Copying loose folders/files vs archives from burned media

Hello, I'm going to burn a few discs and I have a question that I was hoping that someone here with experience may be able to answer.

Two scenarios:
1. I burn let's say 20 loose folders with various amounts of files and subfolders in each folder onto disc.
2. I take those same 20 loose folders and create one 7z archive and then burn that to another disc. Let's say that I use no compression.

Would extracting that one archive off of the disc onto the hard driver be faster than copying the loose folders off of the other disc onto the hard drive? Or is it about the same?

 

The actual copying will be faster if you zip all the folders into one first. But that does not take into account the time you spend zipping them first.

In other words, I think if you use option 1 (zipping first, then burn), or if you use option 2 (burn each separately), the total time "YOU" spend doing the entire task will be about the same.

That said, when you compress, the file size is reduced (depending on the original file type) and it typically takes less time to burn smaller files.

 

That's what I was thinking, that I can extract the archive faster from the media than copying loose folders and files from it.

Right, well I'm thinking that in this particular situation I may need to copy the files from the media a few times in the future.

Thanks

 

In any case, the time spent is better than not having a backup copy at all!