Fast search on windows

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Question

I have a machine with Windows 7 64 bit OS where I have installed SharePoint server 2010 Enterprise.

Now can I install FAST search in this machine ?

or Is that the FAST search can be installed only in windows server 2008 ?

All replies

I think the installer might check the OS version, but not 100% sure. If the installer works, then FAST will also work is my guess.

Then again I prefer server OS for SharePoint as well, running in a VM.

Thanks,
Mikael Svenson

The pre-requisits installer is not supported by windows 7 🙁

So I had to install all the pre-requisits manualy and install the setup that worked fine.

But while configuration I am getting error,So am thinking if its the error because of OS which is Windows 7.

Guess if you analyze the error you might figure it out, but it would be cheaper time wise to get 2008R2 up and running is my guess 🙂

How to make Windows 10’s search lightning fast and more useful

I like the search in Windows 10 even though I had to tweak it quite a bit to make it behave the way I want it to and am running into search not working issues from time to time.

One thing that I like about it in particular is that it highlights the main results better. This is a small change that puts the focus on the first result and since search gets it right most of the time, it is easier to recognize it and select it with a tap on the enter key.

Anyway, the search is not optimized for speed by default which can be largely attributed to it trying to find web results as well as local results.

Since I don’t consider web results useful at all, I have disabled the feature completely. If I want to search for something on the Web, I do so using a web browser which is open 24/7 anyway.

The next thing I did was optimize the locations that Windows indexes. The operating system indexes several by default including the complete user folder.

While that may not be as bad as it sounds, you will find many locations in the user folder that you may not want indexed or returned by search. For instance, you may have programming project directories and repositories there with thousands of files and directories, or other larger file collections that you have no interest in being returned by Windows 10’s search.

There is also the AppData folder with hundreds of thousands of files, for instance web browser cache and cookies.

When it comes to the list of indexed files, it is best to only include locations that you want results to be returned from.

If you don’t use Internet Explorer for instance, you may not want Internet Explorer favorites to be returned, ever. That’s however one of the default locations included automatically by search indexing.

Manage search Indexing Options on Windows 10

Do the following to open the Indexing Options:

1. Use the keyboard shortcut Windows-Pause to open the System control panel.
2. Click on «All control panel items» in the location bar at the top.
3. Locate and click on Indexing Options.

The window that opens displays all locations that are included by Windows 10’s search indexer. The exclude listing next to each location lists subfolders of that location that are blocked from the indexer.

To get started click on modify to open the list of indexed locations and a folder browser to select new ones.

First thing you may want to do there is to click on «show all locations» as Windows hides some. A click on a location that is included jumps to it in the «change selected locations» pane which is the fastest method to uncheck them.

The indexer lacks a search option to find locations quickly which means that you need to click your way through the structure to include new locations.

Tips:

• Portable software is usually not included by search by default unless you have placed the programs in the user folder. Simply add the root folder of your portable software collection to the index to gain access to all programs stored in it using Windows Search.
• The exclude option is powerful and it makes sense to make use of it to block folders from being indexed. For instance, while you want to index the user folder, you may disable the indexing of folders listed in it you don’t require them to be included in search.
• Some files and programs get indexed automatically. You may launch msconfig.exe or Settings at all time even if you disable all locations in the Indexing Options.

Once you have added all locations you want included, click on ok to get back to the main menu. There you need to click on the advanced button to manage advanced settings.

You find two interesting options there. First, you may move the location of the index to another drive. This can be useful if a faster drive is available that you could store the index on to speed it up further.

File Types

Second, you may want to open file types and disable those that you don’t require.There is no option to disable all file types and select the ones you want only, which means lots of clicking if you want to go down that route.

I suggest you try the search first to see how fast it is. Disabling certain file types prevents them from being tracked which may reduce search pollution.

Windows Search distinguishes between indexing file properties only, or file properties and file contents. For example, Search may index Word document content automatically and return results when you search.

Properties include metadata only which may include the file name, title or author while file contents the actual (text) contents of files.

Rebuilding

Search Index needs to rebuild whenever you make modifications in Indexing Options. You can run a manual rebuild at any time from the advanced menu.

