ITS MONTHLY TALKIN' TECH
More Info: The CCAC Desktop Environment

 

Do You Know Where Your Drives Are?

When saving files, you can store files on:

·        Your PC’s hard drive

·        A folder on the CCAC network

·        An external source

 

More information on storage media can be found on the Talkin' Tech page: Choose Your Media Wisely.

You should know the advantages and limitations of storing files in any of these locations:

Drive

Description

Advantages

Limitations
A: 

 

Floppy Disk Drive

Provides external backup if you lose data on your hard drive.

Very limited capacity

Working from files on A: will be slow; use as backup only

C: 

 

Local Hard Drive on your PC

Much faster performance than A:

You can store many files, organized into folders that you develop.

If your hard drive fails, you may lose data; backups to CD, zip drive, or mini-USB drive are necessary. 

You won’t be able to access these files from any other College PC
D:

 

DVD or CD Drive or Zip Drive

Compact Discs and DVDs have a much larger capacity than floppy disks;

Zip Drives are an excellent backup device since they can store up to 250 mb data.

You can’t save to a CD unless you have a re-writable CD drive.  You cannot edit files on a CD; you will have to copy files to the hard drive to edit them.
E:

CD Drive if you have a Zip Drive on D:

 

 
F: 

Your Personal Directory on the Network

You can store many files and organize files into folders that you create.

You can access these files from any other College PC if you sign on using your Network User ID.

In case of network disaster, you may lose data; backup your files to floppy or zip drive

This space is limited; employees are asked to use it only for files which need to be available from multiple locations.
J:  Mini-USB drive

Can be configured to use the J: drive, or any drive letter

 Excellent, reliable and handy media for backing up or carrying files with you. Some require installation of drivers; when buying a jump or flash drive, select on that states "no drivers required".
U: 

Shared Directory on the Network for Multiple Users and Collaborative Use of Documents

This is useful if multiple users need to access and update shared files.

You can access these files from any other College PC if you sign on using your Network User ID.

In case of network disaster, you may lose data; backup your files to floppy or disk drive
V:

Shared Directory for Student Coursework

For faculty and student use only. 

Allows faculty to upload files for classroom use to a common drive for use by students in class.

Only visible to students and faculty

 

Your Personal Directory on the F: Drive

Each employee with a Network User ID has access to one personal directory, which is called the F: drive on your PC. You can create folders under this directory to organize your files.  When you log on to your PC, you will see your userid attached to the F: drive when you access My Computer or Windows Explorer, or attempt to open or save documents in any of your Windows-based software. 

You can feel free to add folders and subfolders to your personal directory to further organize your documents. 

 

Whenever you use your Network User ID to log on to ANY College PC attached to the network, you will see your personal F: drive when you access My Computer or Windows Explorer.  You cannot view the F: drive from home or elsewhere outside the CCAC network.

 

Only data files are permitted on the F: Drive.  Do not attempt to load any programs onto your F: drive.  Do NOT copy any of the following types of files onto your F: drive: .exe, .bat, .mp3, .avi, or any other large video or multimedia file.

 

Shared Directories on U:

Directories and files on the U: Sharable drives are set up with security access for only those individuals who have authorization to read or write to those directories and files.  If you are established as part of a group who has read and/or write permissions to those files, you will be able to read and/or write to the files.  If you should have the authorization and still get an error message like the one below, call the Help Desk to request that the security access be updated for the specific directory.

If your work group needs to gain access to a shared directory for viewing or updating shared documents, you need to submit a request to Network Services via the Help Desk.  Please submit the following information when making your request: 

  • Description and Purpose of the Files
  • Name of the Folder
  • Names and titles of individuals who will need to have access to the files
  • Specific explanation regarding the permissions needed: read only or write permissions?

 

Backing Up your Files

Even if you have chosen to store your files on the F: or U: drives, you are responsible for backing up your documents regularly and faithfully.  All network drives are backed up on a nightly basis.  However, you should not rely on ITS disaster recovery processes to secure your personal documents.  It may be very difficult or impossible for ITS Operations to restore only a segment of the network for one individual. 

 

It is your responsibility to regularly back up your documents to an external media source.  Jump/ Flash drives, CD/ DVD and Zip drives all provide excellent resource for you to make backup copies of files.

 

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