Windows 10: Indexing of a second drive (New Point)

In the recent topic Indexing of Second Drive Dalchina said:"..... can you confirm that your problem is that you have specified folders to be indexed on your 2Tb drive, and that you can do that in Indexing Options in the Control Panel, but that when you add such locations, the number of indexed items does not increase (as shown in Indexing Options)?
If your symptom is different, please describe it as you see it in your new thread. If making reference to searching, please clearly discriminate between using file explorer and Cortana (screenshot if so). Thanks."
My problem is that files on my second, spinning, drive "General (D)"are never detected, and have never been detected, when I do a search for a file in the search bar next to the Start Button, despite the Window 10's window "Indexing Options including that drive (please see the first attachment).



This window is the same as it was when I bought this new computer 9 months ago (a Lenovo). I have never changed it. I can find a file which has been saved on the Desktop by entering it in the search bar, but not one saved in Downloads, nor any other file or folder on D drive.

I have always believed that a search entered into the search window should find all files on "General (D)". A Windows 10 site by Microsoft states:
"Type what you're looking for in the search box on the taskbar. You'll get suggestions and answers to your questions, and search results from your PC and the web."
A possible complexity (the only one in my computer that I have, no unusual Settings, adventurous software etc.) is that all Documents (and also music, Pictures etc.) have been redirected from the default Documents folder on my C: drive (an SSD) to the drive "General (D)". All those files can be found after manually entering them in the search bar on the window displaying the documents folder itself. Please see the second attachment.



Thanks for any insight here.

:)

 

Quick search not working on secondary drives on windows 10

It has been some time since this post was originally made. I am having the same problem, and I have the latest and greatest Windows 10 Pro as I'm kept regularly updated by Microsoft.

When I use the Start Menu to search for a file (Cortana?) I do not get any results for files that are located on my second hard drive. Secondary to that, there is no mechanism to search any further from cortana. When I choose to search "documents" on "This
PC", it's only c:\ drive that is searched. Not my whole computer.

Now... if I were to open File Explorer, and select This PC as a starting point, and do a search, I get results right away (testing with .mp3 and .cdr). So.. given that I have a lot of files, that tells me my files on my second drive are indeed indexed. Cortana
does not have access.

So poking I have done...

- I tried the troubleshooter on the subject of search and indexing

- I have removed indexing on this drive, and rebuilt it

- I have removed indexing, set file properties on all files and subfolders etc to not be indexed, rebuilt index, rebooted, and then added file properties for indexing, added index location and let the system rebuild it's index

- I have tried adding reference to a directory on my secondary drive to a library

- I have renamed the drive to a new letter. Repeated above un-indexing/reboot/indexing sequence.

Ultimately I have found that there is no no fix, nor adequate help on this subject to confirm whether this behaviour should be expected, other than making it seem like it is. If there's something I haven't tried, I'd love to hear it.

 

Windows 10 indexing selects wrong drive

I recently upgraded Windows 8.1 to 10 Pro. Before I upgraded I cloned my 8.1 onto a new HDD. I then replaced the 8.1 drive with the cloned drive and upgraded to Windows 10. After the upgrade I put the 8.1 drive into the second HDD slot. So my C: drive
is Windows 10 and my D: drive is Windows 8.

Windows 10 will not index my C: drive. No matter how I setup the indexing options it always wants to index the D: drive. I even disabled indexing on the D: drive. Here is a screen shot when I check to index the C: drive:



You see that it includes the D: drive.

I click OK then click Modify and now both C: and D: are selected but only D: shows up in the included locations.


All suggestions welcome.

 

Hi, solely considering the Cortana based search, and assuming your target file has indeed been indexed, compare these two screenshots, where the target I'm expecting to find is a text file containing aardvark in a folder on drive H: where content indexing is enabled.









In the first, the target file has been found- the difference being I clicked the highlighted button.

The second is the result from simply typing aardvark into Cortana's search field.

Now consider file explorer's search. I suggest you try viewing D: in file explorer, then try searching for a file using explorer's search field.

If indeed the whole of D: has been indexed, then you should get instant results.
If, however, your result above was on a folder containing few files, and thus fast (that folder was open in explorer) and D: has not been indexed, then you may see a green progress bar.

You can, of course, check in Indexing options that the number of items increases if you add a file to D:

 

I have just done a re-indexing in the Indexing Options Control Panel. Entering a file name in the search box finds nothing on the computer. If I press the folder button which you highlighted, and enter a file name in the search box I get files contained only in my Documents folder (which is on D) even when files of the same name are in other folders such as Pictures, videos etc. I don't get those. So searching for a document is easy.

To find files in other folders, I can (as you mentioned) precede the search term in the search box with <folder name>, as in Music: <search term>. That finds the file. Alternatively, again as you mentioned, I can open in File Explorer the folder hopefully containing the file and enter the file name in its search box at the top right of the window. (Attachment):




That also finds the file.

I think I have come to the end of this investigation. I had thought the search box in the Task Bar would have been designed to search the whole computer, or some selected folders as an option (not just Documents). That would have been more convenient. However, I am able to find files one way or the other. I like Windows 10. Musn't grumble.

Thanks for your help.

 

Hi, Cortana's search bar, as far as documents are concerned, will find ONLY what has been indexed. And it won't find nay form of executable file.

On Cortana's box, top right, you will also see filters. That exposes more options to be restrict your search.

If you want search done properly and much more conveniently, use a 3rd party tool as has often been recommended here.

These are free, and give instant find-as-you-type results, with GUI specification by date range, file size, location, type etc and (like Cortana and file explorer) support regular expressions.

Locate32 (which I like and use routinely) - not maintained
Ultrasearch
Everything (by Void tools - use the beta version with extra GUI options) - this adds a service.

These index everything once, quickly, maintain that, but do not do content indexing.
Locate32 will do a text file content search additionally.

With these you don't have to think what the limitations are, and the results are far faster.