Search tool and mapped drives

  • Thread starter Thread starter Harry Putnam
  • Start date Start date
H

Harry Putnam

[NOTE: Cross Post alert! - This post was cross posted]

How do I keep the find tool searches from chasing down all network
drives?
If I start a search on C:\ it ends ups searching the full contents of
4 computers.

I'm pretty sure that isn't supposed to happen. That the search should
be confined to C:\ only.

The remote drives that end up getting searched too were mapped with
the `map drive' tool in explorer, and appear in folder pane as
lettered drives (see screen shots posted at url below)

NOTE: some additional info to add complete detail to this question:

Please look at this series of Screen shots displaying what I see
here. (You'll need your browser opened full screen)

http://www.jtan.com/~reader/SrchProblem/

Watch the slide show or click on the thumbnails in order.

You will see that the search starts out on C:\ but then starts
following the mapped drives, then might jump back to C:\ etc.
 
You can use the drop down menu and choose the entry with C: only rather than
the default which lists all drives.
 
You can use the drop down menu and choose the entry with C: only rather than
the default which lists all drives.
Click to expand...

Any way to make the search tool remember to search only c: ? In
Win98 this seemed to be automatic, that each Windows-F came up with
the same drive(s) I had specified last time. It was a timesaver
since almost always I want to search only on c: not my other
partitions.
 
In a post just after yours, Sharon F gave the answer:
In "Search", the default is "all local hard drives (C: and D:)". It's
inconvenient to go to the drop-down list every time to correct it to C:

Question - how to set the default search drive to C: ?

Appreciate yr help - thanks. Len.
Click to expand...

Try a shortcut to the C: drive. Right click on it
and you should see Search as an option. Launching will put C: in as the
drive to be searched. Just another workaround but will do what you want.
 
Colin Barnhorst said:
You can use the drop down menu and choose the entry with C: only rather than
the default which lists all drives.
Click to expand...

But I did select C only. I appears in the selection box. As can be
seen in 3rd scrn shot I posted for people to look at, in my previous
post:
http://www.jtan.com/~reader/SrchProblem/
Click to expand...

My previous post also explains the problem happens when drives on
remote machines are mapped to letters using the
explorer Find/map network drives tools.
 
Colin Barnhorst said:
Please see my second post for Sharon F's suggestion.
Click to expand...

Colin, Sorry if I seem dense, but I wasn't able to figure out what you
are referring to here..
 
Just above. My second reply in this thread. Sharon suggests making a
shortcut for drive C: on the desktop so that when you right click on it and
select Search you only search the C: drive.
 
Colin Barnhorst said:
Just above. My second reply in this thread. Sharon suggests making a
shortcut for drive C: on the desktop so that when you right click on it and
select Search you only search the C: drive.
Click to expand...

Oh, strange. but my server didn't get any posts from a Sharon in this
thread. But anyway, thanks Sharon and Colin, however that doesn't do
one bit of good. Still it puts C:\ in the to be searched box and the
search jumps out to all remote machines and all drives on this
machine.

In fact watching the status bar as the search takes place I see:

Searching C:\
[...]
Searching E:\
[...]
Searching Network connections
searching \\chub\chub-c
[...]
Searching control-panel
Searching Faxes and Printers
[...]

This is really crazy and clearly not supposed to happen. Anyone have
an idea what might cause this? Does anyone else see this behavior?
 
Still it puts C:\ in the to be searched box and the
search jumps out to all remote machines and all drives on this
machine.
Click to expand...

The shortcut will just fill in the location criteria for you and save a few
click in setting up a search. It doesn't stop XP search from looking around
when and where it shouldn't.

I've seen similar behavior to what you mention. After getting my search
results, I may be busy in another program and haven't closed the search
window yet. When I glance over at the search window, I can see that it's
restarted the search on its own and apparently is looking all over creation
instead of limited to the specified drive.

This behavior has been reported here before. It seems to be an oddity of XP
Search and I've not seen nor have I found a permanent fix for it. I have
seen various workarounds suggested. For example, editing parts of XP to
revert to classic search (manually registry edits or use TweakUI for XP to
set "classic search") or using an alternative search tool.

Look on the S page of the XP ABC section at MVP Kelly Theriot's site
(www.kellys-korner-xp.com) for a discussion of tweaking search.

Personally, I've switched to a different program: FileLocator Pro found at
www.mythicsoft.com. This company also offers a free search tool called
Agent Ransack that is quite good as well.
 
Sharon F said:
Personally, I've switched to a different program: FileLocator Pro found at
www.mythicsoft.com. This company also offers a free search tool called
Agent Ransack that is quite good as well.
Click to expand...

Thanks for a fully detailed and informative reply Sharon.
Funny you should mention Agent Ransack as I just happened to luck onto
it myself. Yes it is quite a nice tool.

Thanks again
 
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