slide pointer over My Computer on the right
hand side of the popup box
or, just click on the My Computer icon on the desktop
(startup screen) of the computer.
My Computer screen
The screen which appears is divided into two panes.
The right hand pane shows which drives (parts
of the computer's resources) are available. Some drives represent
built-in memory, some are memory on the disks inserted into
the computer or elsewhere in the computer network.
Main drives will include:
A drive (3 1/2 Floppy): normally the disk inserted
in the computer
C and/or D drive: the main memory of
the computer on the "hard disk" (built-in
disk or disks)
The right hand pane is also able to show you the folders
within each drive, when you click on the drive name or icon.
The left hand pane shows some other locations and
options.
WORKING
WITH FILES AND FOLDERS
To see what's in a drive of your computer
Double-click the icon of the drive you want to see.
Windows displays the files and folders on the drive.
Folders can contain files, programs, and other folders.
You can switch back to the previous folder by clicking on
Up (a folder image with a blue arrow) on the toolbar
or pressing the BACKSPACE key.
Activity
Check your C and/or D drive and locate the folder
Documents and Settings. How many file folders
are in it?
To open a file or folder using My Computer
Double-click the drive that contains the file.
Double-click the file or folder you want to open.
To copy a file or folder using My Computer
Click the file or folder you want to copy.
On the LH pane of the screen click on Copy this
file.
In the Copy File box which appear, choose the
destination folder (where you want to put the copy).
Click Copy.
Notes
To select more than one file or folder to copy, hold down
the CTRL key, and then click the items you want one after
the other.
To find a file or folder
Looking in each drive and folder can be a slow and tedious
way to find a file. Windows has a search function enabling
you to to find files providing you remember at least part
of the name.
Click Search in the toolbar. Choose "All
files and folders" option,
Type all or part of the file name.
Or, enter a word or phrase if you do not know the name
of a file but know a distinctive word or phrase it contains.
If you want to specify the location to start the search,
click Look In. Choose a drive to search. Click
Search.
Creating a folder
As you create new files, sort them into folders of your
own creation to make it easier to find them.
Double-click the drive where you want to create the
new folder.
On the LH panel, click on Make a new folder.
The new folder appears with a temporary name, New
Folder.
Type a name for the new folder, and then press ENTER.
Note
If you want to create a new folder within a folder, click
the folder and then repeat the second and third steps.
To move a file or folder
Click to select the file or folder you want to move.
Move the mouse pointer over to the LH panel and click
Move this file.
In the Move file box which appears, choose the
destination drive and folder and click Move
To change the name of a file or folder
Click the file or folder you want to rename.
On the LH panel, click Rename this file.
Type the new name, and then press ENTER.
Notes
A file name can contain up to 255 characters, including spaces.
It cannot contain the following characters: \ / : * ? "
< > |
To delete a file or folder
Click the file or folder you want to delete.
On the LH panel, click Delete this file.
Recovering
a file
Files deleted from A drive are permanently erased but
those deleted from drives within your computer can be
recovered from the Recycle Bin.
To do this, at the directory of available drives, click
Up. The Recycle Bin is one of the System folders listed.
Double click to open the Recycle Bin, and click the
file you want to retrieve.
On the LH panel, click Restore this item. The
file is restored to its previous location.
