14 DAY TRIAL // The Windows 10 Technical Preview 9879 build that was released last month brings some improvements in terms of usability and looks, but also a number of subtle additions that are less obvious at the first glance.
Such an improvement is the introduction of a new option called “System Compression” for the Disk Cleanup tool, which should basically help you free up more space on your computer by compressing Windows binaries and program files.
Only little information is available at this point and Microsoft doesn't provide a help file for this new feature, but everyone can give it a try if they're running Windows 10 Technical Preview build 9879 on their computers.
There's no doubt that such a feature comes in really handy on devices with limited storage, such as tablets, where manufacturers usually offer 16 or 32 GB of storage space, with the possibility to add more with a microSD card.
How to use it
System compression is available via Disk Cleanup, so in order to reach this feature and launch it, here's what you need to do. First of all, click on the Start menu and type:
Once you launch Disk Cleanup, there should be an option called “System compression” which shows you the total amount of space you gain if you perform a cleaning task.
At this point, it's not yet clear how this feature works, but it's most likely based on the built-in NTFS compression system to free up more space on the local drives.
Also available in Windows XP
What's really interesting is that this particular feature was already available in Windows XP many years ago, but was removed by the software giant in Windows Vista for an unknown reason.
Obviously, Microsoft is looking at previous Windows versions to improve the upcoming Windows 10 and bring more features that could help users keep things organized on their PCs.
Windows 10 is projected to see daylight in spring 2015, according to people close to the matter, and until early next year, no other updates for the current Technical Preview builds would be released. Microsoft says that consumer feedback is playing a decisive role in the development of Windows 10, so make sure you reach out to the company to let them know what you want.
