NTFS compression is available for NTFS volumes and I would like to make use of it. What should I expect from NTFS compression ? I find it impressive that all it takes is a few clicks to compress an entire NTFS volume. NTFS compression will be seamless from the end user perspective, meaning all directories and files are automatically compressed at the time of creation. Whenever a file is requested it will be automatically decompressed and compressed once the file is closed.
The basic rule when using NTFS compression is not to compressed the System Volume, compressing the System Volume will result in a noticeable performance drop due to the operating system having to decompress the system files every time they are needed. My Take: With the drop in storage costs, NTFS compression should be considered a solution of last resort. While the prospect of gaining storage space by compressing the volume may seem enticing, some performance problems may appear down the road.