Is this safe?

[WackySpace]

So I had a brain fart. Here is an example. The user folder has 121gb of data and I only have a 128gb flash drive to copy over the data after changing permissions to everyone, but it won't all fit. I have to save it all at once because I'm going to do a clean install afterwards. Is it safe to use winrar or 7zip to make a rar or zip file(to make it all fit) and extract it after windows install and copy it over to the user folder? 

 

Or will the files be messed up?

[Needfuldoer]

1 minute ago, WackySpace said:

So I had a brain fart. Here is an example. The user folder has 121gb of data and I only have a 128gb flash drive to copy over the data after changing permissions to everyone, but it won't all fit. I have to save it all at once because I'm going to do a clean install afterwards. Is it safe to use winrar or 7zip to make a rar or zip file(to make it all fit) and extract it after windows install and copy it over to the user folder? 

 

Or will the files be messed up?

The whole point of a zip or rar archive is to compress files losslessly. After they're compressed, they can be decompressed without degradation. However, you won't gain much space from files that are already compressed, like photos and video files. 

 

I'd recommend getting a bigger drive, or a second drive, so you don't have to worry about space. You can also delete things that are easy to re-download, like software installers.

 

Usually if I'm refreshing a PC for someone, I recommend they get a new boot drive. That way I get a blank drive to install their OS onto with no risk of losing their data, and they get to reuse their old boot drive as their new backup drive.

[WackySpace]

6 minutes ago, Needfuldoer said:

The whole point of a zip or rar archive is to compress files losslessly. After they're compressed, they can be decompressed without degradation. However, you won't gain much space from files that are already compressed, like photos and video files. 

 

I'd recommend getting a bigger drive, or a second drive, so you don't have to worry about space. You can also delete things that are easy to re-download, like software installers.

 

Usually if I'm refreshing a PC for someone, I recommend they get a new boot drive. That way I get a blank drive to install their OS onto with no risk of losing their data, and they get to reuse their old boot drive as their new backup drive.

Alright, I do have another drive, I'll just copy the download or desktop folder so it will all be copied over. It was just a thought experiment for me.

[Eigenvektor]

14 minutes ago, WackySpace said:

Is it safe to use winrar or 7zip to make a rar or zip file(to make it all fit) and extract it after windows install and copy it over to the user folder?

If you do compress, use .rar or .7z, they compress a lot better than .zip

 

But yeah, get a larger drive. Storage prices were the lowest they've ever been and will soon be in the upswing again (if they aren't already)