During normal search operation Windows Assistant(cartoon character: puppy, kitten, etc.) shows activity: moves, wags its tail, leafs through a book, etc., and with such a defect, the assistant usually freezes in a waiting position and does not move.
There are many reasons for search problems. All of them, as a rule, lead to disruption of connections within the Windows XP operating system.
One of the reasons why a computer malfunctions is viruses. Therefore, the first thing to do (and not only with this defect) is to check your PC for any viruses antivirus program from updated to latest version virus base. And to prevent access to the computer of other users who can infect the PC from the outside - use encryption tools. Virus-infected files should be disinfected. In some cases, this is enough to restore the normal operation of the search and the entire PC as a whole, but more often after this the normal operation of the Search system is not restored. This happens because some files are hopelessly damaged by a virus or for some other reason. As a rule, these are library files (with the *.dll extension).
In Windows XP, you need to check five of these files:
regsvr32jscript.dll;
regsvr32vbscript.dll;
regsvr32 mshtml.dll;
regsvr32 msxml3.dll;
regsvr32 msxml3r.dll.
These files are checked in the same way and one by one according to the following algorithm:
1. In the “Start” menu of Windows XP, select the “Run” line. In the “Run Program” window that opens, in the “Browse” window, enter the full name of the file to be checked, and left-click on the “OK” button.
2. If the PC displays the message: “DIIRegisterSer-ver in *.dll completed successfully”, in which instead of an asterisk “*” the name of the file being checked is indicated, then you should check whether the search worked by closing or restarting everything before checking open windows"My Computer" and "Explorer". If the search does not work, check the next file.
Let's check the following file.
3. If the PC displays the message: “Error when calling LoadLibrary (“*.dll”) - the specified module was not found,” then you need to copy this file from the Windows\system32\ folder of another normally working Windows XP operating system to your computer into the same folder. You can also restore this file using boot disk Windows XP, using the EXPAND command from the i386 directory of this disk.
Another reason for the “Search” system not working in Windows XP is violations of the so-called “group policy”. To restore its search-related settings, you need to select “Run” from the Start menu. In the “Run the program” window that opens, in the “Browse” window, enter the system command gpedit.msc ( group policy). This command can be copied, without typing, from the cheat sheet “Memo. System commands", which is located in the "Run the program" window. After left-clicking on the “OK” button, the “User Configuration” window will open, in which you need to left-click on the “Administrative Templates” line. Then click on the line “Taskbar and Start Menu”. In the window that opens, select the line “Remove the Find menu from the main menu.” Having opened this window, you need to put a dot or a tick next to the “Disabled” item. Then you need to close all the windows. With the cursor on the desktop, press the right mouse button. In the context menu that opens, select the “Update” line. The search should work. In some cases, you have to manipulate “Remove the Find menu from the main menu” twice. You need to place a dot (bird) near the “Enabled” line, and then next to the “Disabled” line, as described above.
If the above methods did not restore the search, then you should use a boot disk to reinstall the Windows XP system in Repair mode.
In some cases, search failures may occur due to the use or change of certain browser versions.
1. Explore background information Windows about searching for files and folders, for which open the menu Start, select the command in it Help and support. In the window Help and Support Center click the button Pointer in the toolbar, then enter search image “search for files and folders.” Select from the list of found sections " Using the Find command in the Start menu" and click the button Show. Review the help information on the right side of the window. Close the window Help and Support Center .
2. To search for files, open the menu Start, select the command in it Search and then select the command Files and folders. In the What You Want to Find panel, select a link Files and folders. Enter part or all of the name of a file or folder, or enter a word or phrase that is contained in the file. In field Search in Select the drive, folder, or network share you want to search, such as drive D:, as shown in Figure 1. 3. Clicking the button Find, start the search procedure.
Advice. If you have specific information about what you're searching for, or if you want to narrow your search range, select one or more of the following options. Click the button When were they produced? last changes? to search for files created or modified in a specific date range. Click the button What is the file size? to search for files of a specific size. Click the button Extra options to set additional search conditions.
Rice. 4. Context menu
file search
Rice. 3. Definition of parameters
file in the window searching results
After the search is completed, a message about the results will be displayed. To view the found file, double-click on it with the left mouse button. After viewing the file, close it as usual.
3. Find on drive C: files with the extension doc, which contain the text “document”. To do this, perform the following operations: In the field enter the *.doc extension in the field Word or phrase in the file, specify the search image “document”. Open the list Search in and select the C: drive in it and click the button Find, start searching.