There you find options to troubleshoot search and indexing as well which launches a small program that checks common problems and attempts to fix them if found.

Closing Words

Third-party desktop search programs for Windows are a great alternative as they give you more control over the indexing and are often faster and more reliable than Windows Search.

Now You: Are you using Windows Search or a third-party search program?

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The 13 Best Free Search Tools for Windows 10

Windows Search is only good for basic and casual use. If you search Windows often, you may be better off with an awesome third-party search tool.

Have you ever searched for a program, file, or folder only to discover that the system search takes longer to find results than it does to just go find them manually yourself? I’d imagine most Windows users face this dilemma.

Windows 10 isn’t all bad. For example, it introduced a number of helpful File Explorer tricks and lots of new features in the Task Manager, making it one of the most productive versions of Windows so far.

But some aspects still aren’t as good as they can be—like Windows Search. While there have always been some neat Windows Search tips and tricks, it has never been on par with the search features of Mac or Linux. And while Windows 10 did lessen the gap in a lot of ways, it’s still slow and imperfect.

If you find yourself constantly searching for files and folders throughout your system, you may be better off switching to one of these third-party tools instead. Windows Search is only good for basic and casual use.

1. Everything

Everything is consistently lauded as one of the fastest search tools for Windows. Using it is as simple as it gets: install it, open the program, and give it a bit to index your entire system. (It can index a fresh Windows install in under a minute.)

Once that’s done, all you have to do is type anything into the text field and you will get instantaneous results as you type. And as long as you allow Everything to sit in the background and monitor system changes, it will always be instantaneous.

Best of all, it’s lightweight and takes up less than 5MB of RAM and 1MB of disk space. This is the absolute best tool to use for old and slow computers.

2. Lookeen

Lookeen does the same thing as Everything, but is a more full-featured solution. It can search for content beyond just file names and it does so with speed. The search window can also show previews of certain file types, even allowing you to edit text files directly.

Lookeen can also search external drives in addition to local ones, and there are a few filter options you can use to narrow down files further than with text queries only.

If you visit the Lookeen site, you’ll have a hard time finding the free version—but a free version does exist! This is not the same thing as the free 14-day trial for the business version.

3. Listary

Of all the software on this list, Listary is probably the most unique. Not only is it extremely minimal in design, but it stays completely out of your way until you need it. When you want to search, just start typing! It’s as easy as that.

And as you type, Listary will show a list of all files on your system that match the query in real-time. Listary can also execute commands like «Open Folder» and «Copy Folder Path», and you can even use Listary to quickly hop into a different folder just by typing that folder’s name.

Some of its best features require Listary Pro, which is $20. But even with Listary Free, you get a lot of power and flexibility, which is one of the many reasons it makes it on to this list of the best Windows File Explorer extensions for file management.

4. grepWin

Back when I was a serious programmer, grepWin was one of the most useful tools I had at my disposal. With it, you can search through any directory tree and it will find files by matching contents with your search query (regular expression are supported).

If you’ve ever used Linux, it’s basically the «grep» command (one of the essential Linux commands to know) but designed for Windows and comes with a nifty interface. So the next time you need to search for a specific line of code or a specific line of documentation, this will cut your search time by orders of magnitude. Seriously!

5. AstroGrep

AstroGrep is a great alternative to grepWin in case the latter doesn’t fit your fancy for whatever reasons. It does the same thing—finds files that match your search query by content rather than file name—but is slightly less advanced and easier to use.

You can designate which file types to search, view file contents within AstroGrep itself, and save or print results for later. Potential future features include searching through PDFs, MP3s, ZIPs, RARs, and more.

AstroGrep has been around since 2006 and continues to receive regular updates.

6. SearchMyFiles

SearchMyFiles may seem helplessly primitive at first glance, but it’s deceptively flexible. Once you get over the slight learning curve, you’ll be able to put together complex search queries using filters and wildcards.

For example, search all files created in the last 15 minutes, between 300 and 600 bytes in size, and containing the word «error». The application is lightweight and portable (no installation required), so you can carry it around on an USB stick. NirSoft also maintains hundreds of other useful utilities that are all clean, portable, and available free of charge.

