Troubleshoot an Incomplete Search in Windows 7

Windows 7’ search capability is a very handy tool. I used to access files and folders by browsing them in Explorer, but traversing a tree of directories is not very efficient if you need to access only a single file. The search capability on the Start panel is only as good as your indexed files.

Windows uses the index to perform very fast searches of the most common files on your computer. By default, all of the most common files on your computer are indexed.

Indexed locations include all folders included in libraries (anything you see in the Documents library, for example), e‑mail, and offline files. Files that aren’t indexed include program files and system files—files that most people rarely need to search.

If your search results are incomplete, it could be that the folder of the one that you are searching for is not included on the indexed locations. To view the current indexed locations, type “indexing options” in the search box then press enter.

Click the Modify button to add or remove a folder location. In the example below I only want to index drive K which has my music and media files. Do not index your whole system drive where Windows and Program files are located.

If you make the index too large, or if you include system file locations (such as the Program Files folder), your routine searches will slow down. For best results, we recommend that you only add folders that you search frequently.

The new location should appear on the list of locations. Click the Advanced button to access the advanced index settings.

At the advanced settings, click the rebuild button to rebuild the entire search index. This will recreate the index covering the new location we added from the first step.

If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation. It could take a few minutes to rebuild the index. Try searching for a known file inside the added search location to test if it works.