Lesson 4: Local File Management (Intro)
File management really means knowing what you make, where you
put what you make, and how to find it again.
What you make Although computers
are full of exceptions, you basically will use a "program" to read or write
to a "file". A particular program, like a word processor,
can only open certain kinds of files. Knowing what programs will open
which files is pretty easy if you made the file and you open it on the
same machine. But once you send it to someone else or move to a machine
with different programs, it becomes much more important to know what kind
of file it is and what programs will open it.
Where you put what
you make
This lesson covers the basic places where you can store a
file on the computer in front of you. In addition to the illustration I
haven't found yet, you can go to the south wall of the lab and look at the
parts of the computer. Sometimes it's helpful to have a physical idea just
where things are.
Basic Storage Locations:
Hard
Drive
Located inside the CPU (main computer box), is a hard drive. This
is a permanent storage device and is usually found as the letter
C: when you go to "My Computer." Once something is written to
the hard drive, it will remain during a power outage or reboot.
Floppy Drive
Located inside the CPU (main computer box), you will
see a slot for a 3-1/2" disk. This usually shows up as the a: drive in
"My Computer." Once something is written to a floppy disk, it will remain
during a power outage or reboot, but NOTE that any disk exposed to a
magnet will lose ALL the things that have been stored on it and that floppy
disks have a much higher rate of failure than hard drives.
CD-ROM
Although many CD-ROMs can now write or burn CDs, most of the computers
in student areas are read-only. Consequently, while you'll probably
look at a CD-ROM drive to find a file, saving to the CD-ROM is
not something you'll do.
RAM
RAM is a temporary space where files are stored before they are
actually recorded to disk, whether it's a floppy or hard disk.
Anything held in the RAM will be lost during a power outage or
reboot. Save early and save often to avoid data loss.
How to Find it Again
If you deliberately save your file using "Save As" you'll be able to see where you've put your file. Remember, and you'll be able to find it again. If you know what you've called it, you can also go to "Start -> Find" on the PC and look. Right now, we're looking at places on the local machine. In the next lesson, we will introduce the idea of storing files in places that are NOT right in front of you.
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