Technology Answers

In the computer lab, I use the G:\ drive to save my files. Can I access the G:\ drive from home? Also, a file I saved last week was gone when I tried to retrieve it. What happened to it?

Technology Answers:

The G:\ drive is a great way to quickly save your computer files when you are working in the computer lab or in a library study room, but it has its drawbacks. You can imagine the number of word processing documents and PowerPoint files that get saved there each day. Think of it like your home computer's hard drive. There are just so many files that can be saved before it runs out of space. To make room for more files, the G:\ drive is cleared out once a week. All old files are deleted, and there's no way to get them back!

One way to hang onto your files is to save them on a diskette, but that means you have to have a diskette with you. A better way is to use the university's file server system. The Information Technology Division (ITD) maintains a file server, available free to all students, to store up to five megabytes of data. Your own "IFS home directory" can be accessed with a few keystrokes from the business school network or from home. The ability to access your files from anywhere makes this better than using the G:\ drive. An additional benefit is that your files are regularly backed up by the university.

If you have subscribed to Pine e-mail, you are already subscribed to a home directory. The best way to use your file space is to first save your file locally. You can use the G:\ drive or a diskette for this. Then, if you are on Windows, select the FTP icon from the Program Manager. If you are at home, using the standard connectivity software, select the Rapid Filer icon under Lan WorkPlace. On Macintosh this program is called Fetch. Under Remote Host Name type login.itd.umich.edu. Under User Name type your uniqname and then type your password. Press Enter and you will be connected to your own directory!

FTP uses a two-window display. The local computer is the upper window, and the remote file system is the lower window. There is an option under File to Change Directory so you can display the drive or directory where you first saved your file (a:, g:\l-r, or whatever). To copy your file to the remote system, click to highlight the file in the upper window and click on the button marked Copy. The file name is added to the directory in the lower window and your file is now saved. Retrieving your file works the same way. Select the file in the lower window and select Copy to move it to your local directory or home computer. Once your file is saved, you will never have to worry about copying it to a diskette before it gets deleted.

Once you have used FTP a few times, it becomes very quick and easy. Another reason to learn FTP is you can access free software archives on public sites throughout the world.

If you have not subscribed to Pine but have a uniqname, you can use the ITD Login icon on any business school computer to access the subscription service. This is located at umce.itd.umich.edu.

If you have a question on using technology or the Internet, e-mail it to the MSJ's Technology Answers at spert@umich.edu.