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Questions tagged [windows-search]

Windows Search is the functionality built into the Windows OS for finding files, folders and programs on a PC or in connected storage.

Windows Search allow a user of the Windows operating system to find items like files, folders and programs that are on the PC or on networked locations.

The feature has been a default component of Windows since Windows XP. Only since Windows Vista has there been a default setting to crawl and index files similar to an Internet search engine. For Windows XP there is Windows Desktop Search available for download from Microsoft. It adds the indexing feature to XP.

Using the windows-search tag is preferred to using the tag because it is more specific and allows users to find relevant questions and answers more quickly.

Windows-Search should be used for all questions pertaining to enabling, disabling, modifying the index and search function or how to effectively execute a search query. It should be used for any version of Windows. It may be used for .

More detailed information is available on Wikipedia.

608 questions
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Why is Google so much faster than a hard-drive search?

When I search a file on my HD in Windows 7 or Windows XP it takes some minutes to finish the process. If I fill in a search term in Google, the answer is on my screen in milliseconds How is it possible for Google to search the Internet, which is…
Arne
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255
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13 answers

How to search inside files on Windows 7?

In Windows XP we can search for files that contain a defined keyword (inside all files types). Windows 7 can look inside files for a keyword, but only for text files. (*.doc, *.txt, *.inf, ...), not (*.conf, *.dat, *.*, ...). Microsoft search…
user8228
151
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3 answers

Windows 10 Search not loading, showing blank window

The Search menu on my Windows 10 suddenly stopped working. When I click the Search icon or type something in the Start menu, it just shows a blank search window. I've tried rebuilding the index, SFC /scannow, DISM Restore, and creating a new local…
Jim
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95
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8 answers

How to search for only folders in Windows 7 instead of folders AND files

I've had some issues with the new search function in Windows 7. The Search in Windows XP was packed with so many more options. The only option I can access now are Date Modified and Size. Any pointers to how to get more options in the Windows 7…
sshow
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71
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6 answers

Correct way to disable indexing in Windows 7

What's the best way to disable indexing in Windows 7? All of the articles that I've found online instruct me to access services.msc and disable the Windows Search service. However, even after I did that, when I right click properties of my C-drive,…
KL90
71
votes
5 answers

How do I view the full path in search results?

I really hate the way Search Results works in Windows 7. You get something like this: ...and, wanting to see the full path (why doesn't it show you that automatically, either by making that column wide enough by default or by showing a…
B. Clay Shannon-B. Crow Raven
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56
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8 answers

How to search inside PDFs with Windows Search?

I'd like to use Windows Search for searching through multiple PDFs in one go, but I see that in the Indexing Options' Advanced Options screen, PDF files don't have a registered IFilter: What is an IFilter, and where can I get the appropriate one?
Louis Waweru
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Can I force full speed to the indexing service of Windows?

On windows 7 there's 'pause' and there's 'indexing speed is reduced due to user activity' but what if one wants full speed during desktop activity?
j riv
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41
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8 answers

Block/Remove "Web"/Bing Search from Windows 10

Is there a way to keep Windows 10 searches local and stop Bing results/searches? Windows 8 has "Search Settings" => "Use Bing to Search Online". Windows 10 has Bing Cra...er... results included and no option to hide Bing in addition to the…
WernerCD
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38
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3 answers

How to stop Windows Search from auto-excluding repository folders?

Windows search indexer is adding most paths to repository folders (both .git and .svn) to the exclusion list. I can remove them manually of course, but each time I rebuild the index - they are re-added. I can add them as indexed locations, but I'd…
klepp0906
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8 answers

Windows 7 search for file with a special character in the file name?

I'm trying to find files in Windows 7 that have a parenthesis in the file name. However, when I type ( or *(* or "(" or *"("* I get either nothing or every file. Microsoft's "advanced query syntax" reference for desktop search mentions nothing…
Matias Nino
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32
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1 answer

Is there a way to show all Windows 8 Modern UI search results on one page?

There are three search tabs: Apps, Settings, Files. I currently have to mouse click or navigate down to reach Settings and Files, as Apps is searched by default. Is there a way to get all search results on one page, like on Mac OS X, with the top…
MarkovCh1
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31
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19 answers

What search utilities can search by file name in Windows 7?

I've just installed Windows 7 64-bit and have found that it's file search really really sucks. What is a good alternative that I can load on my system to do file searching? Note: I don't care about text searching in the file. I just want to search…
Lance Roberts
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29
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3 answers

can I use CMD to search for files in windows?

I want a command to search for a file in a directory and all sub directories in windows using the command line. I saw all the available commands but I couldn't find any suitable command to do this operation.
Wael Dalloul
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29
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3 answers

Windows 10 search results appear in wrong language

I just upgraded to Windows 10 from a German Windows 7 installation. I switched my display language to English (United States) and my region to English (United Kingdom). Now whenever I search for some settings like for example "UAC", the search…
Toizi
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