Since the hard disk first became widely available, scientists have recognized it as a wonderful productivity tool. Its capacity is impressive indeed; an 80-megabyte hard disk is able to accommodate the equivalent of 80 bulky technical monographs (or 40,000 letters of recommendation).

But along with this vast storage capability comes the potential for. trouble: Unless you make systematic attempts to organize your hard disk, you are inviting the kind of disaster that could result in an allday search for the missing chapter of your book.

Organizing Has Clear Advantages

One clear advantage to having a well-organized hard disk is that you will be able to locate a file—or data within a particular file—even if you are not sure of the exact directory that it is archived under. In addition, organizing your disk can help you to pull together a project’s separate parts coherently. For example, if you are preparing a...

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