This article reviews general tips and guidelines to cleaning up your various storage drives -- whether they be local (e.g., on your computer) or on the network!
Storage drives overview
- Personal files are not permitted to be stored on any College storage drive.
- Sensitive files (e.g., Personally Identifiable Information, FERPA-protected data) must be stored on a drive per the College's Data Storage Handling guidelines.
| Name of Drive | Access | Primary Use |
|---|---|---|
Local Drive (C:) | Varies | Operating System, applications, and temporary documents |
Home Drive (H:) | You | Day-to-day storage of documents and backups |
Departmental Drives (S:) | Your department | Shared and commonly accessed College documents and procedures |
PeopleSoft (Q:) | Various departments | BIONIC and PeopleSoft data |
Other Drives (O:, R:, etc.) | Varies | Varies |
Know where to look
Windows
macOS
Tips for before you begin
- Think twice, delete once
- Create a "to delete" folder if you're hesitant
- Delete all P.I.I. (personally identifiable information)
- Identify files with unknown owners
Step 1: transfer files that do not belong
Follow the Primary Use column of the table above, along with the College's Data Storage Handling guidelines, to determine where specific data belongs.
- Make a backup: Learn how to safely back up
- Transfer your files to OneDrive? Make them accessible as shortcuts on your computer!
Step 2: delete files that are no longer needed
LITS strongly recommends following the College's Record Retention Policy.
Be sure to discuss with your colleagues when working in shared network drives such as the S: and Q:
- Target large files: Learn how to sort files by size
- Delete older versions of files
- Delete duplicate files
- Delete copied applications: Learn how to sort files by type
Step 3: data storage tips
- Keep a consistent file naming structure
- YYYY-MM-DD_FileName
- Consider how you organize folders
- Consider the importance of a file
- How often will you access it?
- Can you access the information somewhere else?
- Should the file be archived?
- Take a LinkedIn Learning course to better understand your computer
Questions?
If you have any additional questions or problems, don't hesitate to reach out to the Help Desk!
Phone: 610-526-7440 | Library and Help Desk hours
Email: help@brynmawr.edu | Service catalog
Location: Canaday Library 1st floor
