# Getting rid of Windows XP search program. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 21, 2002, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-rid-of-windows-xp-search-program/104776 "2002-04-21T04:52:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2002, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-rid-of-windows-xp-search-program/104776/1 "2002-04-21T04:52:25Z")
I hate the Windows XP search program. It is slow, treats you like an idiot, and is overly complicated. How/can I get rid of it? I want somthing similar to the Win98 search program. ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2002, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-rid-of-windows-xp-search-program/104776/2 "2002-04-21T06:04:24Z")
From a [url=“[http://www.lockergnome](http://www.lockergnome),com” Lockergnome newsletter from a while back: > [@](#): > > I put my hand upon your hip. When I zip, you zip, we zip. Except for Lockergnomie Mark Harmon. He’s been pretty annoyed with Windows XP’s built-in ZIP file management. Why? As he so eloquently puts it: “I’ve been having problems with Windows XP’s Search feature from day one. When I search, it starts the process, seems to pause for a while, then resumes. Searches seem to take forever; while it’s ‘paused,’ all of my CPU cycles seem to go to the search. Windows seems to be (temporarily) locked up. Well, after thinking about it, I decided to disable Windows XP’s ZIP file integration and - lo and behold - Windows once again searches the way other versions did. On the Run command line in the Start Menu, enter: ‘regsvr32 %windir%\ system32\ zipfldr.dll /u’ (sans quotes or spaces between the backslashes). To reinstall the functionality, repeat the process without the ‘/u’ switch. I was pulling my hair out over this.” Me too! Perhaps in a future OS revision, they’ll allow us to deselect the automatic compressed archive Search feature. Until then, I might suggest storing all non-essential ZIP files on a separate drive (or system). I’ve done this, it works. Sounds like the compressed files are what’s slowing stuff down. ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2002, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-rid-of-windows-xp-search-program/104776/3 "2002-04-21T06:05:33Z")
oops, screwed up the url - [Lockergnome](http://www.lockergnome.com) ---
**Author:** ![wooba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/aeb1de/32.png) [@wooba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wooba)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2002, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-rid-of-windows-xp-search-program/104776/4 "2002-04-21T16:08:38Z")
I posted a similar message in Usenet. I’ll post it here in hopes that maybe somebody has an idea. If in explorer I right click on a drive and click Search… a new dialog box is brought up. However, if while in explorer I hit the F3 key or I use the Windows Key / F combination it brings up the search dialog on the left side of explorer. Can I make is so that F3 & the windows key / F key combo open up a new dialog as described at the top of this message? ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2002, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-rid-of-windows-xp-search-program/104776/5 "2002-04-21T16:53:58Z")
here you go (read the last few paras, make a keyboard shortcut to the saved search file): > **[Radar - O’Reilly](https://www.oreilly.com/radar/)** > > Now, next, and beyond: Tracking need-to-know trends at the intersection of business and technology i haven’t tested this with XP, but it seems like it should work in XP too…