does cleaning compress files delete them?

[leepalao]

I tend to use windows xp's disk cleanup a lot to save space. One thing I'm not sure about is the compress files section. If i'm correct, the files are just compress so it's smaller..right? In that case, when I clean up (delete) the compress files, does it actually delete the file itself? Cause, I was thinking that if it doesn't delete the file, then the compress file must be a duplicate file of the original, which make it seems like adding more space. Does anyone know if it's safe to clean up the compress files?

[cuffs007]

howdy

got this from: http://www.theeldergeek.com/disk_cleanup_utility.htm

"Compress Old Files doesn't delete any files from the drive. It compresses files that Windows hasn't accessed for a specified period of time. The files are still available, but there will be a slight increase in access times because the files will be decompressed the next time they are accessed."

hope that answers the question for ya!