Cant access desktop in win2000 to burn slideshow

[chinadoll]

I am newbie to win2000 and have much stuff on the desktop ....even my documents folder....problem is that when I want to burn some slideshows I have in this folder I cannot access it !! I have clicked on the drive c icon and explore but it doesnt go up as far as desktop....even when I use the burning software I cant see the desktop icon ...so I need help ...anyone care to ?

[vehelpfulguy]

Part 1 of long answer

I can partly understand your question, but not fully understand it.

Firstly, if you are new to Windows 2000 I assume you have been using Windows 95/98/ME. 

The main difference between W2000 and 95/98/Me is that W2000 is set up to allow multiple users to logon, whereas 95/98/ME are really single user system.

So when YOU logon with your userid you get a "My Documents" folder that is purely for your files.

If another user logged on the same computer with THEIR Id they would see THEIR "My Documents" folder, and not yours.

So "My Documents" will always appear on the dekstop, and it is probably best if you keep ALL your personal files in your own "My Documents" folder.   

More to follow

[vehelpfulguy]

Part 2

The way Windows 2000 (and XP) handle multiple users is to have a fairly complex directory structure on the hard disk.   

This may get complicated but sorry for that.

Windows keep all "personal" files in a folder called "C:\Documents and Settings". 

There will be a folder in there for each user, plus one called "All Users" for files and settings shared by all users.

Suppose you have two users called ALAN and BILL.

Both will have their own folder under "Documents and Settings" 

So ALANs files are in C:\Documents and Settings\Alan

And BILLs files are in C:\Documents and Settings\Bill

Within each personal folder (ALAN or BILL) is a "My Documents" folder.

So when ALAN logs on to the computer the "My Documents" shown on the desktop is actually C:\Documents and Settings\Alan\My Documents 

This is why you should keep all your personal file in "My Documents"

[vehelpfulguy]

Part 3

When you say you want to burn some slideshows and cannot access the file I assume you are getting some sort of window which lists all the disks and folders on your computer.

If that is case then navigate to the "C" drive.

Then the "Documents and Settings" folder.

Then a folder which is probably the name you are logged on with.

Within that there should be a number of folders, including "Desktop" (for files on your desktop), and "My Documents" for files in your "My Documents" folder.

There are other folders in there, but it is unlikely the file you want will be in there. These other folders are used by Windows to store system files and user settings so that when you logon it is able to give you your own personal desktop and files.  

I have found that most Microsoft software (Word etc) displays the "My Documents" folder as a default, which is why it is a good idea to keep all your personal files in there. 

It also means that if you do a backup you only need to backup all the files in "My Documents" rather than loads of other folders.   

    

[Ralph]

Sparkling advice by vehelpfulguy. I'd just like to add that when you were browsing to find your My Documents folder and you double-clicked C: to look around in there, you should have clicked on the UP a level button. If you go up a level from where you can see A;, C:, D: etc, you get Desktop, My Documents, My Computer, My Network Neighborhood and Recycle Bin.

As an aside, if you type %userprofile% including the percent signs into the address box and hit Enter, it will take you to the user folder of the login you used, in my case, C:\Documents and Settings\Ralph where you will see all the folders you were looking for.