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Ditto on the directory organization ... but I use Copernic Desktop Search (http://copernic.com/en/products/desktop-search/). It has good file previews. It is most useful for finding code I've written before in previous applications. Search, preview in CDS and copy/paste if you need to. It's not free, but it's not expensive.
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Thx, it looks useful. The one area where Everything is lacking is that it doesn't look inside files like Copernic can. For finding previous code Visual Studio's search (shift+ctrl+f and setting the options for directory and file type) works pretty well.
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As a long term user of Everything, it helps finding things very quickly. I've installed it on most customer machines. Even for things you know exactly where they are, most of the time it is quicker to open Everything and type a couple of chars instead of clicking through a deep hierarchy.
But Everything still does not organize the disk which was the request of this thread. It just takes the urge for a very strict organization upfront.
From my point of view you have to take care of a few things personally:
1. Have a good naming scheme
2. Somehow group files into meaningful sections/directories.
3. Use the self-organizing file features of apps when available (iTunes etc.).
4. Avoid duplicates!
5. Throw away what you don't need.
@1: This might become a problem for others. If you move such a file to a (public) server you might receive a lot of disagreement about the name. Only your brain knows what to search for. From our customer machines I know that Everything only helps to find things you know like apps. It does not help to find office documents that they have created with their own naming scheme.
@2: This was the original question. No general solution! But you can reorganize all sections anytime according to it's growth: Everything helps to keep track finding this after a reorg. Also deep hierarchies are no problem because you have direct access to the file via Everything.
@4: Using this feature, a whole directory tree is hidden by the app and you don't have to take care of organizing that part.
@3: The more often you use Everything, the more you will find duplicates. Act immediately on those, otherwise the search returns more & more results over time and you still have to open these files and find the one you are looking for.
@5: Unneeded files are cluttering your search results. If you are a "collector" and don't want to delete them just put them in a .zip file.
The biggest disadvantage of Everything is that it is normally not available on file servers. Once you get used to use it all the time, a file server appears to you as a monolithic block which takes a lot of effort to browse.
Finally there is "WinDirStat[^]" which shows a graphical overview how the disk space is used.
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Christian Scholze wrote: It does not help to find office documents that they have created with their own
naming scheme.
Whahuh!!!????
dir /s c:\*.exe ...
I'm glad a user took the time to add some useful comments to this thread. I installed this thing when I started reading about organizing something everyone has but KNOWS is quite the nebulous thing. The hard drive.
And with the influx of hand-held device thumbizan posters now, that nebulosity has spiked to such a magnitude I'm no longer willing to waste my time responding to ... Doctor Who ... because he's always out of aspect.
Oh yeah. And quickly uninstalled it. I found unticking all options, waiting for completion, then first time startup, gave me this GUI with no recourse to any control at all. So I ditched it right then and there.
My experience with the Windows Search and it's indexer, ever since that beautiful HTML helpfile that allowed me to search-in-find-set was deep-sixed, the whole idiom fell into the abyss where that bridge out never materialized. So third-party pay-through-the-nose is the only way to get any work done.
Christian Scholze wrote: with their own naming scheme
(I suppose I didn't wait long enough for the "app" to finish indexeing)
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Google Desktop Search.
Bastard Programmer from Hell 
If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^]
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- System drive for OS and programs (SSD - 1 TB)
- Working drive for stuff I'm working on (WD Black - 2 TB)
- Backup and Storage drive to back up the stuff I'm working on, archiving, saving downloads, etc (WD Black - 4 TB).
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Very good choice!
I go there a step further ...
- C: - SSD 0,5 TB
System drive for OS and programs with ntfs links to other HDs. - D: - WD Blue 1 TB
Data drive for stuff, like documents, projects, source code, etc. - E: - WD Blue 1 TB
Work ground used by stuff I'm working on, like run/debeg project softwar (without source codes) and for databases, web server, VMs. - F: - WD Blue 1 TB
Mainly for outsourcing of some SSD places like, like Temp, etc., to protect / increase the lifetime of the SSD.
The rest of it I use for work and editing of multimedia files, and for extremely large amounts of data in DBs. - Backup, archiving, saving downloads, etc., all go to server shares on the network .
Something about which we often break our head:
"In the name of the Compiler, the Stack, and the Bug-Free Code. Amen."
(source unknown)
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Simple, use one partition is for the OS and programs. The rest of the drive is up to you. For the last few builds, I have a secondary partition on the main drive for backups, then one or more data drives. As for organization of content, that just takes practice and time to develop your own method. Anything that is date sensitive like customer databases, I always keep in folders named yyyy-mm-dd so that they sort like they should. 
"Go forth into the source" - Neal Morse
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I'm very particular about my folder structure.
All downloads go onto my External drive which is share across the network:
F:\Downloads\Microsoft\Visual Studio\14\Professional...
F:\Downloads\Microsoft\SQL Server\14\Server...
F:\Downloads\Microsoft\SQL Server\14\SSMS...
F:\Download\Malware Bytes\2.2.0...
For projects I usually do:
C:\Projects\Clients[company name][app name][version]\trunk...
C:\Projects\Sandbox[app name]...
C:\Projects\app1...
C:\Projects\app2...
For documents, I NEVER use 'My Dcuments/Files/Pictures/Movies' - etc.. Stupid idea IMHO...
