Do you have a system for storing things on your PC?

I know Microsoft gives you folders to store stuff in by default ...my pictures ...my documents etc etc. I never ever use those.

When I get a PC I usually have it for a number of years. My folders aka dirs would get to full if I just used my docs or my pics for all. So ....

Each year I create a new dir with the year in the name. I use my first initial and the last two of the year. ie: g14 ....under g14 I have an images14 dir and a toolz14 dir and a few other specific dirs but most documents and spreadsheets just go in the g14 dir. I didn't used to put the year after images or toolz but found when I wanted to combine a few years of old data having the two digit year in the name helped keep things straight.

This system has worked well for me since the turn of the century.

Do you have a system that works for you?

I do that at work. My work computer is a work station tied to the main server. Each worker has an Idrive that can be accessed on any computer on the network. I have a very organized filing system on my Idrive since I work with 19 different kids on average. When any kind of report comes in, I have to scan and email it to myself using the photocopier, then save each file to my Idrive. I have a separate folder for each child I work with and save the files under them on the Idrive. I usually put the childs name, what the report is, and the year. eg...JohnsmithAnnualMedical2013. After I'm done scanning and saving the files, I have to go on our agency recording system and attach the files in their appropriate spots. Each child I work with has a file on the system broken up into subcategories. All of the medical, dental, and optical reports get recorded in the medical section. All school reports are scanned and attached into the educational section. This is all in an effort to go paperless. When a specialist calls me looking for a report, while I'm still on the phone with them, I can go right to the child's file on the system, pull up the requested report, attach it in an email, and send it to them.

So with all that being said, I do have to keep a very organized filing system so I know where to find all of the files.

I make a directory called wpdocs in the root. Under that I make a folder (directory) for each customer. I scan all checks that come in. I change the name of the PDF file to be the name of the payer and the date in YYYY_MM_DD format and store them in a folder lacked checks. I can view that folder and sort the view by date and find what I am after pretty quickly. Major topics like woodworking and health insurance have their own folders in mydocuments.

BTW there is a program called dtsearch that will full text index everything and let you search it. It even does things like " find George and within five words Sam".

I never use the MS files. Have multiple directories with subdirectories, etc. same with email. Most protected. Some wide open, but most protected.

Habit from the old days I guess. I don't remem\ber many of the dos commmands.

i squirrel pix & documents away in various places. i use document files, my cell, pix of pix on my cell, send items to others, use a flash drive, etcetera.....

I tend to partition the hard drive and keep files away from the main O/S either that or have a second built in hard drive to store on,and as a back up for the files i dare not lose i have a external hard drive.

It's a simple solution just in case the bugger needs a re-install.

With Win 7 I use the MS system and find it easy to back up the Documents folders to external hard drives or DVD. I also find it pretty efficient for finding things.

Yes, I put a 1X8 about 16" long on top and it holds my coffee cupp anda smal plate of cookies.

Holds things pretty well unless the cat comes by.

I know I'm a little late but I partition my drive so I have C: and D:. Stuff I keep such as pics, docs and files goes to D: for archive. They also get put on DVDs in case of drive hardware failure.

Any crash on C: does not affect the D:. I also have an image of C: (Windows) stored on D: for recovery.

Wee Willy said:

I know I'm a little late but I partition my drive so I have C: and D:. Stuff I keep such as pics, docs and files goes to D: for archive. They also get put on DVDs in case of drive hardware failure.

Any crash on C: does not affect the D:. I also have an image of C: (Windows) stored on D: for recovery.

Click to expand...

When I built my own desktops that is exactly how I would do it. Since I've been buying laptops that are preloaded I have slacked off and used them the way they came, using a USB hard drive for backup of everything.

Yep, I've been building my own since the 386 days and always partition my drives.

i have c: & others. have u a tutorial, doc....... (uuuuuuuuuuuuuu reminded me! )

& i say, trust me- keep items on various media (devices~)

The key word is redundancy.