4. If in the window searching results the names of the found files will be displayed, then to view possible operations with the found file, point to it with the mouse cursor and call context menu, as shown in Fig. 4.
Rename one of the found files by pointing to the file with the mouse, calling up the context menu and selecting the command in it Rename specify a new file name.
5. Find on drive C: all files changed in the last 2 days, for which, clear the fields Part of the file name or the whole name , Word or phrase in file , in field Search Select drive C:. In chapter When were the last changes made? enable the Specify range search option and select the Modified option in the list, then in the From and To fields, specify the start and end dates of the range of modification dates for the files you are looking for. Start the search procedure by clicking the button Find. After some time in the window searching results A list of files that match the search criteria will be displayed.
6. Copy one of the 5 files found during the task to drive A:, for which, pointing the mouse at the file, call the context menu and select the command in it Send, and select Disk 3.5 (A:) as the file recipient. After this, a message window about the copying process opens on the screen. If an error occurs during the copying process, a message box indicating the nature of the error and recommendations for eliminating it are displayed. To remove the message box, click the button OK. When the file copying process is complete, the copy window closes.
When you use a computer for a long time, a huge amount of information can accumulate on it over time (we are talking about Windows) - various programs, files. It is not always possible to remember what is where, and for beginners it is also sometimes difficult to find the programs they need. In order not to climb through folders manually in search of the desired file or not to search for the necessary Windows programs and tools through a special control panel, you can use the built-in search and quickly find necessary information or program. In this article I will show you how to search for the information and programs you need on computers with an operating system installed Windows system(on Windows example 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10).
In the article, I consider the 3 above systems as examples, since they are by far the most common. For example, Windows XP and Windows Vista have long been outdated and are used by a minimal percentage of users.
Search in Windows 7
In Windows 7, search is located in the Start menu and in all Explorer windows.
Let's first consider the most accessible search, which is the fastest to open - search in the Start menu. It's located at the very bottom of this menu:
Right there you just need to type the name of the desired file or program in whole or in part (just the beginning, for example) and Windows will try to find what you are looking for.
Example of program search
Let's say you want to find and run Windows tool to remove programs. In Windows 7 it is called "Add or Remove Programs".
To find this tool, in the search you just need to type “programs” (1) and after a few seconds a list will appear where you can already see the tool we need (2):
All you have to do is click on the search result and required program will open.
Also in this window you can see the “Programs and Features” and “Uninstall a Program” tools. It's all the same.
Example of searching for a file or folder with files
Let’s assume that on my “C:” drive in the “Documents” library there is a file with a work report called “Report for 2015”.
To find this file through the search, just type part of the name, for example “report” or “report”, and Windows will try to find everything that is with that name on your computer.
For example, I typed the query “otch” (1) into the search and my file (2) was found.
In Windows 7, you can quickly open the search tool using the keyboard shortcut: Win+F.
Search in Windows 8 and Windows 10
In Windows 8 and Windows 10, searching for information is no different in principle from what it was in Windows 7. The only difference is in the interface operating systems, since in new Windows it's quite different.
How to open and use search in Windows 8
Let's look at the search capabilities using Windows 8 as an example. There is also a search through the Start menu. The search button in this menu is located at the top right (magnifying glass icon).
Before searching for something, you can select a search area, namely, search in parameters, files, pictures or videos from the Internet, and also everywhere at once. To select an area, click the default area (1) and select the desired one from the list (2). If you don’t know where to look, put “Everywhere”, you will find most of everything.
For example, I want to find and open the panel Windows management. I selected the “Everywhere” area and entered “Control Panel”. The results appear below. What was found in Windows will be displayed in the very first options (1)?, before the line. After the dash there are options for searching via the Internet (3).
If you click on the search button (4) with a magnifying glass icon, more detailed list results, among which search results for Internet sites will be displayed.
Another option to open the search: while on your desktop, move your mouse cursor to the lower right corner and hold for a couple of seconds.
A panel will appear on the right, where you will see a search button at the top:
Everything works exactly the same. Let’s say you have a file somewhere on your computer called “List of Workers.” Having selected the search area (in the example “Everywhere” was selected), I enter part of the name, for example “list” (1). The results appear below, among which will be the file you are looking for (2), which can be immediately opened from this list.
In Windows 8, you can quickly open the search tool using the keyboard shortcut: Win+F.
