Searches Folder in Windows 7

[MrTAD]

There is a windows folder called Searches that has two subfolders - Everywhere and Indexed Locations which contain literally hundereds of thousands of files. I want to delete these folders, or at least empty them. I found an old forum post which suggested that the files were shortcuts and could be deleted through file manager. Well I tried that. From within the searches folder I picked the first listed file in "Everywhere" and deleted it using the delete key. Well....what happened surprised me - the actual file was deleted. Obviously I must have done something wrong. What I'd like to do is 1) empty the searches folders and 2) turn off the function that saves stuff to this folder. Can anyone help? Thanks Windows 7 Pro with 64 bit OS

 

[boohbah]

what size is the search folder, mine says 248 bytes. so its hardly a resource hog.

 

[Layback Bear]

My search folder is 933 bytes.

May I ask why you want to delete this folder. Index locations are quite handy when trying to find things. (Searching)

Could you point us to the old forum that you found this information about deleting so we can understand the circumstances.

 

[MrTAD]

I want to make it a habit to clear any type of activity tracking from my PC - I even go as far as not having my regular applications keep a "recently opened or saved" list. If I want to open a file, I'll find it and open it. So I clear internet and windows "recent" files folders. Just recently I discovered the "Searches" folder, and there are literally over five hundred thousand files listed. I thought these were supposed to be shortcuts....

I found the following link in this forum -
http://www.sevenforums.com/general-discussion/55366-deleting-searches-folder-my-user-folder.html

I didn't try the CCcleaner software (but I have it on my computer). The reason I didn't try using that application is when I manually deleted one of the files from the Searches folder, the actual file got deleted. So I'm skeptical that these are just shortcuts.

For my own peace of mind I want to empty the files/searches from these folders.

 

[Layback Bear]

I use Ccleaner all the time set on default.
It is your computer you can remove anything you want to.
The thread to found is a good one. Just do as Brink instructs.

This is what I get when I search (Search)



I will use Ccleaner and reboot and see if it changes.
Won't be long.

 

[Layback Bear]

No change the folder is the same size 933 bytes.
I don't know of any harm will come if you right click on them and delete. I'm not a expert so do it at your own risk.