Retrieve Compressed NTFS Files: Recovery Guide

Recovering compressed NTFS files can be challenging, but with the right tips and techniques, it’s possible! In this article, we share essential insights for restoring compressed NTFS files, helping you regain access to your valuable data. Whether your files are compressed for storage efficiency or other reasons, we’ve got you covered. Unpack the secrets of recovering compressed NTFS files!

Retrieve Compressed NTFS Files: Recovery Guide

NTFS File Compression

On-the-fly compression was new to NTFS, allowing users to trade off some extra disk space for a little performance without sacrificing convenience. The fully transparent compression shrinks files, folders or entire disks, allowing to use disk space more effectively. Doing it is extremely easy – just select a file, the “My Documents” folder, your desktop or a disk, and set a corresponding flag in the extended attributes dialog.

Unfortunately, data recovery tools unaware of the specific compression algorithms used in NTFS encryption will lose much of their functionality when accessing the disk in low-level mode. Low-level access will return compressed binary stream instead of the content of actual files, effectively rendering signature-search algorithms completely useless. Data recovery tools unaware of NTFS compression will fail to recover compressed files in a case the file system is broken.

File attributes

Recovering NTFS Compressed Files

The issue of recovering NTFS-compressed files is complicated enough to make it worthy of a scientific research. Korean researchers Byeongyeong Yoo, Jungheum Park, Sungsu Lim, Jewan Bang and Sangjin Lee published several whitepapers such as “A study on multimedia file carving method” exploring this very issue. While their research mostly refers to forensic investigations, they developed a file carving algorithm using a variation of signature-search method widely employed in data recovery. According to the researchers, their “…file carving(algorithm) recovers files using the inherent header and footer in files or the entire file size determined in the file header”.

Re-creating the very complex algorithms implemented by Microsoft in the NTFS in order to gain binary, raw-mode access to compressed files is extremely complicated. For this reason, whatever support there is for compressed NTFS files is currently only available in certain high-end and very expensive digital forensic tools.

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Tools and Limitations

Does it mean that compressed NTFS files cannot be recovered? Absolutely not! The better NTFS recovery tools will correctly process the compressed files. However, the recovery of NTFS-compressed files carries a number of restrictions and limitations, making the ability of a given tool to recover a given file under given circumstances a case-by-case issue.

NTFS Recovery™ 4.9
The program for recovering data from NTFS after formatting partition or deleting files.
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NTFS recovery tools such as Hetman NTFS Recovery will be able to access and recover compressed files under certain conditions. Hetman NTFS Recovery will use Windows API to access the compressed files (as opposed to direct disk access when reading the disk in raw mode). Thus the recovery of compressed files will depend on whether or not the disk API is still able to read the file. For example, undeleting compressed files located on a healthy disk is no different to undeleting any other type of file. Recovering NTFS-compressed files from formatted NTFS disks is generally not a problem. However, if the file system is badly damaged, the chances of correctly recovering NTFS-compressed files are lower than those for non-compressed ones. It’s always worth a try to see if your files in your situation are actually recoverable.

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Oleg Afonin

Author: , Technical Writer

Oleg Afonin is an expert in mobile forensics, data recovery and computer systems. He often attends large data security conferences, and writes several blogs for such resources as xaker.ru, Elcomsoft and Habr. In addition to his online activities, Oleg’s articles are also published in professional magazines. Also, Oleg Afonin is the co-author of a well-known book, Mobile Forensics - Advanced Investigative Strategies.

Vladimir Artiukh

Editor: , Technical Writer

Vladimir Artiukh is a technical writer for Hetman Software, as well as the voice and face of their English-speaking YouTube channel, Hetman Software: Data Recovery for Windows. He handles tutorials, how-tos, and detailed reviews on how the company’s tools work with all kinds of data storage devices.

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Questions and answers

  • What is NTFS compression?

    NTFS compression is a feature of the Windows NTFS file system that allows users to compress files and folders in order to save disk space. When a file or folder is compressed, it takes up less space on the disk, allowing for more data to be stored. Compressed files can be opened and edited just like any other file, and the compression is transparent to the user.

  • How does NTFS compression work?

    NTFS compression works by compressing files and folders on an NTFS file system. It does this by taking advantage of the fact that many files contain redundant data, which can be compressed to take up less space. The compression algorithm used is a variant of the Lempel-Ziv-Welch (LZW) algorithm. When a file is compressed, the redundant data is replaced with smaller tokens, which are stored in a lookup table. When the file is decompressed, the tokens are replaced with the original data. This process reduces the amount of space required to store the file.