How to open and use search in Windows 10
In Windows 10, search is located on the Windows taskbar by default:
Clicking this button will open a search window. In the bottom line (1) we indicate search query. Let's say I want to find and open the Windows tool for removing programs from my computer, so I enter the "uninstall" part of the query (1) into the search bar. Search results will appear above, among which I see the one that suits me “Add or remove programs” (2).
You can select a search area by clicking on the default area:
From the list that opens, you can select a specific area of Windows to search, for example, search by photos, programs, documents, etc. If you want to search in all areas at once, select “All”.
Another search example. Suppose there is a “My Database” file somewhere on your computer. I enter part of the name into the search, for example “Base” (1) and in the results I get what I need (2).
In Windows 10, you can quickly open the search tool using the keyboard shortcut: Win + S.
Search through "Explorer" in Windows 7, 8, 10
It happens that there is no point in searching for a file throughout the computer, so as not to waste extra time, because searching for a file throughout the computer can take a long time, depending on the amount of information on the computer, and especially since you know approximately in which folder or on which This file can be located on your local disk. To do this, it’s easier to use a search in a separate folder or local drive, i.e. through the Windows Explorer program. Let's look at an example based on Windows 7.
In Windows 8 and 10, searching through Explorer is absolutely no different!
Search in Explorer is located at the top right (1). When you open a folder, the search bar will indicate where the search will be performed (where you are now). For example, now I have the “Program Files” folder (2) open.
Let's say I want to find the "Drivers" folder in the "Program Files" folder where I am now. To do this, in the search at the top right (1) I write “drivers” or you can enter the first few letters (in case you don’t remember the full name). The results will appear below (2).
All that remains is to open it directly from the search results required file, folder or program!
It can also sometimes be useful to use a filter when searching, for example, to search for files, folders and programs by a certain size or modification date. When you enter the name of what you are looking for, the filter modes will appear below:
Let's look at another example...
Somewhere on my “C:” drive I have a file for work called “Publish on the site.” Knowing that the file is located on the C: drive, I need to open Windows Explorer, and then in it this local disk. In the search, I type the beginning of the file name “published” (1) and the system finds the file I need (2), indicating below its location on the computer.
Tip for finding files. When searching for files in Windows, you can search by file extensions. For example, if you want to find all files with the extension .txt, then type *.txt in the search. Where * will mean that files with any names will be searched, but with the extension .txt.
Conclusion
Use it Windows search to quickly open programs and files that you have located somewhere deep in Explorer. This way you will save time. And of course, you shouldn’t try to search for the required file or folder manually all over your computer for a long time, since first of all you should use a regular search.
Have a nice day and good mood! ;)
Sometimes it happens that we need to find some file on the computer, many users are looking for it and do not know that this process can be made much easier.
Windows XP has an assistant that will help you find almost any file on your computer.
How to call the search assistant in Windows XP?
In order to call the assistant, you can use the start menu - select “Search” in it, after which the search window will open. In order to search, for example, in a folder, you should open this folder and click in it F3, it's very convenient, try it.
Now let's look at some search options.
Search for images, music or videos
At this point we can choose what exactly we want to search for - so as not to manually set the file extension through a mask. In field Part of the name or the entire file name we enter the name of a file or folder, we can also enter it by mask.
Search documents (text files, spreadsheets, etc.)
At this point we can set a search for documents by time, text, Microsoft files Excel, Word (that is, Excel, Word). To make your search easier, you can use the criterion Last modified date.
Search options in Windows XP
Search options are provided in each search option and serve to make your search more accurate and faster, and you can use them if necessary.
Part of the file name or the entire file name. Search by mask
We directly write the file name in this field; it is not necessary to indicate the permission. If we do not know the full name of the file, then we can write only part of it, and replace those characters that we do not know with asterisks (search by mask). For example, we want to find a picture under the name:
TommyJerry_02.jpeg
If we want all files that contain TommyJerry, then we write:
*TommyJerry*
If we want only images to be displayed, then:
*TommyJerry*.jp*g(jp*g since the extension can be either jpeg or jpg)
Additional search options
Here, I personally always check all the boxes except “Case Sensitive”, since in this case the search also occurs in hidden folders, if, for example, you are not the only one working at the computer, then this can improve the results.
You can also select the file size or the latest changes, but this is a more fine-tuned search; I do not use these search criteria. If you have a lot of files on your computer, then to speed up the search you should pay attention to these settings.
