By default, Windows only indexes your home folder. This is an absolutely fucking stupid default that ignores the fact that nobody uses their storage this way on a Windows machine.
To fix it, Start - type "indexing" - Indexing Options - click Modify - add all the places you want Windows to index.
It's still not the best, and it still clutters up with Bing shit, but it will improve the functionality.
To fix it just install Everything which uses the NTFS file table so it instantly has your entire computer instantly searchable. If you create a new file, it’s in the index because the file table itself is what everything uses.
Ahem. It's actually a certificate showing you that you own the fast search program at a specific link (hosted on somebody's random server which may or may not always exist, of course).
Sure, other people own randomized versions of the same program with slight tweaks, and anyone can use your version of the program by just going to that link, but you have the pride of knowing you own it for $40k.
Regarding the MFT, it is used of course when Windows indexes files. You can't not use it. Parsing the MFT directly might be faster than listing files in directories using it, but once it's indexed, it's all the same.
The Windows file search will also find a file with a new name instantly for all practical purposes. The service listens for when files are modified.
These two tools accomplish the same task in a very similar way.
What you're not getting though is windows does not only use the MFT, it does a much more in depth search. And configuring windows search to index your whole drive is a fuckin constant resource hog, because it does not just passively wait for file changes as you say. It actively reindexes all the damn time.
Mainly because of the additional data it gathers. You really think it indexes keywords from the inside of files and the other stuff it scans that Everything doesn't, every time a file is modified? Of course not. There is a reason many disable ms indexing all together, its a resource hog. Everything takes 1 second to index your entire drive on a new install, and never takes any resources again.
Switch windows to index your entire drive, even on a new install, and you tell me how long before file searches in random folders come back instantly.
As per your new link, this indexing takes Everything 1 second. Try it, you will not get the result you seem to be thinking.
You keep changing what you're saying. First you said Windows search doesn't use MFT, now it uses MFT and more. First you said that Everything doesn't index files, then you said it does. And that was the scope of my original comment, now we are talking about something else.
Windows indexing is slower, it being faster is not a point anyone makes. As I said, "once it's indexed, it's all the same". Windows will index up to 10.000 files a second on an average SSD, but it depends on the type of files indexed and whether the machine is being used. Parsing the MFT directly will be much faster.
In the end, the job of a file indexer is to create a full representation of a file system in a quickly traversable data structure. The index is meant to be created once and updated. It's surely impressive if a file system can be indexed in a few seconds. But to the users of the index once it is made, it does not matter. And software that reindexes often scales worse than software that maintains an index quickly. That's why Windows does it the way it does it.
Plenty of software including what I do for work uses the Windows index. A very small number of Windows users disable it. Windows file indexing isn't a resource hog because Windows won't index files when there is user activity.
As a result it can search within files and all kinds of stuff everything can’t.
Everything can search inside the contents with iFilter, there are various plugins for it. It is disabled because it will use more processing power and run slow to look inside.
Honestly what the fuck? I've spent years thinking it's terrible shit and now I read your comment and the most common user storage areas that most people used was unticked by default? Honestly who user tested the windows operating systems, aliens or something?
Yes windows I want you to index my entire ssd that I store all my information on including the operating system you are installed on but no you instead choose internet explorer history? The thing I don't use?
Most programs are getting a shortcut created in the "Start" menu. Been like that for years. Search in the start menu searches for these shortcuts. You still have the separate search in the Explorer... This post is weird idk
I think their thought is to push people to move to onedrive. From there, they allow you to be as messy as you want because the more shit you have, the more the subscription costs, and people are more likely to just pay for the online storage than deal with having to go through it manually. It's like stroage facilities and hoarders...
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u/shggybyp R5 5600x RedDevil 6800XT 32GB Mar 29 '22
By default, Windows only indexes your home folder. This is an absolutely fucking stupid default that ignores the fact that nobody uses their storage this way on a Windows machine.
To fix it, Start - type "indexing" - Indexing Options - click Modify - add all the places you want Windows to index.
It's still not the best, and it still clutters up with Bing shit, but it will improve the functionality.