Short answer: Save your work on the data drive — usually D: or E:, depending on your package. That is the drive we intend your files to live on. Do not save to a redirected drive that appears during an RDP session: those belong to whichever computer you are sitting at, and a file saved there is not on your cloud desktop at all. It is the commonest reason a file appears to have vanished.
Applies to: All Infosaic cloud desktops · browser and RDP sessions
A cloud desktop shows you more drives than an ordinary computer does, and they are not all the same kind of thing. Some are on the server; some are on the machine in front of you.
Getting this right on the first day costs a minute. Getting it wrong produces the single most common support request we see: a file that was definitely saved and is definitely not there.
Save on the data drive
Your desktop has a dedicated data drive for your files — commonly D: or E:, depending on which package you are on. Open File Explorer and you will see it alongside the system drive.
Use it. Put your documents, projects and working files there, and point your applications at it so that Save As defaults to the right place.
The system drive, normally C:, is for Windows and installed programs. Filling it with documents is untidy at best and can affect how the machine runs.
If you are not sure which letter is your data drive, open a support request and ask. We will tell you in one reply.
Set your application defaults once, on day one. In Word, Excel and most editors you can set the default save location. Point it at the data drive and the decision is made for you every time after that.
What a redirected drive actually is
If you connect with the Remote Desktop app and enable local resources, the drives on your own computer appear inside the session. They are usually labelled with your computer’s name, or shown under a heading such as Redirected drives and folders.
They are extremely useful for moving files in and out. They are the wrong place to save work, for one reason: the file goes onto the laptop you happen to be using at that moment.
So when you sign in from a different machine the following day, the file is not there — it never was on the cloud desktop. Nothing has been lost or deleted; it is sitting on the other computer.
If a file has “disappeared”, check the computer you were using when you saved it. Nine times out of ten it is in that machine’s Documents folder, exactly where you told Windows to put it.
A simple rule that avoids all of it
- Work on the data drive. Everything you are actively using lives there.
- Use redirected drives only to copy in and out, never as a save destination.
- Check the path in the Save dialog, not the folder name. Documents exists on both machines and looks identical.
- Keep one folder structure on the data drive rather than scattering files across the desktop and Downloads.
- Do not rely on the Windows desktop as storage. It is fine for shortcuts and awkward for anything else.
If several people share the desktop, agree the folder layout once. It saves a great deal of hunting later.
Moving files in and out
- With the Remote Desktop app — enable your drives before connecting, then copy and paste between the redirected drive and the data drive in File Explorer.
- In a browser session — use the session’s upload and download panel; ordinary drag-and-drop from your computer does not work.
- For large amounts — a cloud storage service inside the session is often quicker than either.
Remember that local resources are read at the moment a session starts, so tick the boxes for drives and printers before you connect, then save the connection so you never have to think about it again.
If you cannot find a file
- Search the data drive first, not the whole machine.
- Check the Recent Documents list in the application you created it with — it shows the full path, which tells you which machine it went to.
- Check your own computer’s Documents and Downloads folders.
- Check the Recycle Bin on the cloud desktop.
- Ask us. Open a support request with the file name and roughly when you saved it.
Do not recreate the work before checking the Recent Documents path. It is the quickest way to find out where the file actually went.
Questions and answers
Where should I save my files on a cloud desktop?
On the data drive, usually D: or E: depending on your package.
Which drive letter is my data drive?
It depends on your package. Open File Explorer to see it, or ask us and we will confirm it.
Why should I not save to the C: drive?
C: is for Windows and installed programs. Your work belongs on the data drive.
What is a redirected drive?
A drive on your own computer, made visible inside an RDP session. Useful for copying files, wrong for saving work.
I saved a file and now it is gone. What happened?
It was almost certainly saved to a redirected drive, which means it is on the computer you were using at the time, not on the cloud desktop.
How do I move files onto my cloud desktop?
With the Remote Desktop app, enable your local drives before connecting and copy between them. In a browser session, use the upload and download panel.
Can I drag and drop files into a browser session?
No. Use the session’s upload panel instead.
How do I stop saving to the wrong place?
Set your applications’ default save location to the data drive, and check the full path in the Save dialog rather than the folder name.
Related articles
- Your first 10 minutes with your cloud desktop
- How to copy files between your computer and your cloud desktop
- How to check disk space and free it up
- Uploading and downloading files in your browser session
- Saving your connection settings
- How to open a support request (and get it solved faster)
Still stuck?
Open a support request from your control panel — that is the fastest route, because it reaches the team who can already see your account and your desktop. You can also email [email protected].