I am sorry about the reformat and loss of data incident. I think many of us have either experienced it..or know someone who has. The loss can be depressing... Dave has made an excellent comment about backuping up your software. That is a must for anyone who has anything they do not want to lose. "Do not put off backing up until tomorrow what you can lose today" (Ok... and old addage with a new twist!) I have additional methods..besides just backuping up all my data. I have a file structure that seems overwhelming when you first look at it. But, taken piece my piece, it does not add much work to your computing at all. I promise you it will save you tons of time in the future. If not, I will double your money back! lol! (No I am NOT selling anything!) I ONLY put things in my C: that HAVE to be there. I partition my hard drive and put programs on other partitions. This way...if I have to reformat my c: I will only lose what was on the C: not the entire physical drive. YOU CAN FORMAT ONLY YOUR C:! YOU DO NOT HAVE TO REFORMAT THE ENTIRE PHYSICAL HARD DRIVE! I do not allow programs (when I have the choice) to install in the C:. I always select the customize and browse buttons when installing software. I usually go the the directory I want the programs stored into and create the folder for it before I proceed with the installation. This way, I KNOW where I am telling the program where I want it to be installed. I have a drive letter: P: for Programs. I Do try to keep things easy to remember. I am 60 years old and worry about memory problems. But, I started this method 20 years ago. I try to file things in a logical manner (logical for me) so I can find them easily when I want them. It is SO frustrating for me to have to search for things. So, I try to Keep It Simple Stupid! haha! Within the P(Programs): I have many sub-directories for catagories of programs. Grapics CD\DVD Programs Games Organizational Tools Word Processing Related Within each category folder I have sub folders for the individual programs (and sometimes for sub folders.) Graphics Jasc PaintShop Pro 9 Paint Shop Photo Album 5 Adobe Photoshop Elements 3 Photoshop Album 2.0 Games Luxor Big Kahuna Zuma Chat Programs MSN Messenger 7 Yahoo I have another Drive letter U: in which I store all my Utilities. If I have more than 1 type of Utility I create a sub directory for that category. This Utility category includes programs which keep my machine running clean and mean and work mostly with things on my machine to make life easier. For example Zip programs. The purpose of those programs is to zip and unzip files. It does not create data it is just a tool. So, I guess I could have called this my "Tools Directory." U: Zip Programs Winzip Zip Exploder Multiziplicity Norton - Symantec Programs System Works Password Manager FireWall AntiSpam If it is a one of a kind program, it gets its own folder right in the U(Utilities): CleanUp! Now you may be thinking so what! It may be easier to file and find things this way, but I still have to reinstall all my programs if I have to reformat my C:. Yes, I still have to reinstall all my programs.................. BUT the Bonus' for using this file structure is wonderful (to me!) Here is where the big time and frustration savings come into play: 1. The file structure is still there. My sub-directories that I created to install each the programs is intact. I can reintstall my programs right into those same directories. I do not store data from my programs in those directories, so, I do not have to worry about reinstalling prrograms and overwriting data. I do not have to re-create a file structure or remember the file structure. If I get a new computer, I can copy this file structure to my new computer and install my programs right into those same directores. (I of course still have to create the partitions on the new computer. Then I can just copy the old files to the new computer! I do not have to retype each folder and sub folder. I do not have to remember what programs go where. I can of course change it if I want to. 2. I can look at my folders in my sub directories and remember which programs I have to reinstall. I just get so annoyed when I want to use a program and it is not installed. I have to stop my masterpiece of creativity (yeah right!) and find the disks and reinstall the program! Grrrr! 3. I can look at the programs I had installed and see if I still need to have them installed on the computer. If not, just delete the folders and do not re-install them! 4. If you share your computer with another person and let them use your programs, etc.... it will be easy for them to find things on your computer too! Just do NOT let them install programs. You do it for them! Tell them you want to be nice to them. Finding things in the Programs Menu in Windows Now, you may be asking, that is fine for installing programs, but how do you get your Programs Menu in an order so I can find these programs?! ( If Press Start and then All Programs) The programs are all over the place. Even if you right click and have them sorted by name (Alpha) they are still a mess! Sometimes I do