Link: https://old.reddit.com/r/DataHoarder/comments/1tyeibf/when_archiving_video_games_should_i_store/

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/datahoarder by /u/EvanRevier on 2026-06-06 11:16:01+00:00.

I am archiving a bunch of free games that are under threat of being censored.

However, I don't have the money to buy larger hard drives than the ones I already own, so I am thinking of trying to free some space...

Basically, all of my currently archived games are stored in 2 configurations: I store both the zipped version (downloaded straight from the game's page) and the unzipped version. Same thing with games which are downloaded as installers: I store both the installer, as well as the "installed" version, so the game can be copied to a device as a preinstall.

This approach has made it so that each game I have archived takes up way more space than it technically needs to...

So, I'm wondering, is there any advantage to storing both configurations? If not, which one should I prioritise keeping?