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Software for Files and Drives

File Handling...

Explorer can be one of the most off-putting utilities on your computer.  Sooner or later every newcomer is faced with tasks such as finding a file, renaming a file, copying or moving a file.  And the only method you're given is Explorer.  It even disguises itself sometimes, such as clicking on "My Documents" - this is still an Explorer window but displays differently.

And now you try to work within it.  Having eventually mastered the navigation of folders, you decide to try and drag a file to a new location, even if you can find the new location!  Ever seen what happens if you accidentally let go of the mouse while dragging?  The file moves instantly but you don't know where its gone.  Ever tried selecting several files at once?  Eventually you discover how to do it, but then discover that as soon as you click elsewhere the selection is lost and you have to start again.

What we need is an alternative - that does it properly...

TurboNavigator.  One of the best "Explorer alternatives".  Features 2 window panes which can display different directories.  To move/copy files you simply drag from one to the other.  Also the default action is "copy" rather than Explorer's default of "move", so if you blunder, the original is still there.  TurboNavigator also allows you to select multiple files by marking them with the spacebar.  The selection is not lost if you click elsewhere.  There are many other useful facilities included, making it an excellent workhorse for nearly all your file handling.  As an added novelty it includes a very good media player that copes well with sound, music and video files.
http://www.woundedmoon.org/win32/turbonavigator.html

MeeSoft Commander.  Not as powerful or complete as TurboNavigator, but it has several aspects that make it a useful extra...
It is a standalone program so can be run from anywhere.
It can select multiple files safely by ticking them (but oddly doesn't have the facility to untick all at once - you have to 'refresh' to do that).  You also have to turn on the ticking method in the settings, otherwise its just the same as Explorer.
It features an easy-to-use ftp function, which can be set up as multiple shortcuts.  If you want a quick and flexible ftp program this is well worth having.
http://meesoft.logicnet.dk/

A43.  Quite a chunky program and can run a bit slow.  In fact it inherits all the clumsy problems of Explorer, but is mentioned here because unlike Explorer it has dual panes, is standalone, and features built-in previews and editors.
http://www.primitus.us/a43/

FolderGuide.  One annoying problem in file dialogs is that they often default to locations such as 'my documents' every time, even though you save your files elsewhere.  FolderGuide adds the ability to right-click in a dialog and pick another location of your choice without having to do all that navigating.
http://www.freeware365.com/desktop/folderguide.htm

CDR Drives...

Burning data to a CD or DVD has become quite easy.  The problem that most people hit is later on...  finding the files again.  You can end up with many storage CDs with hundreds of files on them.  What is needed is a cataloging tool.

Cathy.  Written by an ordinary computer user who found that none of the programs available did the job properly - so he had to create his own, which he has now made available to the public.  It is incredibly simple yet very powerful, and enables you to quickly add CDs to the list, then at any time find files instantly.
http://www.mtg.sk/rva/

Backing Up Data...

Just making a copying a file to another location is the simplest form of backup, so why would you need anything else?  Often then file might be quite large so you'd want to compress it.  This can easily be done with a 'zipping' program, but sometimes you need something more...

RKopie.  This is a program which lets you back up data by compressing it and then naming the compressed file in an automatic way, for example with the date and time in its name - e.g. 'file20070239 15:17:00.zip'.  RKopie lets you set up complete sets of instructions to backup different files and folders.  Once created, any one can be run to create an instant backup with no further attention.
http://home.hccnet.nl/s.j.francke/software/software.htm

Compressing Files...

File compression (often referred to as 'zipping') is available in hundreds of programs these days.  Some are standalone compressors while some are contained within larger software.  There are different methods such as zip, arj, rar, tar.  They work in different ways but basically do the same thing.  Many programs can handle most of those methods rather than just one.  When it comes to the most popular format (zip) we could list all the programs available but very little would make one better than another because they all do the same thing.  The only factor that does matter are 'how easy is it to use'.  Two programs that figure highly in this aspect are...

ZipGenius.  Handles nearly all of the well known formats, aswell as being useable by right-clicking files, rather than needing to run the program directly.  So, zipping can be as simple as right-click, zip!  Unzipping is also just as easy, with the added extra of being able to unzip to an automatically created folder - a feature not supported by many rivals.
http://www.zipgenius.it/

7Zip.  While 7Zip also handles multiple formats, it has its own format (7z) which can reduce a file up to 50% smaller than a zip.  The 7z format has grown in popularity and is now incorporated into many other zip software, including the latest version of ZipGenius.  The 7zip software itself is much lighter than zipping though, and extremely easy to use.  Includes the ability to create 'self-extracting' files, which can be useful if you send the 7z file to someone who has no program to open it.
http://www.7-zip.org/