Why in 2023 does this simple task break Windows 10 ?

[MathWizard]

I'm trying to find a radio schematic or article I have on my PC, and so in File Explorer I enter terms in the search box, and also click to organize by date. And it breaks file explorer, it just can't get past about 1/2 way without the program just closing, no error or warnings.  I'm guessing it's the 'list by date part' that breaks it, but that's crazy. I have a top of the line machine, with SSD's, and I'm only searching on 1 SSD, and it's perfectly healthy.

If Bill Gates tried the same search on Windows 10, would it happen to him too ? And would he care anymore ?

[JohanH]

I've always hated Windows search function. It's so utterly useless.

When searching for some source code, or variables from file content, there is nothing that beats Linux command line tools. Fortunately you can do this also in Windows from the git command prompt or using WSL (using "find", "grep" etc.).

[SiliconWizard]

Bill Gates uses Macs.

[nigelwright7557]

Windows is naff.
What a carry on to add a network device.
It takes settings all over the place to get it working.

I use "searchmyfiles" app to find files and contents.

[JohanH]

You can search all day with GUI apps (whilst tuning them), whereas if you learn to use the command line and a few basic unix commands, you will find what you seek in two seconds.

[MathWizard]

I don't like the simple image viewer either, I've had it crash from simple things too, that there's no good reason for, they just stoppped going with what worked fine enough on older versions.

[MathWizard]

You can search all day with GUI apps (whilst tuning them), whereas if you learn to use the command line and a few basic unix commands, you will find what you seek in two seconds.

So can searches like this be done in the powershell or some such thing in windows too?

[brucehoult]

I've always hated Windows search function. It's so utterly useless.

A pity. The MacOS one works well.

Fortunately you can do this also in Windows from the git command prompt or using WSL (using "find", "grep" etc.).

What on earth is a "git command prompt"?

NB I've been using *nix shells since the 80s, Linux since the first RedHat distro on floppies, and git since 2006 or 2007.

[JohanH]

So can searches like this be done in the powershell or some such thing in windows too?

I'm not that familiar with powershell, but I use the Git Bash terminal in windows (this bash terminal is installed by default when you install Git in Windows).

Another tool I recommend in windows is Microsoft's "winget" command line tool. With this command you can install and update a lot of third party software (e.g. "winget search git", "winget install git.git", "winget update" etc). It's amazing that Microsoft finally after decades, implemented their own command line package tool. They have seen the light!

[JohanH]

What on earth is a "git command prompt"?

Sorry for the mixed terminology, trying to appease Windows users here. It's the bash shell installed together with git on Windows.

[3roomlab]

everytime it sees a folder with a mix of files (wav mp3 pics pdf) it will try to be smart and attempt to present a file list in a way it thinks is smart, but everytime i would click the setting to tell it not to be smart just list by type. but it will forget this setting the next time i open it even when you click remember settings. "remember settings" is an actual option that does not work. amnesia is the real windows feature.

[gmb42]

Off topic from the OP, but hey-ho

Another tool I recommend in windows is Microsoft's "winget" command line tool. With this command you can install and update a lot of third party software (e.g. "winget search git", "winget install git.git", "winget update" etc). It's amazing that Microsoft finally after decades, implemented their own command line package tool. They have seen the light!

winget does work well, listing and updating most installed software but there are a few things I have that aren't in the winget package list so are updated by others means, e.g. chocolatey which I'm slowly moving away from.

What is immensely frustrating for me is that winget was created without a PowerShell interface and emits unstructured text output.  MS are belatedly retrofitting PS compatibility but a ludicrous original omission.

[50ShadesOfDirt]

I have always turned off Windows Search (the service), and then used a 3rd-party search tool. One of my favorites is SwiftSearch, at:

https://sourceforge.net/projects/swiftsearch/files/Version%207.5.1/

Swiftsearch has a unique way of searching; don't know if it'll do everything you want. But, there are countless other search tools as well, depending on the features you need. Go open source ...

Hope this helps ...

[spostma]

thanks for the pointer to SwiftSearch.