I use:
C:\Documents[Subject 1]\doc1.txt
C:\Documents[Subject 1]\doc2txt
If it's not broken, fix it until it is
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Faaarrrrkkkk I hate MS with their favourites, libraries, onedrive and add in googles drive and dropbox and they ALL want your data. I once tried to organise my stuff and lost where pictures were  .
As for development data, that resides on a different partition or drive, VS puts it's projects where I want them and SQL Server has it's own partition. It is only my personal stuff that is a complete mess.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity
RAH
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Like this:
C:
|- <OS and other installation>
|
D:
|- Projects
| |- Client 1
| | |- Documents
| | |- Code
| | |- Database
| | |- Backups
| |- Client 2
| | |- Documents
| | |- Code
| | |- Database
| | |- Backups
|
|- Personal
| | - Documents
| | - Training and Help material
| | - Code
| | - Pictures and Videos
|
|- OneNote
|
|- SetUps
|- Downloads
"You'd have to be a floating database guru clad in a white toga and ghandi level of sereneness to fix this goddamn clusterfuck.", BruceN[ ^]
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Create a new vm with a name that reflects 'home study'.
"Program testing can be used to show the presence of bugs, but never to show their absence."
<< please vote!! >></div>
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Totally missed this folder: D:\Windows\System\System32\ [GUID] \aajvc\DefinitelyNotPr0n
"You'd have to be a floating database guru clad in a white toga and ghandi level of sereneness to fix this goddamn clusterfuck.", BruceN[ ^]
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I mostly go with OS/Installer defaults. It's less painful than trying to fight the system.
The only major exception is that about two years ago at work I created C:\Program Fails\ as a cesspit to keep penguin droppings from fouling my root folder any more.
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, waging all things in the balance of reason?
Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful?
--Zachris Topelius
Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies.
-- Sarah Hoyt
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Similar to others, but with extra partitions:
C: SSD with OS and apps
Data on mirrored HDDs, partitioned as:
D: Data; includes "My Documents" (location moved) and data like Quicken, spreadsheets, dev stuff, etc.
E: Download; legacy, but I've kept it. Drivers, software updates, useful apps
M: Media; My Pictures/Music/Videos. Largest of the partitions, naturally
Backup for D: is twice/day (incremental), D/E/M each week. Use both external USB and NAS (with mirrored 2TB drives). Replace the HDDs at least every 3 years.
As for organization of folders, definitely a personal preference, BUT I tend to organize with major folders such that location + file name generate meaning. Example: file named "Minutes 1-1-16" in subfolder "Team Meetings" in folder "Dev Project X".
Sometimes OCD works to your advantage.
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Earth16 wrote: Sometimes OCD works to your advantage.
OCD: (acronym) "Organized Character Development" The slobs and careless persons of the world became so distressed by the presence of normal people that they infiltrated the psychology textbooks, found the 0.001 percent of society who took things too far, and now assign the exact same acronym as a mental disorder in an attempt to ameliorate their severe shame and deflect attention away from their disorganized life, habits, living quarters, and hard drives.
modified 3-Mar-16 17:33pm.
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X is drive letter of choice...
I install games in X:\Games
Compiler stuff in X:\Compiler
Code projects in X:\Compiler\Projects\<arrange by="" language="" or="" toolset="">
Music in X:\Music\Midi (look up Timbres of Heaven 3!), X:\Music\MP3, X:\Music\Videos, etc
I keep misc files (utilities, patches, etc) in X:\Misc\Util, X:\Misc\Patches, etc
I manually organize my start menu (by dragging stuff around, creating new folders, etc) in:
<br />
Compiler<br />
Games<br />
--\Action<br />
--\RPGs<br />
--\Strategy<br />
--\Simulation<br />
Hardware
Internet<br />
--\Email<br />
--\Browsers<br />
Maintenance
Office & Media<br />
--\Office<br />
--\Players<br />
--\Editors<br />
Utilities
(plus the standard windows entries)<br />
I never allow rogue shortcuts to stay around without moving them into the appropriate place.
Also use Windows Classic Shell, which allows me to have the expanding start menu. Can't stand the all-in-one column approach that has been the norm for so long.
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just do as my wife does... put EVERYTHING on the desktop.
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I do this:
C: (RAID SSD) <windows>
D: (RAID SSD) <windows directories="" i="" can="" move="" like="" documents="" etc="">
E: (RAID SSD) <installed program="" files="">
<working projects="">
F: through Z: Everything else is on Network NAS
I: Installation software (ISO's etc.)
L: Downloads
<compressed>
<documents (word,="" pdf="" etc.)="">
<etc...>
M: Music (FLAC)
N: Music (iTunes)
P: Photos
V: Videos
T: The Wifes Drive... You gotta do it...
S: System Backups etc.
X:
The important bit for C: D: and E: in my case is the RAID, One of my C:'s failed the other day... but I was able to continue working with no problems...just replaced the disk and that was it. Also OK for performance.
I also have a couple of BitLocker Drives on S: for stuff that is more secure, license codes, copies of important documents etc...
Hope it helps
regards
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Whether one uses the phone or pretends to do such, are they not a phony?
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and if someone is eating a sandwich while pretending to use the phone, would they not be phony baloney.
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Now that's a ham on ire.
Software Zen: delete this;
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iReckon
I am not a number. I am a ... no, wait!
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Where did you get that? My little phony?
Life is too shor
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