If it's too late for good organization, or you simply have too many files, you have another option, the Windows Find utility. If you have some clue as to where your file is, any of the letters that are in the filename, or any of the content that's in the document, you could possibly find it using the Find utility.

Hit your Start button, select Find, then Files or Folders. The Find dialog box will appear.

• If you know the name of the file, but you don't know where it is, type the name of the file in the first dialog box and then select My Computer in the Look In box. Make sure to check the box "include subfolders" and then click on Find Now.
  
• If you only know a few letters in the name of the file, use a wild card. The asterisk "*" fills in all the letters you don't know. For example:
  
  
  • br* will find all files and folders that start with the letters "br".
    
  • *aft will find all files and folders that end with the letters "aft".
  
  
  Select the drive or directory you want to look in, check "include subfolders" and then click on Find Now.
  
• If you don't know the name of the file, but you know you last saved it two months ago, click on the Advanced tab. Select the file type from the drop-down list. For example, if you're looking for a Word document, you'd select Microsoft Word Document. Then click on the Date tab. You can search within specific dates or you can search just within a few months. Enter "2" in the "during the previous ____ Month(s)" field. Click on the Name and Location tab, select the location, then click on Find Now.
  
• If you know some of the text in the file, but you don't remember the name, select the Name and Location tab and enter the words you're looking for in the dialog box labeled "Containing Text." Select the location, then click on Find Now. This is really designed for document files. You're not going to find much text in your image files.
  

After you hit Find Now, some results will appear in the box below. Scan the files. You can launch any file within its associated application simply by double-clicking on it. That should be your file.