> >But one thing I do is put
> >the useful data on another drive (partition).  So I could wipe the
> system 
> >and retain my data without having to think about it.
> 
> Yes, that would be the right way of doing it, but I'll pay 
> anyone that can convince her to save the "good stuff" in the 
> correct places.  So, she's responsible for the health of her 


Actually, it's the programmers & 'power users' who tend to put stuff in
weird places, not the average (ie uniformed) users.  The users just hit
save, and it all ends up in their 'My Documents' folder, or on the desktop.
Programs are supposed to use the 'Applications Data' folder for their stuff,
and there is one for each user.  Registry stuff is a bit trickier, but I
think the 'transfer user' wizard thingy handles that ok.

As alluded at above, you can move the 'special folders' to anywhere you
like, so 'C:\Program Files\' can be 'D:\Program Files\', ditto for 'My
Docs', etc.  Then you find out which applications have dumb-arse
programmers, who assume it's always 'C:\Program Files\'.  Or whatever the
equivalent is in German.

All the 'good stuff' should end up under her profile in 'Docs & Settings',
assuming the programmers are doing 'the right thing'.  It's not as if it's
hard, there's an API for it and all.

Users like myself find it hard to break out of the DOS days, and dammit, if
I want a folder called 'C:\Porn\' *, I'll damn well make one.  Then I'll
complain when stuff is all over the place.

I've found that taking away Admin rights solves quite a few problems, or at
least slows most people down.  Much politer than saying 'If you keep
downloading crap I'll punch you, and then set your computer on fire, rather
than fix it'.

Tony


* In reality, I'd call it 'C:\Stuff\', since no-one will ever look there.


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