searching external hard drives

doyal · 07 Nov 2010

I have used "search" in microsoft before there was windows. From that time to 95, 98, xp, vista, but Windows 7 has me baffled. My Desktop pc died and I was well backed up but now I need to find some stuff in one of the drives. Windows support is useless. Give it more than one word and it is lost most of the time. When desktop comes up I am limited to all programs on the c drive of where to search. . When I go to computer and select an external drive of course the search option disappears. I detest the standard layout as it is so different from all the other systems which were easy to use. There has to be an easy way but not for me. If there is a way to change this action to the Win XP layout please let me know.

Orbital Shark · 07 Nov 2010

Hi, welcome to the forums :)

You might want to try

Search Options - Change or Restore
or
Search - Have More Accurate Search Results

and see if they help.

OS

mborner · 08 Nov 2010

lfp2, welcome to Seven Forums.

Windows 7's search feature is worlds better than XP ever was. There is a slight learning curve, however. It's important to note that a search from Start/search is an indexed search. It will find only files that are indexed, and your external drive is not indexed. However, Windows 7 can still find the file by using a type of XP search. When you search for a file on your external HDD and get 0 results, keep an eye on the results window. There's a link at the bottom of the results window that says "see more results". Simply clicking this link will open up a window and offer you a chance to search for your file outside the index. Most times, you'll look for your non indexed file in "Computer". The search will be much slower because the file isn't indexed. If you'd like to index your external drive for future use, click "start" and type index. In the results, click "indexing options". From there, you'll be able to index your external HDD.
Hope this helps.

DeaconFrost · 08 Nov 2010

The Windows 7 Search is definitely world's better than XP...to the point I actually use it, and find it useful, without the need for third-party apps.

I don't know why people bitch and complain about it so much...considering how easy it is to use, even on external drives. In the main explorer window, you can enter the term, or part of the term in the upper right, and have it find what you are looking for. You don't even have to right-click, or move off of that screen. Aside form searching by ESP....it doesn't get any easier than that...and yes, you can search by partial terms just fine.

everyedit · 27 Feb 2014

Instructions
1
Attach your external hard drive to your computer. A small drive receives power through the USB port; larger hard drives will have an outside power source.

2
Click on "Start" and "Computer." Find the drive that lists your removable device. When you open it, your saved information will display.

3
View the search option on the top right of your window. To find a file, do a quick search by typing key words in the search window, or look down the page for the title.

dawei4321 · 27 Jan 2015

This did it. Nice, simple, fast. Could not ask for a better answer. Now I know that I have to load two concerts to my two externals so that I have additional backups other that the discs, which can become corrupted.

:)