Find more with UltraFileSearch
If you’ve read a few PC speedup guides then you’ll know that Windows Search (or its indexing service, at least) often gets significant blame for tying up system resources and generally slowing you down. We’re not entirely sure how accurate this is -- the indexing service should only run when your PC is idle, minimising any disruption -- but if you’d like to try an alternative index-free search tool anyway then you might be interested in the portable UltraFileSearch Lite.
The program looks a little like the Windows XP search tool, and is similarly easy to use. There’s no need to remember a lengthy list of search filters: you’re able to search by name, size, and file creation/ modification/ last access dates in just a few clicks.
There’s also an option to search files for particular words or phrases, although this has some limitations. UltraFileSearch Lite only works with the raw version of the file, so if that’s encoded in some way (like a Word .DOCX file) then the program probably won’t be able to find your text.
You’re able to modify your searches in many different ways. You don’t just have to enter a part of the file name, for instance (Accounts.2012); you can also enter use wild cards (*.??12) or even use multiple search masks (Accounts.2012|Accounts.*|*.2012).
And UltraFileSearch can scan local, external or network drives without difficulty. (It’s not one of those MFT search tools which is restricted to NTFS drives only.)
Of course the down side of not having any indexing is that performance is relatively slow, especially if you’re searching for text within files. We found it acceptable on a fast PC with an SSD, but if you’re running something more basic (or just have a lot of files to search) then it may not be good enough.
UltraFileSearch’s portability means you can try the program with the minimum of hassles, though. And if you find you like it, then it might also be worth considering the program’s commercial big brother, UltraFileSearch Standard. This makes it easier to search a named set of folders, so helping to improve performance; adds filters to properly locate text within many common file types; and can be yours for $24.95. The program site has more.
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