3. What are Drves, Files & Folders

(DISC) DRIVE
A device that allows you to store and retrieve data.  Disc drives usually use a letter for a name followed by a colon ':'.  Example C:, D:, F:, etc.  Another drive type an optical disc drive.  It allows you to use CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray discs to listen to music or watch a movie.

Note:  On most computers the C: drive is the main system drive.  You can add other drives to a system in order to expand your storage capacity.

There are also external drives that you can connect to the computer in order to expand your capacity or make backup copies of your personal files and folders.

FOLDERS
Storage unit for programs and data.  A folder holds 1 or more files or programs.  They can also be an empty folder just waiting for files or programs to be put into them.  A folder can also contain other folders.

Example:  Let's say you have a folder called Recipes. In that folder you might need 4 folders called Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Deserts

 

FILES
These are the objects stored in the folders.  They can be programs, photos, music, or other types as well.  Here is a list of SOME types of computer files and their uses.

• SYSTEM FILES – These are used to run the operating system and basic computer functions.  We recommend not changing or deleting them.
• PROGRAM FILES – These are used to run applications on the computer.  We recommend not changing or deleting them.
• USER FILES – These are files that you create or copy to the system.  You can change or delete as you want, but it’s always good to have a backup copy.