While this is fresh on my mind after helping a friend troubleshoot discord not opening:
If you've just gotten a new computer fresh out of the box, before you install ANYTHING extra, get intimate with it. Explore it. Know it. This way, you can learn where and what everything is, without looking at something and wondering, "Should that be there? Is it a virus?" and messing with things you shouldn't.
I myself am on Windows (10 still, thank fuck), so I know I can tell you that that glorious sidebar to the left when you open your file explorer, is your best friend. You can scroll down through downloads, documents, video, photo, whatever. Those are fine and good (though probably empty, seeing as I recommended doing this on a clean install). But the glory lies in your beautiful "This PC" drop-down, and specifically, in your C drive. That silly little "(C:)".
Everything is here. EVERYTHING. Even the stuff you shouldn't fuck with. Look at it all anyway. First and foremost though, turn on file extension names (it's in a setting somewhere in the top of the file explorer window). This will help you learn what everything is and how it works, and protect you in the future from some shittily hidden viruses (example: PDF files do not end with .exe).
When you have file extensions turned on, look at, but don't touch, any files you're not certain about-- if you're going into folders, that's fine. Find the fabled System 32. Look at all the gibberish in your temp folders. Explore as much as you can handle.
(As a bonus, if you don't find your way here through clicking, you can type "%appdata%" into your task bar search for more fun).
Had enough? Cool. Download something. Just one thing. Don't spam click through instructions. I don't expect you to read the terms and conditions top to bottom, but pay attention to the directories where your important files for this program will be installed. You should hopefully be somewhat familiar with some of these names at this point from your previous exploration. The install directory will probably default to "Program Files" or "Program Files (x86)" or something like that (I don't have a PC in front of me rn). Install the program, then check out that place. Look into the new program's folder. Again, look at but don't touch anything you're unsure about.
Then, surprise yourself. Type in "%appdata%" and hit enter. It'll probably default you to "Roaming," but you can back out by clicking the previous folder in the top of the file explorer search bar. "Local," "LocalLow," and "Roaming" are your three Appdata subfolders.
Look in all of them. I bet you'll find a folder for that program you just installed, with more files, even though the installation might not have said anything about storing things in Appdata. In the case of Discord, this is where your settings and log in info would be saved-- but there's a lot more to it than that. This is just a big simplification for introductory purposes.
You don't have to be a programmer or IT individual to know your computer. I learned most of my computer through game mods, but if I can get anyone else to safely learn their computer's digital insides by making this post, then that's just a little more power you as a person have over your own technology-- something capitalism sorely doesn't want you to have anymore.
