Absolute Beginners Guide to Upgrading and Fixing Your PC

What file problems might you encounter? Let's see…You can accidentally delete a file you really didn't want deleted, or you can inadvertently copy one file over another existing file, which erases the latter. (There's not much you can do about this one, I'm afraid.) In fact, if you try hard enough, you can even sabotage your entire hard disk by using Windows file commands incorrectly. (Scary thought, isn't it?)

Before you get too paranoid about all this, know that Windows normally gives you ample warning (in the form of an onscreen message) before it carries out a potentially dangerous command. If you heed the onscreen warning, you can halt any such operation before it destroys your files.

Know also that hard disk problems can inflict severe damage on your files. Bad sectors on a hard disk, for example, can scramble the data in affected files, making them unreadable. And, of course, computer viruses can cause the same type of damage to your files and in many cases, even worse. Because all your efforts at your computer depend on the integrity of your files, it's imperative that you understand how fragile their existence can be.