Where'd the $%##! File Go?: Finding Your Download on Your Own PC

If you don't pay attention, you can lose your download on your own PC. Browsers and FTP utilities often seem to have minds of their own when placing a download on your PC. But, it is just part of their configuration. I use Netscape, and it always places downloads in My Briefcase for me. My FTP utility places downloads in a folder titled "Transfers". My terminal program places them in a different folder titled "Downloads".

That's how files can get lost to you. If you expect downloads to always appear in My Briefcase and you use a new downloading utility, you can get pretty confused when you open My Briefcase and NO DOWNLOAD FILE!

The easiest solution is to use the "Find" utility in Windows to find the file. Click on "Start", then "Find", then "Files or Folders". Type in the name of the file (or any part of the name you can remember) and let Windows find the file for you. You can then move it to whichever folder you wish to unzip the file or run the setup.

A permanent fix is to reconfigure your download utility to always place files in the folder your specify. However, each utility is different and I can't really help you with this. You will have to figure it out on your own using the documentation/help of your utility.