Need Replacement for Windows Search Feature?

I need a replacement for windows search feature. I'm searching on the net at the moment, and have looked at several. My needs are the following: very thorough in search results, lighter on system resources than windows search function, is not dependent on file indexing. Basically a very good search browser for searching for all file types. It will be used for locating traces left over after uninstalling software. It would be great to hear if you have any personal experience with a replacement you have used. Thank you so much in advance!

Agent Ransack looks promising, but i have never used it. http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/free-replacement-windows-search.htm
I'm open to trying any suggestions on a VM to see if it best suites my needs.

I'm running W7 64bit.

 

Try Everything. It's very fast

 

Thanks J_L! Everything was one of two that sounded promising. It is listed in the third paragraph on this page along with the one i already mentioned called Agent Ransack. I'm going to try them both now. I'm going to try them running Shadow Defender so i hope a reboot is not required.

 

Is searching by file contents a requirement?

 

I only need to locate all files on my drive that contain key words. It is not important what other data that file contains if that is what you are asking me?

 

I've tested Everything on Win 7 x64. It misses some files (in \windows\system32) due to file redirection.

I use Locate32.

 

I just tried to use everything, and it is not scanning at all. I don't even see an option to choose what directory to look in for a file. I have Avira installed on my machine, and everything did not find a single Avira file. No searching; no results There has to be something wrong.

I just used Agent Ransack, and it is very thorough! I'm not sure how friendly it is on system resources yet. I'm going to try Locate32 now. Thanks!

 

I've used Agent Ransack for a long time, it's excellent.

 

Another vote for Ransack/Filelocator Lite....suits my purposes just fine.

x64, multi threaded and no indexing

 

On my home machine I started to get a C++ Runtime Error and an explorer crash when using Windows Search. After debugging and help from sysinternal's tools I found the problem wasn't related to memory as some people have had but a 3rd party program.
So I kept the program and use XYplorer. The file-manager can be used on all your machines and is stand-alone, tabbed, dual-pane and supports scripting.

On my work machine I've been a long time user of 4NT which was renamed to Take Command, which has been a truly awesome tool to use over the years.

screens

 

Since XYplorer is brought up I would like to bring attention to a freeware program called "FreeCommander" it is "an easy-to-use alternative to the standard windows file manager" that also includes a search function.
I include a screenshot from "FreeCommander's" help files about the search function (help file must be downloaded and installed separately).
(I know , "to each its own" , but hey ! this is just an alternative suggestion for those looking - I am going to check out programs mentioned by others myself)



P.S. notice the "More downloads" on the programs downloads page.
Also Freecommander got an online guide here.

Also please notice that "WinHlp32.exe" is no longer standard part of Win 7 & Vista
so to open "old style" program help files (.chm) users of Win 7 & Vista will probably have to
go to Micro$oft.com to download and install one of the following files to open .chm files :
Win 7 users : "Windows6.1-KB917607-x86.msu" or "Windows6.1-KB917607-x64.msu"
Win Vista users : "Windows6.0-KB928635-x86.msu" or "Windows6.0-KB917607-x64.msu"

 

Replacement for Windows Search Feature

[FONT=&quot]Have you tried these Tools?[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Ultra File Search [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]http://www.ultrafilesearch.com/download.html[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Locate32 [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]http://locate32.net/content/view/18/31/[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]FileSearch [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]http://sourceforge.net/projects/file-search/files/v0.2.5/FileSearchSetup-v0.2.5.exe/download[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]SearchMyFiles [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/searchmyfiles.zip[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]DK Finder [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]http://www.dkellner.hu/freeware/finder/[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]

 

Ok, i tried Everything, and Locate32. Neither one would work for me. Everything did not work at all, and failed to even execute a search. Locate32 installed, and then stopped responding shortly after beginning a search. Locate32 would no longer run after that. I tried Agent Randsack, and it seemed to be very thorough, but was very heavy on system resources. Agent Randsack also would not allow me to pause or stop a search. The Pause, and Stop key was unresponsive. If i can adjust Agent Randsack's settings some how then it may suite my needs. I'm now looking into the other options posted by Meriadoc, and Mr.PC.

 

Here is a screen shot of Agent Randsack.

 

Ok, i stated above that I was unable to pause or stop a search from Agent Randsack, and that the system resources were very high. It seems that Online Armor was causing this. I set all of Agent Randsack's files to trusted in OA, and now I'm able to stop or pause searches without any problem. The resource usage also seems to be lighter.

 

What about Ultra File Search?
Agent Randsack is the Best of all?

 

Ditto.

Running a malware sample via VM/sandbox and Agent Ransack can find any *.exe, *.dll, *.sys or *.* <- all files created by date.

SearchMyFiles v1.55 from Nirsoft ain't too bad as well which can be configured to search "created in last whatever minutes" and a standalone.

 

Ok, i liked Ultra File Search the most so far. Its very light on resources, and it has more simple search options than Agent Randsack. I'm not saying it is better than Agent Randsack, but i found it more simple to use than Agent Randsack. I will be posting some questions about Agent Randsack, and maybe someone could help me out a bit with the search settings. Below is a screen shot of Ultra File Search.

 

I just tried XYPlorer, and i liked it because it was very simple to use, and it has very quick search results. The search results took less than 6 seconds for my entire C drive. (system partition). It has to be using windows indexed files to return a search result that quick which makes me wonder if it missed files since its using windows indexing system. I have not looked into the settings yet to see if there is an option to do its own search without using windows indexed files. I did like how it showed all hidden files by default when browsing my directories.

 

I'm going to look into Take Command next. Once I narrow it down to 3 that I like i will look into the settings more to decide which one is right for me.

 

Well, you can scratch that one out. Take Command cost $99.95, and i'm not willing to pay that for a search browser for home use. I will still try it just to see if i like it, but its just too expensive.

 

Better stay with Agent Randsack and Ultra File Search.
Both are the Best options.

 

Take Command(4NT) is a tool I use on my work machines. It has extensive scripting support and really, is a command line toolkit -with a file search. If you are a programmer or look after a lot of machines and want to speed up operations then what you want and the price doesn't warrant you using it on your home computer.

XYplorer is excellent as is Agent Ransack.

 

I did take Take Command for a spin, but I didn't even get out of parked position lol I could not get it to execute a search. I kept getting some sort of a scripting error if i remember correctly. Maybe i was doing something wrong or maybe it was some sort of incompatibility issue with OA FW. Not sure, but if it had worked i still don't believe it would have been right for me.

 

Ok, i'm going to use Xyplorer, Ultrasearch, and Agent Randsack until i decide which one i like best. Then i can ditch the other 2.