A few days ago, I decided to give my computer a fresh copy of Windows after 1.5 years and the only frustrating thing about formatting a computer is to differentiate those that you wish to backup from those you wish to get rid of.
Being a messy person in real life, I’m actually quite particular in data organization, well at least I think I am. So here are a few tips that I would like to share in data housekeeping which I’m actually practicing.
Never abuse your desktop
For me, the desktop is a place to access something instantly and because of this reason, only shortcuts should be placed and not the original file. The number of shortcuts should not be more than 2 rows to maintain tidiness and fast accessibility. If 2 rows are just now enough, make shortcuts to folders which contains your files
Folder name must be ASAP (as specific as possible)
Do not dump all your pictures into My Pictures and all your mp3s into My Music. And worse, never mix all your pictures and mp3s in My Documents. Consider a folder and give it a meaningful name if you have more than 3 files in a same group. A good practice is to have nested folders, rather than crowding all your files together
Partition it
The size of today’s hard disk is generous enough to have a few partitions where you may actually separate it virtually. It’s advisable to have a minimum of 2 partitions and not more than 3 unless you are running multiple operating systems. So the next time before you think of making another partition, consider a folder first.
Delete it
Yes, a 150GB of hard disk looks really empty but the more you keep, the harder you are going to keep track of your stuffs. And if you hesitate to press the delete button because you think you might need those stuffs in the future, archive it in a folder with a date. You may throw that folder away if you have never touched them after 6 months.
Burn it
Try to accumulate and burn out stuffs which you wish to keep permanently like pictures and movies. Since they are so worth keeping, they must mean a lot to you and it’s no harm to invest them on CD-R or DVD-R. And if you hesitate to press the burn button, refers to ‘Delete it’ above
Start —> All Programs
How long do you take to find your application using the traditional start button? Well the more you install, the longer the all program list will be and the harder you are going to look for a particular application. Try to group those applications in your Start Menu folder by grouping those shortcuts into folders. Another alternative is to consider Launchy or SlickRun which helps in launching applications
Well, format it
There is nothing cleaner and better than a fresh copy of the operating system. Schedule your Windows re-installation ever year and you will be surprised to find rubbish which you have no idea you have when you are doing your backup
