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Computers 101

Q:
If floppy drives are going to be fazed out, then how do I copy my floppies to cd?

A:
The general manager of America's largest data storage manufacturer recently said that within five years there won't be much of a market for floppies. Many options for data storage are on the market that have larger capacity than our familiar little disk: CD-R/RW, DVD, Flash Memory, portable hard drives, and USB keys (aka "thumb drives"). While most of of us still have floppy drives in our computers, now might be a good time to transfer them onto CD!

Here is the easiest way I found to copy your floppies to CD-R/RW...

1. Create a folder on your desktop (see today's tip if you don't know how). Click the folder and hit F2 to rename (give it a name that will remind you what is in the folder).

2. Open the floppy in your drive and hit Ctrl+A to select all. NOTE: Make sure that your folder option view is set to show hidden files (Tools/Folder Options/View, "Show hidden files and folders"), otherwise you might not copy all the files from the floppy.

3. Copy (Ctrl+C) the files then paste (Ctrl+V) into your new folder. This is a great time to "prune" any files you don't want to keep—do you REALLY need to keep that book report you wrote in 10th grade? If you create several folders, you could also sort the contents before you burn.

4. Now you are ready to burn your files to CD. In most cases it is as simple as dragging the folders into a frame in your CD burning program. For detailed generic information (kinda sounds like an oxymoron) on CD Burning, head on over to our How to Burn a CD tutorial...
http://www.worldstart.com/tips/file-management/howto-burn-a-cd.htm

The great thing is that the average floppy holds 1.44 MB of data, while a CD-R can hold 700 MB—that means you can fit about 486 floppies on 1 CD-R!

For XP users: after you select the files you want to transfer (or Ctrl+A), you can click "Copy the selected items" in the left hand column which opens a window where you can select where you want the files to go.From there you can send it to the new folder you created in step 1.

~ David

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Tip of the Day

Let's Make a New Folder!

Let's say you would like to have some sub-folders (a sub-folder is a folder within a folder) in your "My Documents" folder. You could set one up for each member of your family so everyone's stuff stays separate, or for specific jobs.

Here's how:

Right-click the Start button, select Explore from the little menu that pops up. Windows Explorer will open. You'll see the "My Documents" folder on the list to the left. Double-click it. From the RIGHT hand pane, right-click your mouse and select, "New" and "Folder".

A new folder will pop up. Type in a name for it and you're all set.

If you happen to click your mouse before the folder is named, you can right-click it and select "Rename" from the little menu that pops up.

You can also right click while inside any folder (or even on the desktop) and select "New" and "Folder" to create one.

Of course, Windows XP had to be different. Any folder you open has a "Make new folder" link that you just click and the new folder appears, ready to be named.

You also will not find the Explore link in the XP Start Menu. All you do is right click any folder and choose "Explore".

~ David

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http://www.worldstart.com/writers-guidelines/index.htm

Amanda's Cool Site of the Day

Stafanki

You're going to love this site brought to you by John-Paul Gouett. You can listen to news, comedy, talk shows, and discussion programs from all over the globe. From cultural updates and information on the war in Iraq, the latest comedy and free speech you're going to enjoy just listening.

What's even better is that they have programs archived so if you're looking for a specific program you may still be able to catch it. This is a live stream blessing, in this world where old news is lost and forgotten.

Enjoy!

http://www.stafanki.com

Do you have a cool, non-commercial site that you want to share?
Send it to Amanda at amanda@worldstart.com