Have you ever used Vista’s file search feature to find a file you know exists, but it doesn’t find the file? Here are some causes of this problem and how to fix them.
There are two different ways to do a file search. You can search by location, or you can search the index. According to Microsoft, If you are searching by location and not finding your file, there are five possible causes for the search to fail.
1. The file is not in the location that you are currently are searching.
2. The file is located in a system folder.
3. The file is a hidden file.
4. The file does not appear in the first five thousand items that are listed in the search results.
5. The file contains the search term in one of its properties and not in the file name.
If you are searching the index, there are six possible causes for the search to fail.
1. The file is not in an indexed location.
2. The file type of the file is not indexed.
3. The file has properties that prevent it from being indexed.
4. The indexer has not yet inserted the file into the index.
5. The indexer is overlooking the file.
6. The items in the search results do not match the file you are searching for.
The easiest way to deal with file location problems in Windows Vista is to broaden your search to search everywhere on the computer. When you run your search, click Everywhere in the location box, and then select the boxes for Include non-indexed, hidden, and system files. This may slow down the search a bit, but it will save you time trying to manually find the correct file location. If you know the highest level folder, you can narrow your search to that folder.
If you are using the Windows Vista index file search, click Start, Control Panel, then System Maintenance. Click Indexing Options. Click Modify and then click Show All Locations.
Many of these problems can be avoided by practicing good file and folder management, using descriptive file names and keywords, and by occasionally rebuilding the index using the Administrator’s account.
Source : http://vista.blorge.com/
