features like Disk Cloning, Disk Imaging, Drive Status and RAW File Recovery.