Win7HP File Explorer - slow search

[ChrisGreaves]

I think I am doing something wrong in using the Win7HP File Explorer search window.
Drive T is a TrueCrypt encrypted drive, which I think of as a virtual drive.
Drives L, P and so on are DOS SUBST drives, and they map to folder trees of drive T:

SlowSearch.png

I search for files by typing a Name.Extent pattern in the search box, in the example shown above I am looking for MP3 files whose names begin with the leading part of a date. I hope to find files named 2017*,mp3 and 2018*.mp3

The Green Bar takes an eternity to complete its passage. That is, the search takes AGES! Typically a minute or two. (“Everything” gets the job done in about two seconds).

In the past I have assumed that the slowness of search is due to my use of non-standard drives, requiring excessive communication between (in this case) TrueCrypt and Windows File Manager.
Yesterday I noticed that the third file found “The Very Best of Enya - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.htm” does not contain the string “201”, nor is it an MP3 file.

Have I somehow corrupted my search filters?
On every drive I own, real and simulated, I set the File, Properties flag “Allow file contents to be indexed” to OFF. (I use FileSearchy for content searches).

This slowness has been apparent since the day (2014?) I installed Win7HP.

Thanks, Chris

[HansV]

If you have Everything (no pun intended), why bother using the native Search feature?

[ChrisGreaves]

If you have Everything (no pun intended), why bother using the native Search feature?

Good Question!
Because:
(a) from time to time I am working in/with Explorer and figure that a quick search in a local folder tree should be faster than locating and opening Everything and then switching back to Explorer. An example might be when i am trying to assemble a set of files onto a memory key. I can use the back-arrow and forward-arrow in Explorer to flip between a search and a destination.
(b) (Not so much in this specific case) from time to time I find myself helping friends, and they don't have/won't install 3rd party software, so i figure I should be confident of doing tasks in raw-Windows utilities.

Thanks
Chris

[HansV]

Since the native search is so slow, I think it makes sense to use Everything for a quick search...

And you could take the portable version of Everything with you on a USB stick. (There is a pun there...)

[StuartR]

If you only want to search file names, and not their content, then try a search string of
filename:201*.mp3

That should be much quicker

[StuartR]

Also, you might like to try a trick that I had to use to get Windows Search to work properly on a VeraCrypt partition. This is necessary if the partition isn't mounted when Windows starts.

I have a task manager task that stops and then restarts wsearch, 2 minutes after I log in. That allows long enough for the VeraCrypt partition to be mounted.

Code: Select all

NET STOP WSearch
ping -n 2 -w 1000 16.1.1.0
NET START WSearch