Access the Contents of Your Computer

My Computer

My Computer is an icon, or small picture, that is located on the computer desktop. When opened, My Computer displays the contents of your computer and allows you to access files and hardware. Opening My Computer is a way of accessing the pictures stored on your computer and pictures in your digital camera (when your camera or camera dock is attached to your computer).

To open My Computer:

1. Double-click the My Computer icon.

2. The My Computer window opens.

3. Double-click one of the drives to see what it contains.

4. The hard drive window displays the contents of drive C.

   

   Note: To view a complete list of files and subfolders on a disk, use Windows Explorer.

   You can keep opening folders to see what’s in them by clicking the icon or the folder name. This is called “drilling down.”

5. Repeatedly click the Back button in the toolbar to move back up through the layers of folders to the main My Computer window.

6. 

Disk Drive Letters

In the My Computer window, you will notice a variety of letters. Each letter represents a disk drive that’s attached to your computer. A disk drive is a device that reads data from a disk, such as a computer disk, Zip disk, or CD. A disk drive can also save, or write, information on the disk from the computer’s memory.

For example, the computer can save your document on a floppy disk. It can also open another document that is already on the disk.

The specific contents of each computer vary depending on:

• The computer itself

• The hardware attached to the computer

• The programs on the computer

• The personal files on the computer

But all computers contain a similar layout of the computer contents. For example, the letters below are associated with standard drives:

• (A:) is the floppy disk drive

• (C:) is the hard drive

Other letters represent a variety of other drives — a CD-ROM drive, a second hard drive, a Zip disk drive, or a digital camera. The computer names the drives D, E, and so on, usually followed by the name of the drive or device. The D drive on your computer could be a Zip drive while on another computer it could be the second hard drive.

The newer models of digital cameras appear as drives when you connect them to your computer. These cameras include the KODAK DX Series Digital Cameras.

After you load the camera software and connect your camera to the computer, the camera appears in the My Computer window or the Windows Explorer window as a drive icon with a letter assigned to it. This lets you access the contents of your digital camera as you would the contents of any other drive.

Windows Explorer

Like My Computer, Windows Explorer also displays the contents of your computer.

To start Windows Explorer:

1. Click the Start button, point to Programs, and then click Windows Explorer.

2. 

3. Windows Explorer opens.

4. 

   The left pane of Windows Explorer displays a list of hardware, disks, and folders. The right pane displays the contents of the chosen drive or folder in the left pane.

   • A plus sign in front of a folder in the left pane indicates that there are hidden subfolders in the folder. Click the plus sign to view the subfolders. When the hidden subfolders appear, the plus sign turns into a minus sign.

   • A minus sign in front of a folder indicates that its subfolders are visible. To hide the subfolders, click the minus sign.

Different Ways to View Folders and Files

Whether you view the contents of your computer using My Computer or Windows Explorer, there are different ways to display your folders and files. The way your computer displays folders and files depends on the computer setup.

To change the display:

1. Click View in the menu bar.

2. A drop-down menu appears.

   

3. Click each one of the following to see the different ways you can display information.

4. • Large Icons — view large icons arranged alphabetically in rows.

   • Small Icons — view small icons arranged alphabetically in rows.

   • List — view small icons arranged in columns.

   • Details — view small icons in a single column with the time and date that you created folder or saved the file.

Recycle Bin

After you delete files or folders, the computer transfers them to the Recycle Bin. They remain in the Recycle Bin until you empty it. This feature is convenient because you can recover items you accidentally delete.

To recover a deleted item:

1. Double-click the Recycle Bin icon.

2. Click the item(s) you want to restore.

3. The items become highlighted.

4. Click File in the menu bar.

5. Click Restore. The items will go back to the place from which you deleted them.

6. 

You will know when there are items in the Recycle Bin by looking at the icon. An empty Recycle Bin has no trash and a Recycle Bin with at least one item has pieces of paper in it.

To empty the Recycle Bin:

1. Double-click the Recycle Bin icon.

2. To delete all the contents, click File and Empty Recycle Bin.

3. 

To delete certain items in the Recycle Bin:

1. Double-click the Recycle Bin icon.

2. Hold down the Control key on the keyboard and click all the items you want to delete.

3. Release the Control key. All the items you want to delete are highlighted.

   

4. In the menu bar, click File, and then click Delete.

5. 

6. If you are sure you want to delete the items, click Yes in the Confirm Multiple File Delete window.

7. The items not chosen for deletion remain in your Recycle Bin.