Organize Your Files

Before you subscribe to Iron Mountain's Connected® service, organize the files on your computer. Not only will this make it easier to find your data when you need it, but it will make backups more certain and less time consuming.

Use My Documents

Though frequently used as a place to store files, the Desktop isn’t the best place to store your data. It gets cluttered very quickly, which can actually slow down system operation. Use the My Documents folder to consolidate your files, making them easy to find without sacrificing system resources. We highly recommend you use the My Music and My Pictures folders (within My Documents) to store music and image files, respectively. If you use iTunes, it automatically creates a separate iTunes folder within the My Music folder. If you download music or use file sharing programs, download the files to the appropriate folder within My Documents. If you use a digital camera, move your downloaded pictures to the My Pictures folder.

Create a Downloads folder

Within My Documents, create a Downloads folder. If you download an application, save the setup program in this folder. If something goes wrong with the application, you’ll know exactly where to go if you need to reinstall it. Using a Downloads folder to store downloaded applications is also a good way to maintain various versions.