Searching is important

Every day, we search the Internet for something, and search engines like Google and Goodsearch make it possible for us to find it. Searching the files on your own PC should be just as easy and effective. If you’re a Windows XP user, however, you know that Search is a tedious, unreliable, and generally painful process — that little “Search Companion” dog is nowhere near cute enough to improve the experience. (If you’re on Windows XP, go to Start->Search right now and try to find something. I dare you.)

If you’re a typical XP user, instead of using XP’s Search, you are probably in the habit of manually scouring an amazingly huge hard drive, looking through a vaguely organized plethora of files to find that one specific document you know you saved last month … somewhere.

Searching is very important

Mac users have had, since OS X 10.4, a much better search feature called Spotlight. Useful desktop search tools are not foreign to Windows XP, either. The most popular options are Google Desktop, Yahoo Desktop Search, and the MSN Search Toolbar. However, for various reasons, these may not be appropriate choices for everyone.

Microsoft Vista now includes the new “Instant Search” tool operating system, an unapologetic attempt at copying Spotlight. While not exactly “instant” as described, Vista’s “Instant Search” is quicker and more responsive than XP’s search, and it is far, far better. However, depending on your specific situation, there may be countless or perhaps only many reasons you should not move to Vista yet. What to do?

Fortunately, Microsoft has made a Vista-style search tool available to users of Windows XP, free of charge. Installation is easy, and if you’ve ever thought searching your PC for files should be easier than it is now, it is certainly worth a look.

Acquiring and Installing Windows Desktop Search (v.3.01)

Installation of WDS is reasonably easy and fairly quick. To start, visit the Windows Desktop Search 3.01 for Windows XP Download page, which I’ve conveniently linked for you.

Microsoft will require you to “pass Microsoft Genuine validation requirements”. This extra step helps Microsoft ensure you are not running pirated software. This is perfectly reasonable, but the explanation that this validation allows users “to enhance their download experience” is just silly.

Once downloaded, run the installer. You will be presented with a largely no-brainer series of installation screens:

Click “Next.”

Wait. This could take awhile, or not. If you have the older MSN Search, it will be removed at this time, and you will be notified you have to reboot.

Click “Finish.” (Oh, and congratulations!)

Configuring and Using Windows Desktop Search

After installation, the taskbar will have two new residents: a search box in the middle and a magnifying glass in the Tray, at right. If you don’t like the Search Desktop bar, you can right-click “Search Desktop” and select “Close Toolbar” to get rid of it (you can still access search via the Start Menu).

Strictly speaking, you don’t need to configure anything before using the new Search Desktop feature. However, it is important to note that WDS must index your files before it can return meaningful results.

Right-click on the magnifying glass in the tray and select “Windows Desktop Search Option…” to bring up the options screen. Here you can adjust what content you want indexed. By default, your Documents and Settings folder is included, but the rest of your hard drive is not.

Depending on how many files you have, indexing may take awhile. While you are working on your computer, you will find that the indexing speed is reduced. Right-click on the magnifying glass in the Tray, then select “Indexing Status” to find out how far along it is.

Once your index is reasonably complete, you can search. Searching is as simple as typing characters into the “Search Desktop” toolbar or the Start->Search menu. While the look is different, the results are essentially the same.

Within two seconds, the Search Toolbar has returned a box displaying emails and files, broken out by category.(Oh, and congratulations!)

"When a thing is funny, search it for a hidden truth." —George Bernard Shaw

At some point, you will probably move to a new operating system — maybe Microsoft Windows Vista, Mac OS X, some flavor of Linux, Plan 9, or something else entirely. When you get there, you will probably find solid Search tools waiting for you.

Manually combing through files on a large hard drive is a chore whose time is well past. Fortunately for users of Windows XP, you can benefit any of several freely available tools today.