  • What are the benefits of using NTFS compression?
    • Increased Storage Space: NTFS compression can help reduce the amount of disk space needed to store files and folders, allowing you to store more data on the same hard drive.
    • Improved Performance: Compressing files can also improve system performance, as it reduces the amount of data that needs to be read from the disk.
    • Enhanced Security: Compressing files can also help improve security, as it makes it more difficult for malicious software to access the data stored in the compressed files.
    • Enhanced Mobility: Compressed files are smaller and easier to transfer, making them ideal for sharing files over the Internet or via removable media.
  • What are the risks associated with NTFS compression?
    • Performance: Compressing and decompressing files can take a significant amount of time, especially if the files are large. This can cause a noticeable decrease in system performance.
    • Data Loss: NTFS compression can lead to data loss if the files become corrupted or the hard drive fails.
    • Security: Compressed files can be more vulnerable to malicious attacks, since the compressed format may make them easier to access.
    • Compatibility: Some applications may not be able to read compressed files, or may experience errors when trying to open them.
  • Can compressed NTFS files be recovered?

    Yes, compressed NTFS files can be recovered. There are a variety of data recovery tools available that can help recover deleted or lost files from a NTFS file system. These tools can scan the drive and attempt to locate and recover any deleted or lost files.

Comments (13)

  • Charles
    Charles 6.12.2020 18:45 #
    HELP Please I cannot restore data of DSK file after save disk feature with compress contents the partitions are locked inside .dsk files and cannot be mount to Hetman app or any other apps
    Reply
  • Angel
    Angel 6.07.2016 16:33 #
    Thank you! Hetman NTFS Recovery really saved me. These data have been accidentally deleted by my wife. You need to put a password on your computer so that only you have access to the files. I already know how to get out of the situation if I'll accidentally delete something. By the way I have a laptop on Linux. I hope you will release your software for Unix systems.
    Reply
  • George Carling
    George Carling 29.10.2012 22:40 #
    Are there any precautions that should be taken when attempting to recover compressed NTFS files?
    Reply
    • Hetman Software
      Hetman Software 29.10.2012 22:59 #

      Yes, there are several precautions that should be taken when attempting to recover compressed NTFS files.

      • Make sure to back up the original files before attempting recovery.
      • Use a reliable data recovery software to ensure the integrity of the recovered files.
      • Be careful not to overwrite the original files during the recovery process.
      • Make sure to use a secure connection when transferring the recovered files to another computer.
      • Make sure to store the recovered files in a secure location.
      Reply
  • Dexter Thornhill
    Dexter Thornhill 29.10.2012 20:43 #
    What are some recommended third-party software tools for recovering compressed NTFS files?
    Reply
    • Hetman Software
      Hetman Software 29.10.2012 21:06 #
      • Disk Drill
      • EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard
      • Recuva
      • Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery
      • MiniTool Power Data Recovery
      • Puran File Recovery
      • Active File Recovery
      • TestDisk
      • PC Inspector File Recovery
      • Glary Undelete
      Reply
  • Nicodemus Maidment
    Nicodemus Maidment 29.10.2012 18:39 #
    Is it possible to recover compressed NTFS files using third-party software?
    Reply
    • Hetman Software
      Hetman Software 29.10.2012 18:55 #
      Yes, it is possible to recover compressed NTFS files using third-party software. There are a variety of data recovery programs available that can help you recover compressed NTFS files. These programs use sophisticated algorithms to scan the hard drive and recover lost or damaged files.
      Reply
  • Stan Mullies
    Stan Mullies 29.10.2012 15:33 #
    What are the steps to recover compressed NTFS files?
    Reply
    • Hetman Software
      Hetman Software 29.10.2012 15:58 #
      • Connect the storage device containing the compressed NTFS files to your computer.
      • Download and install a reliable data recovery software tool.
      • Run the software and select the location of the storage device containing the compressed NTFS files.
      • Scan the storage device to detect the compressed NTFS files.
      • Preview the files to ensure that the correct files are being recovered.
      • Select the files you want to recover and click on “Recover”.
      • Save the recovered files to a safe location on your computer or an external storage device.
      Reply
  • Harry Wadeson
    Harry Wadeson 29.10.2012 13:18 #
    What are the common causes of compressed NTFS file loss?
    Reply
    • Hetman Software
      Hetman Software 29.10.2012 13:54 #
      • Accidental deletion
      • Virus or malware attack
      • Unexpected system shutdown
      • Bad sectors on the hard drive
      • Power outages
      • Software corruption
      • Improper system shutdown
      • Hard drive formatting
      • Hard drive corruption
      Reply
  • Hetman Software: Data Recovery
    Hetman Software: Data Recovery 27.04.2018 10:38 #
    Read about recovering compressed NTFS files. If you do have any questions, don't hesitate to contact our technical support service - we will be happy to help you.
    Reply
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