Files,Folders and Drives

Your computer's filing system has three basic divisions: files, folders and drives.
Everything saved on your computer is stored as a file; whether it is a letter you wrote to a friend or the word processing program you used to write it. The letter you write might be a Word document, for example, or a text file. Microsoft Word, on the other hand, is an "executable" file, that is, a file that "executes" a series of commands to do some work for you; you run this executable file so that you can, in turn, create or edit document files. Other examples of files include database files and various types of system files.

You can store a file in a folder and, in turn, store that folder inside another folder. Using different folders helps you and the computer keep track of information. For example, you might save the letter to your friend in a folder named "Joe" inside another folder called "Friends." Your computer also stores files in folders. For example, all the files the computer uses to run Windows XP are usually stored in a folder called "Windows." When the computer needs one of those files, it follows a "path" to the folder, and then to the file.

File:
Each document, whether it is a plain text file or a letter in Word or music or the directions for a program , is called a file.

Folders:
Files are grouped together in folders , also called directories by folks who are used to certain other operating systems.

Path:
The drive and folders you must go through to get to the folder or file that you want is called the path. A path always starts with a drive letter. The file that starts Notepad has the path C:\Windows\notepad.exe The path C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer leads to the folder that holds Internet Explorer's program files.

Files and folders are stored on drives. Drives are essentially like filing cabinets. Each drive is assigned a letter name. Your hard drive (the drive inside your computer) is also known as the C:\ drive. If you have a floppy disk drive, it is usually known as the A:\ drive. If you use files stored on a CD-ROM, the drive where you put the CD is assigned another letter.