7. Copernic Desktop Search

Copernic has been in the search industry since 1996, starting first as a web search engine but eventually becoming known for its spectacular desktop search application. In fact, it’s considered by many as the #1 desktop search tool in the world.

It comes in a free version and a commercial version. Unfortunately, the free version can’t search network drives, external drives, cloud storages, Outlook emails, Lotus notes, and has an index limit of 75,000 files. But for basic home usage, it’s more than enough.

8. Exselo Desktop

Exselo Desktop isn’t as well-known as other desktop search options, which is a shame because it’s actually quite good. It supports powerful search queries, has a simple interface, securely share data, and even integrates with Outlook.

Not only can it search local drives, but Exselo can also comb through network and cloud stores. And best of all, the Free edition is feature complete. The only difference between Free and Enterprise is support for multiple users.

9. Duplicate & Same Files Searcher

Duplicate & Same Files Searcher is a tiny portable program—less than 1MB in size—that finds all files that are identical by content (not by file name). As such, the scanning process can be a bit slow, but you can filter and set parameters to speed things up.

And not only can the program delete said duplicates, but it can replace them with «hard links» that are basically shortcuts to one single file, thus saving you space without breaking anything in the meanwhile.

Can you guess how much of your hard drive space is wasted by duplicate files? The answer might surprise you. Duplicate files are more common than we tend to think, and if those duplicates are image, audio, or video files, they can take up a LOT of unnecessary space.

10. Registry Finder

Registry Finder is a free tool that makes registry navigation easy. It also has the ability to search keys according to when they were last modified, meaning this tool comes in handy when you want to see all recent changes that were made (e.g. for troubleshooting).

Despite the improved search features in Windows 10, the registry is still a bit crude and could use a lot of love. Whether you want to fix errors in the registry or make a few tweaks for usability, the process of finding keys can be slow and tedious—and that’s why Registry Finder really shines.

11. UltraSearch

UltraSearch is a creation of JAM Software. They are also the creators of the popular hard drive space recovery program, TreeSize (but you’re better off using these disk space cleaner tools and the Compact OS feature in Windows 10). UltraSearch offers essential search features plus a few extras, all while keeping it simple and fast.

It works by directly searching the Master File Table (MFT). Within the search window, all important file information is displayed. It also displays all of your computer’s partitions and their total size and free space. Additional options include showing folders and/or files in a search, exclude filters, and printing the search results.

12. FileSearchEX

If you prefer the style of search from Windows XP, FileSearchEX is the program for you. Not only is the search interface familiar and comfortable, the app itself is portable and uses minimal system resources.

However, there is one drawback: the free version is a trial — not in the sense that the program will expire and become unusable, but the search window will timeout. Open the window, complete your search, then close it. If you do this in a timely manner, you should be fine.

Overall the search performance is OK. It isn’t nearly as fast as the other programs I tested, but I still noticed it was quicker than the default Windows Search and remains a good alternative.

13. Launchy

Launchy is a nifty app that’s meant to replace the Start Menu, the Taskbar, the File Explorer, and desktop shortcuts. If you’ve ever used a Mac, then it’s a bit like Spotlight. Launchy indexes your entire system, then lets you launch files, apps, folders, and bookmarks with just a few keystrokes.

Most people think Launchy can only launch apps, but it can search files and folders if you enable the setting. Open Launchy with the Alt + Space shortcut, click the gear icon at the top right, go to the Catalog tab, find File Types in the right panel, then click «+» to add file types and directories that you want to include in the search.

What’s Your Preferred Windows Search Tool?

For better and faster search results, go ahead and pick one of the above tools. The built-in Windows 10 search is getting better, but there’s still a long way to go before you can rely solely on it.

There might be a lot of things that annoy and frustrate you in Windows 10, but the user base is so large that you’ll always be able to find a third-party software that improves upon Microsoft’s shortcomings. These nifty Windows search utilities are proof of that!

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Joel Lee is the Editor in Chief of MakeUseOf since 2018. He has a B.S. in Computer Science and over nine years of professional writing and editing experience.

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