People often forget what the transition was like from office machines, manual spreadsheets, and filing cabinets to having a single PC that could replace these for you if you really try.

But you really have to try and put in some effort here.

Without taking action to have it your way, you'll be left to the default approach which Microsoft has molded for users who may never grasp filing systems at all, which is simultaneously backward-compatible with DOS. And then third-party software which sometimes tries to better cope by having their own layer of obscurity which can help your workflow but the filing can end up even more ugly.

But the filing cabinet never was an office machine anyway, and as far as automatic, I would much rather have a real intelligent secretary file & retrieve my folders than I would a machine.

And without a secretary I figure I'm going to have to put in some effort my dang self, and get the most out of the electronic filing at my fingertips.

The C: volume containing DOS or Windows was subject to the most frequent defects or corruption and could be considered the most risky place to put any of your valuable data if you could help it.

But regular PCs for office or home were supplied with only one partition on their HDD so there was no separate volume that could be dedicated exclusively for storage. The highest-reliablity upgrade was having a second hard drive dedicated for storage, but naturally you had to work from a blank slate and label all the folders yourself just like a secretary would do. Further you need to be very vigilant and direct any valuable data from all Windows or third-party apps to your dedicated folders every time. However nobody actually needed this drive space at the beginning since that's when there's always plenty of room on C:.

But it was worth it.

Be your own secretary.

Yes the C: drive was still a PITA to restore but it was good to maintain readiness to Format C: at any time without losing any valuable data at all.

Then restoring only the system (Windows, installed apps, and settings) quickly from backup, or alternatively reinstalling them in the previously optimized repeatable full recovery procedure. Always install programs to C: right along with Windows. To a newer, faster, or bigger HDD whenever you felt like it. The C: drive was like the office machine substitute, where you need to be able to change some of the things on your desktop or even get a whole new desk from time to time, but you wouldn't want to handle your company files and their filing system as disposably as you would a broken office machine.

And the second HDD volume was the filing cabinet substitute, which could physically be moved or copied and placed into a different office without affecting the desk or desktop that generated the data.

Now this was before the Documents And Settings folder appeared. Which pushed the mainstream in the opposite direction, placing your valuable data by default into folders automatically labeled and tucked away largely within deeply nested trees within Windows' increasing number of self-created folders, and completely downplaying any underlying need to know the filing system at all. Instead of all being in one filing cabinet, your data became a "part" of Windows and it became acceptable for your files to be less accessible to your fingertips alone. Not without Windows and each App in question being there in perfect working order. And with temporary files from the internet growing right there in the same folders, rendering your relatively small number of useful business files more like a needle in a haystack as time goes by.

Is this risk really worth it just to have the simplified option of multiple users in offices where everyone needs their own Personal Computer to begin with?

Anyway they basically call it the Users folder now and you've got a symbolic link from Documents And Settings, so the woods got deeper that time too.

I hate having to knock down more trees just to get stuff done.

Even when paperwork has been my only product so much of the time.

With effective multi-partitioning it became within reach to have separate volumes for Windows vs. Your Data, when you only have a single HDD. You do have to take action from there.

Which is a step in the right direction but with fast external USB drives it's one of the best ways to physically separate your personal filing cabinet from your office/machines again. Plus externally store your well-tested working backups of Windows' less-sizable full C: volume itself as .WIM files, to hammer a reformatted C: often with, which can be quicker than defragmenting with about the same outcome if you do it right.

Losing a laptop doesn't have to be so bad if there are no credentials or company data on board to begin with, but as always don't leave your stuffed filing cabinet in your competitor's reception area. Especially if it fits in between the couch cushions.