good file compression program????

[robbyod]

im kinda running out of space on my notebook and id like to compress some old files and backup my music collection as files on cd. problem is ive got about 3Gb of music and i dont want to be trying to look after 5 cds as backups so im trying to find a decent compression program that take the bulk off. i downloaded tugzip a few days back and ive tried to compress files into an archive but when i do their the same size if not larger than the original. iv tried all the different compression algorithms and nothing seems to be working so instead of getting annoyed trying to work out that program id love if someone could suggest a quick and simple compression program for the job. thanks for the help.

[smurfy]

Hi, the problem you are facing is trying to compress files that have already been compressed (mp3 is a compression method for audio files) - there is no more fat to trim.
You can either convert to a lower bitrate in mp3 compression or try converting to a different audio format (wma, ogg) which can give you better compression and often better audio quality than a similar sized mp3.

[robbyod]

thanks. Kinda came to realising that after a lot of pointless effort. all my music is wma so i cant compress it anymore. also tried it with other media files and realised that i cant compress any of them so i assumed they were as compressed as they would ever be. thanks anyway.