Solved Seeking strategic advice re file and folder Organization

gwatts

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[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Hi:
I have multiple files and documents scattered on several computers and hard drives. They are In folders, in subfolders, in subfolders, in subfolders in subfolders.
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[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]I'm looking for strategic advice as to how best to organize these and remove duplicates. I would expect this would also atrequire a significant proprietary program.[/FONT]

I will greatly appreciated advice. Thank you.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
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    ProStar Clevo M-Tech
    CPU
    i7 4930MX
    Motherboard
    P155M
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    32
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    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770M
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    HGST HTS721010A9E630
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If I was you I'd think about the structure you want and create it with empty folders. For example in documents you may want folders called "Home", "Work", "Personal", "Public", "Software" (or something like that) with subfolders within them.

Then copy from all your disparate locations into the relevant folder. It will tell you if you have duplicates when you do this (assuming the file name and type is the same).

It could be a long and tedious job but you'll end up with a coherent structure. There are programs that look for duplicate files but from what I understand that you want that isn't going to be sufficient. Best to put everything where you want it and then look and see if you still have duplicates after.

Just my 2c - I should do it myself really :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro Prieview x64
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    Laptop
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    MacBook Pro Core2Duo
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    T7600
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    3
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    ATI Radeon X1600
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    1440 x 800
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    40GB
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    Apple
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Never seen any "Magic program" for things like that but here's what I do:
On a partition (or preferably another disk) other than where system is, I make a folder called WORK, make sub-folders in it, like Pictures, Music, Films, Office, Arch. Plans etc.
Other folders like Downloads, Programs (in pristine state before them being installed) with a text file with particulars like serial numbers etc.
Then I set programs that make particular type of files to save to those folders where they belong. Like, Browsers to download to "Downloads", Office to "Office" folder etc.
If you want, you can make links (shortcuts, icons) to those folders on the Desktop or/and Taskbar. So they can be found easily. It might seem a lot of work at first but it pays for itself in the long run.
It's important to do all this on another partition or even better on another disk because if something goes wrong with Windows you can always reinstall, repair or redo OS without loosing all that data. Also if you keep them all together in that one folder, let's call it "WORK Folder" you can easily set automatic or manual backup of the whole kitten caboodle to an external disk.
That's how I do it for, like, forever. I' also use Total Commander( there's also a Free Commander that looks almost same) that makes file handling so much easier than "Windows way", no Copy, Cut, paste, just drag files and folders where you want them.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home made
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen7 2700x
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime x470 Pro
    Memory
    16GB Kingston 3600
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus strix 570 OC 4gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 960 evo 250GB
    Silicon Power V70 240GB SSD
    WD 1 TB Blue
    WD 2 TB Blue
    Bunch of backup HDDs.
    PSU
    Sharkoon, Silent Storm 660W
    Case
    Raidmax
    Cooling
    CCM Nepton 140xl
    Internet Speed
    40/2 Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    WD

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Education 64 Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
    Memory
    8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
    Sound Card
    VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024 - 1920x1080 - 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Crucial MX100 256 GB SSD and 500 GB WD Blue SATA
    PSU
    Thermaltake TR 620
    Case
    Power Up Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Stock heatsink fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless K350 Wave
    Mouse
    Logitech M570 Trackball and T650 TouchPad
    Internet Speed
    80 Mbps Down 30 Mbps Up
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    HP DVD1040e Lightscribe - External USB2
Attachment should be here.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ProStar Clevo M-Tech
    CPU
    i7 4930MX
    Motherboard
    P155M
    Memory
    32
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770M
    Sound Card
    HD Audio device
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 840 EVO 250GB mSATA

    HGST HTS721010A9E630
    Mouse
    USB
    Internet Speed
    6 mbps
    Browser
    Fx, IE, Chrome
    Antivirus
    Malaware WinDefend

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home made
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen7 2700x
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime x470 Pro
    Memory
    16GB Kingston 3600
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus strix 570 OC 4gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 960 evo 250GB
    Silicon Power V70 240GB SSD
    WD 1 TB Blue
    WD 2 TB Blue
    Bunch of backup HDDs.
    PSU
    Sharkoon, Silent Storm 660W
    Case
    Raidmax
    Cooling
    CCM Nepton 140xl
    Internet Speed
    40/2 Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    WD
attachment

Try again to attach
 

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  • Missing3.PNG
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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ProStar Clevo M-Tech
    CPU
    i7 4930MX
    Motherboard
    P155M
    Memory
    32
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770M
    Sound Card
    HD Audio device
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 840 EVO 250GB mSATA

    HGST HTS721010A9E630
    Mouse
    USB
    Internet Speed
    6 mbps
    Browser
    Fx, IE, Chrome
    Antivirus
    Malaware WinDefend
Up until post #5 I wasn't aware there was a problem? I have read it several times but do not understand what the issue is.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Education 64 Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
    Memory
    8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
    Sound Card
    VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024 - 1920x1080 - 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Crucial MX100 256 GB SSD and 500 GB WD Blue SATA
    PSU
    Thermaltake TR 620
    Case
    Power Up Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Stock heatsink fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless K350 Wave
    Mouse
    Logitech M570 Trackball and T650 TouchPad
    Internet Speed
    80 Mbps Down 30 Mbps Up
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    HP DVD1040e Lightscribe - External USB2
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]To All: Thank you for your response. Sorry I wasn't clear and I do apologize.

My major problem is empty folders or vanishing documents. This led to my request for a strategic approach to organization of copies.
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[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]I have multiple files and documents scattered on several computers and hard drives. They are In folders, in subfolders, in subfolders. Over the years they've been copied from computer to computer through multiple external drives. Some of these folders, mostly with documents are totally empty. That is the individual document files have vanished. Because of this, I started putting the size when created, incorporated into the name of the folder. For example, one folder that was 70 GB when created is now 8.4 MB and has a lesser number of documents.
[/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Now I have discovered that a folder (Audacity) which resides on the desktop as 19.5 KB contains only a thumb.db file. Audacity can be copied to my hard drive folder and that there it contains 1.57 GB with 5 separate entities.
[/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]My intention was to ask if this desk top-document folder disparity furnishes a clue as to why I have the missing documents. However, I have taken ownership of these files and customized them to “optimized for documents”. I, administrator or “Everyone” has full control and no folders are hidden. But there is no change.[/FONT]
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ProStar Clevo M-Tech
    CPU
    i7 4930MX
    Motherboard
    P155M
    Memory
    32
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770M
    Sound Card
    HD Audio device
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 840 EVO 250GB mSATA

    HGST HTS721010A9E630
    Mouse
    USB
    Internet Speed
    6 mbps
    Browser
    Fx, IE, Chrome
    Antivirus
    Malaware WinDefend
I will close this post and I apologize for the redundant replies. I appreciate the efforts of all involved.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ProStar Clevo M-Tech
    CPU
    i7 4930MX
    Motherboard
    P155M
    Memory
    32
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770M
    Sound Card
    HD Audio device
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 840 EVO 250GB mSATA

    HGST HTS721010A9E630
    Mouse
    USB
    Internet Speed
    6 mbps
    Browser
    Fx, IE, Chrome
    Antivirus
    Malaware WinDefend
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