Good file management is very important to getting the most out of your computer. There is a lot more to it than simply stuffing everything in your documents folder. If you frequently use a word processor, work with photos, use spreadsheets or download anything you are constantly storing files on your computer. The goal of this discussion is to help you understand where and how things are stored and to be able to adjust the storage method to make the best use of it. This is not a technical discussion on various forms of storage, but an introduction to several basic storage methods and some pros and cons of each.
Most people have had at least one incident where a file is saved somewhere that is hard to access or lost it altogether. It is extremely frustrating to try to start working on a task and not be able to find the files that you need. It is even more frustrating to work for hours on a project and then lose your work because you cannot find the file anymore. So we are going to begin with a very simple issue- where are the files stored? To explain that, I will be talking a bit about local v. external storage and what exactly is “the cloud”.
First, we will be talking about storing things on your local hard drive. This is storage that is included on your computer. If you have ever heard anyone talk about the size of their hard drive, this is what they are talking about. In essence, the size of the hard drive controls how much “stuff” you can store on the computer. There are advantages and disadvantages to storing things on the hard drive. The biggest advantage is also the biggest potential problem. The files exist on the machine. The advantage is that you can access your files as long as you have access to your computer. It does not matter if the internet is unavailable as long as you have your computer you can access your stuff. That is also the big problem. If your computer gets a virus, gets stolen, wet or smashed your files may be gone too. You may be able to recover some of the files with some help from an expert or a removable hard drive but this is not guaranteed. I have had a computer get a virus and permanently lost things. This is why many people choose to make external back ups, just in case.
The second major type of storage is called external storage. It consists of CDs, DVDs, portable hard drives, flash drives, and anything else you can think of that can store data. They really all perform the same basic function. You can store your files on these, rather than on your computer’s hard drive. This also allows you to move the files around. If you want to move a file from one computer to another, you can store the it on a flash drive and access it from where you have the flash drive plugged in. There are a lot of advantages to using removable storage, but there are some problems too. Files stored on external drives are not taking up space on your computer, and are protected from being damaged if something happens to your machine. However, all of these storage devices can fail themselves. CDs, DVDs, hard drives and flash drives, can be corrupted by viruses, lost, fail, damaged by magnets or simply physically destroyed.
The last major type of storage I will be talking about has only become popular recently. It is called cloud storage. Cloud storage is a very popular buzzword, and you may have things stored in the cloud and don’t even realize it. Cloud storage, essentially, is files and information that is kept in another physical location and accessed remotely. You upload a file to the cloud, it is stored on a server in some location and you access it from anywhere you are logged in. Google Drive and Dropbox are popular cloud storage services. Microsoft has their own paid cloud storage as do various other companies. Some companies like Amazon or Google store things like pictures taken on their devices in the cloud. You take a picture on an Android phone and it is uploaded to the cloud and can be accessed from anywhere you can access your Google account. Cloud storage is great for convenience as the files are accessible from anywhere and are generally protected from things like a dropped or corrupted device. However, you probably still want to keep local copies of important things. If the internet is unaccessible or the service closes you do not want to lose your stuff.
So which one is best?
My answer, all of them. For anything important, I like to store it in more than one place, because they are all vulnerable in different ways. You need to experiment to find what works best for you depending on the project.
Computer Literacy for Homeschool Students 