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Miles of Files

A great operating system needs a great way to copy, move, delete, search for, and launch files. Microsoft gives us Windows Explorer (well, it's better than the DOS prompt). Ontrack offers the superior PowerDesk for free and the vastly superior PowerDesk Pro for $30. With either version, you can copy and move files to locations that aren't visible on your screen--something you can't do with Windows Explorer; search .mp3 files by title, artist, or album; view file details in a pop-up window; and rename a whole bunch of files at once. (The free version also gives you periodic annoying ads for PowerDesk Pro.)

For $30, PowerDesk Pro gives you thumbnails of graphic files (even if your version of Windows doesn't support them), the ability to upload files via file transfer protocol (FTP), and, best of all, file viewers. You can view all sorts of files--not just pictures, but documents, spreadsheets, and slideshows; you can even print the files or copy from them to the clipboard.

Compress Your Friends (or at Least Their Files)

If you can't compress and restore files in and out of .zip archives, you're not really part of the wired world. Microsoft finally figured this out last year, and put .zip support into Windows XP. If you don't have XP, there are still plenty of good .zip compression tools, and some of them are free. In fact, both the Pro and free versions of Ontrack's PowerDesk have basic .zip support. But the best way to get that support without paying for it is with Johan Savas' ZipCentral. It lets you turn a .zip file into a self-extracting .exe (with considerable control over how the program will self-extract), puts some convenient options into Explorer's right-click menus, and makes working with archives a breeze.

Back Up Your Data

Let's have a show of hands. How many of you back up your important data files every day? Every week? Every February 29? Most users don't back up regularly, even though they know they should. Either the job is too difficult or the hardware or software is just too expensive. With Datahjaelp's $19 shareware program Zip Backup to CD, you have no more excuses. This little gem uses the .zip file format discussed above in "Compress Your Friends" and backs up your data to CD-R or CD-RW discs, using DirectCD or whatever packet-writing software came with your recordable drive (actually, it'll back up to almost any kind of drive). But the combination of CD media and .zip files adds peace of mind--you can use one of countless programs (including, of course, Zip Backup to CD) to restore your backup to any system with a CD drive.

Get to Know Your Computer

Like to know your computer's processor type, cache size, chip set, or BIOS date? What about how much memory Windows is using--and how it's using it? SiSoftware Sandra Standard is free for non-professional use and offers all sorts of information, some of it useful. The program looks like Control Panel: Double-click an icon and up comes information, or a message to wait while it benchmarks your drives or CPU. But be prepared for disappointment: Some of those icons, such as the DMA Settings and Plug & Play Enumerator, bring up nothing but a notice that the feature is only available with the $29 Sandra Professional.

Check Your CD

Keep anything important on CD? Photos? Music? Martha Stewart's legal briefs? Whatever you've got, if it's important, you should test the CD for errors when you write it--and check it again occasionally after that. (Of course, you should also follow the first law of smart computing: If the file is important, have more than one copy.) But don't worry, Mitja Perko's free CDCheck makes CD testing easy. It can examine a disc for errors, compare files on the CD to those on the hard drive, create a CRC file of a disc's content for later checking, and even attempt to retrieve a damaged file.