NTFS (New Technology File System) is a proprietary journaling file system developed by Microsoft. Starting with Windows NT 3.1, it is the default file system of the Windows NT family. Windows 11/10 supports compression for individual files and folders on NTFS volumes using NTFS compression. In this post, we will show you how to enable or disable NTFS File Compression in Windows 11/10.

Enable or Disable NTFS File Compression

We can enable or disable NTFS File Compression in Windows 11/10 in 3 quick and easy ways viz;

Via Command Prompt
Via Local Group Policy Editor
Via Registry Editor

Let’s take a look at the description of the step-by-step process in relation to each of the methods.

While NTFS file system compression can save disk space, compressing data can adversely affect performance.

Outlined below is the NTFS compression performance characteristics:

When you copy or move a compressed NTFS file to a different folder, NTFS decompresses the file, copies or moves the file to the new location, and then recompresses the file.
Compressed files are also expanded before copying over the network, so NTFS compression does not save network bandwidth.
Files or folders saved into an existing compressed folder will automatically be compressed.
If you disable NTFS file compression, any currently compressed files will still remain compressed. You will also still be able to uncompress any currently compressed files, but you will not be able to compress them again until NTFS compression is enabled.

1] Enable or Disable NTFS File Compression via Command Prompt

To enable or disable NTFS File Compression via Command Prompt, do the following:

Press Windows key + R to invoke the Run dialog.
In the Run dialog box, type cmd and then press CTRL + SHIFT + ENTER to open Command Prompt in admin mode.
In the command prompt window, type the command below and hit Enter.

To enable:

fsutil behavior set disablecompression 0

To disable:

fsutil behavior set disablecompression 1

Exit Command Prompt.
Restart computer.

2] Turn On or Off NTFS File Compression via Local Group Policy Editor

To enable or disable NTFS File Compression via Local Group Policy Editor, do the following:

Press Windows key + R to invoke the Run dialog.
In the Run dialog box type gpedit.msc and hit Enter to open Group Policy Editor.
Inside the Local Group Policy Editor, use the left pane to navigate to the path below:

Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\System\Filesystem\NTFS

On the right pane, double-click on Do not allow compression on all NTFS volumes policy to edit its properties.
In the policy window, set the radio button to Not Configured or Disabled to enable NTFS File Compression.
To disable, set the radio button to Enabled.
Click Apply > OK to save the changes.
Exit Local Group Policy Editor.
Restart computer.

For Windows 10 Home users, you can add the Local Group Policy Editor feature and then carry out the instructions as provided above or you can do the registry method below.

3] Enable or Disable NTFS File Compression via Registry Editor

To enable or disable NTFS File Compression via Registry Editor, do the following:

Since this is a registry operation, it is recommended that you back up the registry or create a system restore point as necessary precautionary measures. Once done, you can proceed as follows:

Press Windows key + R to invoke the Run dialog.
In the Run dialog box, type regedit and hit Enter to open Registry Editor.
Navigate or jump to the registry key path below:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Policies

At the location, right-click on the blank space on the right pane and then select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
Rename the value name as NtfsDisableCompression and hit Enter.
Double-click on the new entry to edit its properties.
Input 1 in the Value data field to disable, or input 0 to enable.
Click OK to save the change.
Exit Registry Editor.
Restart computer.

That’s it!