# slow search in Windows

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slow-search-in-windows/592204>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 10, 2011, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slow-search-in-windows/592204 "2011-08-10T15:44:13Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![somepumpkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@somepumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/somepumpkin)\
**Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slow-search-in-windows/592204/1 "2011-08-10T15:44:13Z")

</div>

Hi everyone,

I’m writing about slower-than-expected response from my computer’s explorer windows after performing a file search. If I simply open a folder w/ hundreds of files, the action and display are quick to respond (like normal operation). However, if I perform a search, the action becomes quite lethargic. Our IT guy and I have googled, but we get a lot of hits that really don’t fit this specific problem. So I felt compelled to share my plight w/ the Dopers.

This is my office computer: Dell Vostro 1510, 3GHz ram, WinXP2002, SP3. I am not using any external search function such as Windows Search.

When I perform a file search, the window and its contents begin to respond slowly. Even if the search is over, and there’s only a few (say 12) files showing in the window, it reacts sluggishly. But if the list is populated with more than a screen’s worth of results, it gets worse. Just scrolling horizontally (so I can see the other columns such as file size or file type), it can take 3-4 seconds for the screen to respond. Vertical scroll response is “choppy” and taking even longer. A few times the window has gone to a blank white, and it’s gone “transparent” more often than that. When I try to close the window, I often get the “This program is not responding…” prompt.

This happens whether I’m searching the network or my local drive… I notice no difference. It does not happen in searches that I perform of my mailbox using Outlook (and some of those lists have been very long). It does not appear to be a display issue, since other lists and programs are unaffected.  
I have run malwarebytes a few times, and it comes back clean.

Has anyone else experienced this behavior? Any ideas on what’s going on, and any remedies?

I tried the advice from this post, but it had no effect. [Getting rid of Windows XP search program. - Factual Questions - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=110716)

Thanks in advance.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![somepumpkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@somepumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/somepumpkin)\
**Post date:** [September 28, 2011, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slow-search-in-windows/592204/2 "2011-09-28T13:32:16Z")

</div>

can a brother get a bump?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\
**Post date:** [September 28, 2011, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slow-search-in-windows/592204/3 "2011-09-28T13:44:44Z")

</div>

Is it only searches or all ops on that computer? Are other programs running that are CPU or memory hogs? What is the state of the automatic indexing – off or on? Indexing on should speed up searches, but take tiny time slices from other tasks.

Check the task manager (cntl/alt/del) to see what routines are using the CPU, especially at the end of the search.