Find files faster on your NTFS drive

German developer JAM Software has released the latest version of its speedy MFT-based file search tool, UltraSearch 1.60.

The program makes use of the NTFS Master File Table to enable very fast searches, without having to spend valuable time and system resources in building any indexes. So you can just launch UltraSearch, type a keyword, and any matching files or folders will appear almost immediately.

The big addition this time around is Explorer integration. If you’ve ever tried to use the Windows Search tool to display all the files in a particular set of folders -- \Program Files, say -- then you’ll know this can take a little while, especially if the location isn’t indexed. In UltraSearch 1.60, though, it’s now just a matter of right-clicking the folder, selecting UltraSearch, then watching as a table of files appears in perhaps two or three seconds.

And if this doesn’t deliver quite the report you need, then as with previous UltraSearch versions, there are some useful configuration options that may be able to help you out. If you know you’ll never be interested in particular folders or file types, for instance, you can add them to a set of “Exclude” filters and they’ll never be included on the list, so helping you zoom in on what’s really important.

This kind of technology does have its limits, of course. As UltraSearch doesn’t index your files, you can’t search for metadata, emails or file content in general: it’s strictly file and folder names only. And the program only works with NTFS drives, so you won’t be able to use it to search most USB keys, memory cards or other FAT-based storage devices.

UltraSearch is free, fast and easy to use, though, and could be particularly handy if you’ve disabled the standard Windows search tool to try and save system resources. If you’re interested then version 1.60 is available now.

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