not remember the name of the program I want. Also, there are some that just do not seem to show up and some have names I do not like or recognize! My solution is fairly simple. First, the files that create the All Programs MENU in Windows is just a bunch of folders. These are SHORTCUTS that were created when programs were installed. They are are NOT programs and they CAN be moved around to be filed in a logical manner. After all, the reason for the MENU is to make it easier for you to find the program you want when you want it. You can rename the shortcut to something that is easier for you. (You could reneame the Paint Shop Pro 9 shortcut to PSP 9 to make it easier to read/see. This is YOUR computer. Make is easier for YOU to use! If you have never organized your Start - Programs Menu, it could take you a half hour..or even longer. But, I promise, (Again, I will double your money back...ha ha!) You WILL save hours and hours of frustrating time over the years you use your computer. Every time you install a new program, you should check the menu to make sure your folders are where you want them. That could take a minute or two, but is well worth the investment! Right Click on the Start Button and select Explore all Users! You will see an Explorer window open with a bunch of folders. On the Left hand side, click on the folder (that is probably highlighted) Start Menu. Right under that is a Folder named Programs. When it is expanded (by clicking on the + sign) a bunch of folders and icons will show up. Now, I create the folders that match the file structure in my Programs and Utilities drives. So, I will have a folder named Graphics. I will then take the short cuts that are graphics related and put/drag them into that folder. I organize them the same way my P:Graphics Directory is organized. One Folder for Jasc and one for Adobe. If those foldder do not exist I create them. Then I make sure the Paint Shop Pro 9 and Paint Shop Photo Album 5 have their own folders and that they are in nested within the Jasc folder (within the Graphics Folder.) Then I test it. I click on Start, All Programs and look for the Graphics Folder. I click on that ..and voila! You have a Jasc Folder. Click and that..and Wow! There are the Paint Shop Pro 9 and Paint Shop Photo Album 5 folders with the appropriate shortcuts in the folders! Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! I then do the same for the Adobe Programs (Adobe Elements 3 and Adobe Photo Album 2) As far as data is concerned: I put my data on a different physical hard drive. When I finish a picture in PSP 9, I save it to a folder on another physical hard drive. (I have a hard drive I have named SUPPLIES. This is where I store all the supplies I need to do projects. I have folders named: Graphics Collected (used to create stationery or screensavers, cards, etc) Graphics I have collected in sub folders by subject - cats, dogs, frogs, etc. Family and Friends Pictures (yup..you guessed it.. pics of family and friends) also in sub folders by category Tubes (For graphics nuts..they are sort of like cutouts of picutures that are used sort of like stamps) Again, in sub categories the same as the graphics collected directory. Sounds (Midi files, wavs, Mp3's) By Genre within each sub folder..Oldies, Country, Patriotic, funny, etc. Tutorials (Tutorials on how to do different grpahics (typically) projects) There are tons of other folders like presets, plugins, fonts, etc. This data if backed up regularly to another external drive. I also use a program Go Back! by Symantec. But, this email is way too long and I apologize for its length. I am thinking of doing an e-book or an Adobe pdf file with this info in it. I will include screen shots throughout. I may choose to use Camista Studo if I manage to get the hang of that.. haha! If you see typos, grammatical errors or stuff that is just plain wrong or does not make sense to you ...holler! If you think there is a better way of saying it, let me know. If you think this is crap..let me know. Any input would be appreciated! I do hope this helps you and at least gives you some food for thought. I just got my computer back from the shop after THREE WEEKS! It ended up that the 1 gb of ram (two matching 512 mb chips went bad when the 2 gb of ram (2 matching 1 MB chips were put into the machine) For some reason the machine would not even power on for over a second with the bad ram in it. I am NOT a hardware person, so I was at a loss. Now, I have my puter back with my 3 gb of ram working and I am a happy camper. I dreaded the thought of a reformat and told them if they had to do it, to call me and I would come to the shop and do it myself to make sure they did not reformat the entire hard drive. They 'said' they would .....lol! Luckily it did not happen.) Again, feedback about all this would be most helpful. Rose Las Vegas -- <Please delete this line and everything below.> To unsub or change your email settings: //www.freelists.org/webpage/pctechtalk To access our Archives: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PCTechTalk/messages/ //www.freelists.org/archives/pctechtalk/