I. Selecting Files and Folders to Back Up

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I'll be the first to admit that this part should be easier than it usually is but most backup software doesn't have a button for "Back up all of my important documents." So, your first step is to figure out where you're storing files on your computer. The most efficient thing to do is to create a single folder and store everything there, but a lot of times Windows or Internet Explorer will drop files into these bizarre "default" locations that make them impossible to find again. And don't forget about things like your email and your bookmarks since these can get overlooked when you're getting started with backing up your information.

If you're working with Windows 2000 or Windows XP, you'll find that your files are already pretty well organized. 2000 and XP will create a directory called Documents and Settings on your hard drive, and every person who logs onto your computer with a different username will have their own subfolder underneath this main Documents and Settings folder.

For instance, my home computer has the following subfolders underneath the Documents and Settings folder:

  • C:\Documents and Settings\laura

  • C:\Documents and Settings\administrator

  • C:\Documents and Settings\All Users

Underneath the folder that's named after your username, Windows will create a number of folders, including the following:

  • Application Data This is information like your email Address Book and configuration information for your Microsoft Office programs like Word, Excel, and Outlook Express.

  • Cookies This contains saved information from websites that you visit frequently anytime you click on "Save my password" when logging onto a website, it gets stored here.

  • Desktop Everything that you save to your Windows desktop gets stored here.

  • Favorites All of your web bookmarks go here.

  • My Documents Microsoft Office programs like Word and Excel will save files to this folder by default. This includes a number of subfolders like My Music and My Pictures. By storing your music and photo files to these folders, you'll have most of your personal documents stored in one location. This is not only convenient for you when you're trying to find a file that you need, but it also makes it easier to back up your information.

So, when you're backing up files on a Windows 2000 or Windows XP computer, starting with everything underneath the C:\Documents and Settings folder will cast a pretty wide net. If you're running Windows 95 or Windows 98, you'll often find the same information underneath the C:\Windows\Profiles folder, where you'll have C:\Windows Profiles\Mom and C:\Windows\Profile\Dad. But this can be hit-or-miss, so for earlier operating systems, I recommend creating one or two folders on your C:\ drive and saving all your files there. To create a file to store your documents, do the following:

  1. Double-click on My Computer.

  2. Double-click on your C:\ drive.

  3. Click on File, then New, and then select Folder. You'll see the screen shown in Figure 19, Enter. If you make a mistake and the folder gets created with the name "New Folder," just right-click on the folder and click on Rename.

Figure 19. Creating a New Folder to Store Your Documents


Once you've created this new folder, you should save all of your important files there so that you can back them up easily. You can configure some programs (like Microsoft Word) to use that new folder as their default location so that they'll store files there automatically without you needing to remember it yourself. Each program is a little different, but here's how to do it in Microsoft Word:

  1. Open up Microsoft Word. Click on Tools and then Options.

  2. From the Options screen, click on the File Locations tab. You'll see the screen shown in Figure 20,

Figure 20. Modifying the Default "Save" Location in Microsoft Word


  1. With the Documents line selected (highlighted in dark blue in the figure), click on Modify. You'll be able to browse to the folder you created earlier.

  2. Click OK and then Close. Any new documents that you create in Microsoft Word will now get saved to this new folder.

At this point you should also make similar changes to your other programs, like Microsoft Excel. In most cases it'll be somewhere in the ToolsOptions screen, though it might be a little bit different from one program to the next.


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    Stopping Spyware
    Stopping Spyware
    ISBN: 1463585381
    EAN: N/A
    Year: 2006
    Pages: 31

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