However, your SwiftSearch link to github seems to be suspicious, see VirusTotal.com behaviour analysis.

Version 7.4.3 seems to be clean, although it contacts 2 IP addresses.
https://sourceforge.net/projects/swiftsearch/files/Version%207.4.3/

[Sredni]

If it's filenames you need to search, use "Cathy".

http://rva.mtg.sk/

It's just a handful of kB and it is lightning fast.

[SiliconWizard]

On Windows I was using locate32 for a number of years, but the project got abandoned IIRC. It was the equivalent of the locate+grep CLI on unix-like systems, but with a GUI. Maybe it's still available for download and still works on Windows 10, there are good chances it would. Very lightweight too.

On Linux and macOS there are tons of good search tools. For Linux, apart from command-line tools, the main GUI one I currently use is KFind. Works very well. Very fast on SSDs. While there's a number of KDE apps that have a Windows build, such as Okular, I don't think KFind does (but you could have a look).

[PlainName]

Many useful GUI search tools on Windows. Just as fast as opening a command prompt and trying to remember what to type, then trying to decipher the output

'Everything' just lists, well, everything and you just filter out what you're looking for.

A rather different tool, which I tend to use most because it's the easiest, simplest and always there, is Listary. I don't actually have this installed for searching - that's just one of the useful facilities it provides. It's primary use (for me) is to deal with the standard open/save dialogs defaulting to some appdata folder I never use. Hard to explain the benefit until you've used it for a while, and then you'll be lost without it.

If it's searching for data inside files (that is, where is the file that contains 'something') then there are many grep-alikes. The one I use is AJCGrep mostly because I also use their AJC Active Backup (a lifesaver - not often, but it only needs to do it once). However, it is good in that it will give a list of matches with surrounding lines for context (try that on a command line) and similar usefulness. Fast, too.

[Mechatrommer]

Based on recommendation from members here sometime ago when i was looking for WinXP explorer replacement on newer Windows... now i use XYplorer and never look back. it worths every penny. Built in explorer past WinXP are pure shit up to today.

[rdl]

Windows 7 was the best version of since Windows 2000, but the changes they made to File Explorer were not one of its good points. And the Windows Search was absolutely abysmal. If you asked it to do anything not completely simple, it would usually just slowly grind to a stop and do nothing. One of the first things I always did was turn it off.

[50ShadesOfDirt]

I use ESET on my systems, and it passes SwiftSearch (an MFT search tool) as clean. Virustotal shows only 1 entity not liking it, out of dozens. I've used swiftsearch for years ... no hacks yet.

If one is worried about *any* virustotal hit, then switch to any of the (dozens or more?) other MFT search tools out there ...

Most programs/utilities are "contacting" home either for telemetry or for update checks. If one doesn't like this aspect of things, just run a free tray-based firewall that disallows all comms out; many give you the option to whitelist the programs you care about, on the fly.

The point of all of this is, avoid the internal/free search tool built into Windows, unless you either like it as is, or don't care enough about searching to need something better. Swiftsearch, and probably all such MFT-based tools, finds things incredibly fast ...

So many (open-source) tools, so little time ...

Hope this helps ...

[chilternview]

Just install UnixUtils (https://unxutils.sourceforge.net/) and use 'find' - and grep etc. No wrestling with weird gui's.

[PlainName]

No wrestling with weird gui's

Indeed. That's why every single consumer desktop is a GUI. Er...

[SiliconWizard]

locate32 is actually still available (although not updated in over ten years). It works fine on Win 7, and I would be really surprised if it didn't on Win 10 and 11:
http://locate32.cogit.net/

[chilternview]

Indeed. That's why every single consumer desktop is a GUI. Er...

And that's why every one of those desktop environments has a command line / terminal app... so that those of us that prefer to use a command line and scripting can.

[PlainName]

Sure, and notice how the terminal is just a window in a GUI, one of many apps (which aren't command lines). I dare say there are gurus that just run a command line straight from boot, but they are hard core and should also turn up their noses at editors that fake a GUI in text mode.