How to Disable Compress Old Files in Disk Cleanup on Windows 11

Quick fix: The “Compress Old Files” option in Disk Cleanup is deprecated in modern Windows. To disable any residual behavior: open Registry Editor → navigate to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\VolumeCaches → find Compress old files subkey → delete or rename. Reboot. Disk Cleanup no longer offers this option.

“Compress old files” was a Disk Cleanup feature that compressed unused files to save space. It was problematic: slowed file access, broke some apps, made files harder to delete. Microsoft removed it years ago, but some legacy installs still show the option. Removing the registry key cleans it up.

What causes this

Disk Cleanup uses cleanup handlers registered in HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\VolumeCaches. Each subkey is one cleanup category. “Compress old files” was registered as one handler. It’s no longer maintained, but the registry entry remains on some upgrade paths from Windows 7/8/10. Removing the subkey hides the option.

Method 1: Remove via Registry

The standard route.

1. Open Registry Editor (Win+R, regedit). Run as Admin.
2. Navigate to:

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

3. Look for a subkey named Compress old files.
4. Right-click that subkey → Delete. Confirm.
5. Alternatively, to keep history: right-click → Rename → add “_disabled” suffix.
6. Close Registry Editor.
7. Reboot or restart Explorer.
8. Open Disk Cleanup (cleanmgr.exe). “Compress old files” no longer listed.
9. To restore: re-create the subkey or import a registry backup.

This is the standard cleanup.

Method 2: Decompress already-compressed files

For removing compression on files that got compressed previously.

1. NTFS compression is per-file/folder. To check and decompress:
2. Open Command Prompt (Admin).
3. List compressed files in C: drive:

   compact /S:C:\ /q

   Shows summary of compressed vs uncompressed files.

4. To decompress entire C: drive:

   compact /U /S:C:\ /a /i

   Decompresses all files. Takes time on large drives.

5. For specific folder: compact /U /S:"C:\Path\To\Folder".
6. Caution: decompressing increases disk usage. Ensure enough free space.
7. For unintentionally-compressed system files: Windows’s “Compact OS” is different and may be intentional. Don’t decompress those unless space is plentiful. compact /CompactOS:query shows status.
8. For checking if drive is set to compress new files: Drive Properties → General tab → untick “Compress this drive to save disk space.”

This handles existing compression.

Method 3: Use modern alternatives to compression

For modern space-saving.

1. Instead of NTFS compression: use modern features:
   • Storage Sense: auto-deletes temp/old files. Settings → System → Storage → Storage Sense.
   • OneDrive Files On-Demand: keeps files in cloud, only downloads when used. Settings → OneDrive → Sync and backup → Always keep on this device.
   • Compact OS: compresses Windows itself (not user files). compact /CompactOS:always. Use cautiously on small SSDs.
   • External storage: move large folders (Videos, Downloads) to D: or external SSD.
2. For per-file compression (legacy NTFS): consider modern alternatives like ZIP for archives. Better access patterns.
3. For images: convert PNG to JPEG/WebP for size savings (lossy but smaller).
4. For videos: re-encode to HEVC/AV1 for 50%+ savings vs older codecs.
5. For documents: PDFs already compressed. Don’t double-compress.
6. For backups: use Borg, Restic, Duplicacy for deduplication + compression. Much better than NTFS compression.

This is the right path for storage savings.

How to verify the fix worked

• Disk Cleanup (cleanmgr.exe) shows item list without “Compress old files.”
• Registry editor shows VolumeCaches without the subkey.
• Existing files retain their compression state (no change to data).

If none of these work

If option persists: Per-user vs per-machine: also check HKCU path. Permission issue: must run regedit as Admin. Group Policy reinstating: corporate-managed PCs may have GPO that creates registry. Check via gpresult /h. For Server editions: VolumeCaches structure may differ. For Windows 11 21H2 vs later: option may already be absent. Check Disk Cleanup first; if not visible, no action needed. For ARM Windows: similar setup to x64. For chronic compression issues: disable NTFS compression at drive level — right-click drive → Properties → untick “Compress this drive.”

Bottom line: Delete HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\VolumeCaches\Compress old files subkey in Registry Editor. Use compact /U to decompress previously-compressed files. Modern alternatives: Storage Sense, OneDrive Files On-Demand, Compact OS.