If you have not already noticed, you soon will. Default search for a file in Windows Explorer takes a long time to complete. Yes thats correct. I had to wait for some time before I could do that when I was creating the screen print of *.msc search on my computer (see the article on gpedit.msc in list of tools link). Anyway bottom line is default search would be slow in XP, In fact slower than even a Window 98 PC. But there is a reason for it and couple of ways to tweak it. First the reason: One of the reasons XP's default file search takes so long is it not only looks for file names in your directories, it processes compressed (.zip and .cab) files, looking for your filename inside of these zipped files! There are few ways to improve your search. Disable ZIP and CAB search:This tip was brought to my attention by James Heinrich.To disable Compressed Folders for zip files:regsvr32 /u zipfldr.dllFor CAB files:regsvr32 /u cabview.dllAll of a sudden it goes so much faster, and no need for indexing service,or weird searching limitations.Can always be re-enabled afterwards with the same command, minus the/uSet index service on:You can further improve the search bye turning the index service on ! Well it does not end here. You not only have to turn the index service on but also has to follow many do's and don'ts. Here are some of them. 1: Never search by putting criteria in the "All or part of the file name" box. 2. Enter your criteria in the "A word or phrase in the file" as described below - no matter what you want to achieve !TO SEARCH FOR A FILE BY NAME: Your search criteria must begin with:@filenameor#filenamefollowed by all or part of the filename you are looking for and you must put it in the "A word or phrase in the file: input area Wildcards * and/or ? are allowed: TO SEARCH FOR A FILE BASED UPON A WORD OR PHRASE IN THE FILE: Your search criteria must start with an exclamation mark!yourcriteria The exclamation mark forces use of the index. If the exclamation mark isn't used, Search Companion will begin a slow file-by-file physical search.