Posts by wanderingmarlin4

Hi there.

I just finished installing Windows on my laptop, and I'm running into some hurdles that are honestly driving me a bit crazy. On my previous setup, everything was neatly organized within my Documents, Music, Pictures, Video, and Downloads folders, along with my desktop. Having all those files consolidated on a single drive (Local disk C:) made perfect sense to me, and they were far too important to lose. Now that I have a fresh Windows installation, my Computer doesn't show just one drive anymore; instead, I see two: Local disk C: and Local disk D:. The latter doesn't even have that little icon flag. It wouldn't be an issue if my data were still where it belongs, but the file structure is a mess. My primary folders appear nearly empty or filled with nothing but sample files, while my actual data is buried on the D: drive inside a folder named "Backup." This means I have to click Local disk D:, then open "Backup," and only then can I find my Documents, Music, Pictures, etc. It feels like I have duplicate folders; the ones under Libraries in the sidebar are empty shells, whereas my real content is tucked away on that second drive.

So, what am I looking for? Is there a way to force those links under Libraries—Documents, Music, Pictures, and Video—to actually point to the folders where my data lives? If not, how can I reorganize the structure on Local disk D: so that clicking it takes me straight to my files without having to navigate through "Backup" first? Essentially, I want to bypass that extra layer. Ideally, I’d move everything back to a single drive, but I don't think that's feasible since moving everything from D: to C: would require more space than I have left—I've only got a few gigabytes free on Local disk C:. Is there a workaround for this? I haven't had much luck getting answers in person, so I'm turning to this community. Hopefully, I haven't made this sound more complicated than it actually is...

Thanks. :)

Hello.

I managed to snag a free version of the Adobe CS2 suite. Technically, Adobe claims it isn't free, but you can still download it directly from their site. For my purposes, this is perfect; I just want to get my feet wet with raster and vector photo editing. I’m not one to frequent pirate sites, so CS2 is effectively the last version of this Adobe suite I can legally find online. While searching, I realized these tools are over a decade old—released back in 2005—which really gave me pause.

Does it actually make sense to learn on software designed for the era of bulky CRT monitors, mechanical keyboards, and Windows XP? I’ve installed them on my machine running Windows 10, and they seem to run quite fast and reliably. However, I don't have enough technical background to know if I'm being fooled—for instance, if the menus work but more intensive tasks fail—or if everything is truly compatible. Furthermore, will the skills I pick up in CS2 actually translate to today's standards? If I master CS2 now, can I simply buy the latest CS version in a year and pick up right where I left off? Are there any hidden pitfalls to using such ancient software that I might be overlooking?

To get straight to the point, the title says it all. Is it even possible to be an Adobe CS2 user in this day and age? Is CS2 a mere relic, or is it an old veteran still capable of keeping pace with the modern crowd? Would it be more logical to just use GIMP for learning instead? Honestly, I hope your responses are kind to CS2; I was genuinely excited about finally having a way to dive into photo editing software.

Thanks in advance!