How can I bundle files and folders into a single unit without zipping them?

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I have to move data to a device that does not have a lot of storage space.

The data is multiple files of different sizes and formats.

When I zip them, transfer them to the device and unzip them, twice the storage space is required.

Is there any alternative to this?

What I have tried:

Currently using a zip file, but I need something that wont take up twice the space

Posted 28-Sep-18 0:43am

Member 14000828

Updated 28-Sep-18 2:33am

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DaveAuld 28-Sep-18 7:27am

What sort of device? can you not connect the 'device' to the PC and simply drag across? Can the 'device' run software of any type e.g. ftp services etc.?

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OriginalGriff · Answer 1 · 2018-09-28T01:13:00

You can't, not really. You can use different compression formats (like RAR for example) but you will get exactly the same results.
When you remove files from the archive - be it Zip or whatever - they will take up the original space, possibly more depending on the two systems file storage methods - and generally speaking small files take more storage than you might think, and each file is generally stored in a unit whose size depends on the system, but which is normally a multiple of 4K. So a single character file will take a minimum of 4K of disk space on most systems.

It may be possible to set the "remote device" to use a compressed disk format but that's about it (and that will impact performance to some extent).

What exactly are you trying to do?

DaveAuld · Answer 2 · 2018-09-28T01:29:00

Solution 2

You could use the split function of zip and make smaller chunks and delete each original zip chunk as it is processed.

Posted 28-Sep-18 1:29am

DaveAuld

Dave Kreskowiak · Answer 3 · 2018-09-28T02:34:00

The only other method is to connect the device to the PC somehow, either USB or network, and transfer the files and folders structure directly using file system methods.

You're getting the .ZIP file onto the device somehow, so you've got the connection to the device. Transfer the files and folders using the same method or similar.

How can I bundle files and folders into a single unit without zipping them?

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