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+1 for XTree. Also, for those not already aware, there's the
  XTree Fan Page with links to several Linux clones.

"Am I the only person who would actually prefer the Windows 3.1 .. a nice "desktop" that you can organise how you like .. without things popping up at random places on the screen"

A combination of Novell Netware and Xtree done for me or even Midnight Commander

It wasn't the greatest for copying files though and only the NT versions supported long file names. The best replacement I found was the Norton File Manager. It came with the long discontinued "Norton Navigator" package that Symantec threw together after they bought out Central Point and served as an upgrade to the popular Norton Navigator and Central Point Desktop packages from Windows 3.1x.

Norton Navigator was pretty advanced at the time and many of its features still aren't included in Windows. It added ZIP file integration (added in XP), extended file attribute editing (could modify date stamps), the file manager (which could write/format DMF disks and encrypt files, even had an XTree style view!), enhanced task bar (quick launch, and button rearranging-later added in 98 and Vista) virtual desktops, LFN support for 16bit apps, and smart folders (feature kinda added to Windows 7)

Old archived info page here: http://www.xtreefanpage.org/docs/nnav.htm

Its a shame Symantec has gotten out of the utilities business, they used to make some cool products.

"Windows 95 was awesome... but the first versions were crap the 95b was the best one"

Yea, it finally got back to a buggy version of Xtree, drDOS, Novell Netware and Win3.11 Yea I know you could do it with Citrix, but MS bought out Citrix didn't they .. :)

The main innovation being you could no longer load WinDOS from a Netware server onto a diskless client, you had to buy licenses and upgrade the memory and install a harddrive on each client, costing a lot if you were cash starved college.

http://www.xtreefanpage.org/x63clone.htm :D

Matt

Sucked like a Dyson on steroids.

Here is a review of XTGWin, and here are the XTG Fanpages.

If you're new to Windows, you're used to an honest filesystem that isn't actively trying to hide things from you and take control away from you. Ztree for Windows gives you back some of that control and transparency.(Ob.Disclaimer: no connection other than having bought and used it.)

Back in the DOS days, there was Xtree, XtreePro and then XtreeGold from Executive Systems. This was a character-mode file-manager/navigator-plus-toolbox. Symantec bought it and promptly took it off the market. Today, XtreeGold is memorialized at the Xtree Fan Page; go there to get a feel for the program. The original Xtree programs are now quite dated -- they can't handle FAT32, much less NTFS.

ZtreeWin is a clean reimplementation of XtreePro (actually by now it's most of the way from XtreePro to XtreeGold in that development effort) for Win32. It's shareware (but, hey, it's for Windows, where, FLOSS aside, it's rare that you're not expected to pay for every little thing). In my time using it on Windows (I'm pretty much solely on Linux now), I got quite pleased with how much Windows didn't get in my way because I used it; I considered it indispensable.

The original MC clone that I used was on a Windows machine - Windows Commander, and I must say I have yet to find a Linux-based program that I like as much.

whoa, let's straighten something out here.
both of these (windows and midnight commander) take after the original Norton Commander which debuted in 1986.

HOWEVER, the greatest DOS filesystem enhancement tool was XTree which was released a year before Norton Commander.