Blue writing in plugins folder

[jglei701 8]

I'm not sure if this is a "bug" persay... but I have discovered (well, they've been there for a while) several (more than 5, less than 15) files in my plugins folder that show up in blue text instead of black.  I've never seen this before... has anyone else?  Is there something wrong with the files?  They are the normal format ( desc, lot, model, etc)..... they're just blue.  Anybody know if this is a problem... and if it needs/can be fixed, or if it's just an interesting quirk that applies just to my machine?

Any help you can give would... well... help :-)

[prince_of_sims 0]

you're probably using Windows XP, in which case you're probably using a NTFS formatted Hard Drive. NTFS allows for file compression, and by default compressed files appear in blue. it doesn't damage the data in any way whatsoever, it's a just a way of saving disk space

[jglei701 8]

Cool, thanks. Will these files still be usable by SC4 in their compressed form?

[tchaos713 5]

They should be. Windows uncompresses files as they are used on the fly. However, this is rather processor intensive, so to see better in-game performance, I would opt to keep those files uncompressed.

[prince_of_sims 0]

here's something else i've noticed. while windows may say it actually saves you disk space by using NTFS, it creates something called a Master File Table (MFT) to store locationary data on EVERY file on the system. the more files on your system, the bigger your MFT gets. the bigger your MFT gets, the more fragmented it gets. the more fragmented it gets, the slower windows performs. not to mention the MFT eats up a huge chunk of hard drive space (it's a percent of total hard drive space)

[Xielos 0]

My entire C drive is blue......should I be worried?

[jglei701 8]

First, how would I go about uncompressing them (I didn't manually compress them to begin with). Second, do I have another option to keep this from happening, or would it be more trouble than it's worth...? If I did (or have to) keep it, is there any way to speed up the system? I haven't run my defragmenter in a while, perhaps I need to do that? I really don't know (obviously) a whole lot about this kind of stuff.

EDIT:  Found how to decompress them just by messing around with my system.  Thanks for your help!  If you have any other words of wisdom that might help me speed up my system (other than some of the obvious...)  I've been experimenting with cutting down how many folders are nested inside another...  BSC has created the mega prop files so the system doesn't have to spend time opening and closing the documents... in theory, this might be the same with folders, so I'm cutting down my nested folders as much as possible.

[Constantina 5]

Also, make sure all the vital system files are uncompressed. I found a computer that failed to start up because on of the vital system file, NTLDR was compressed.

[A Nonny Moose 8,263]

Originally posted by: prince_of_sims here's something else i've noticed. while windows may say it actually saves you disk space by using NTFS, it creates something called a Master File Table (MFT) to store locationary data on EVERY file on the system. the more files on your system, the bigger your MFT gets. the bigger your MFT gets, the more fragmented it gets. the more fragmented it gets, the slower windows performs. not to mention the MFT eats up a huge chunk of hard drive space (it's a percent of total hard drive space)quote>

I think  you will find that if you schedule an off-line defragmentation one of the options is to defragment the MFT.  If not, consider getting Diskkeeper, because it can do this.  My MFT's were a mess, but are all in one piece on each drive now.

You need to run a defragmentation program once a week.  The saves for SC4's enormous city files will generate many extents.

[prince_of_sims 0]

yup, i've got Diskeeper. but guess what? i spent three days getting my data out of a failed hard drive because the file system on the boot partition went corrupt!

does anyone know if there are any tools out there that can repair corrupt file systems? this is the second time something like this has happened to me in 5 years

[A Nonny Moose 8,263]

Were you running an NTFS file system?  I have only had this happen on FAT16 and FAT32 using the MS supplied defragmenation utility.  Generally, the cause is not your disk cleanup routine.

What makes you thnk it was diskkeeper?  What version do you have?  I have 10.

[prince_of_sims 0]

i'm running NTFS on all drives. and no, i don't think it's diskeeper. fact is, i don't know what it was. i don't know of any virus that destroys the file system, and not any data. on top of that, i McAfee and Norton both found no viruses. even wierder is that only the boot partition crashed, all other partitions had their file systems intact.

well, whatever... i've partitioned differently this time, so if one goes, it doesn't take everything with it anymore...

[A Nonny Moose 8,263]

I have a program that rebuilds the boot partition table for XP.  I think it is on a CD called DigiWiz MiniPE.  It is a miniature operating system that runs live on CD and lets you access your machine in situations like this.