Windows 10 Search Problems with jpg’s

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My problem is that Windows 10 is only indexing 80% of my photos. A typical example of my problem  is that I have a folder with 350 jpg’s in it, but when I search for *.*, only 290 are found. The same is true for the backup of that folder. Both are missing the  same files in  the search  results. It also happens with .doc extension and probably other extensions.

I have reset Windows Search via a couple of  methods I have found on  the Internet. I have deleted and  rebuilt the index several times and that did not fix the  problem.

In addition, each time I rebuild the  index, the number of items indexed became smaller. I started out with 1.2 million items indexed and my latest rebuild of the index indicated only 800,000 items.

I am on version 1909.

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woody

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Now that’s a new one on me.

Wonder if anybody else has hit it.

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My question : Why index at all.
Everything you search for can be found in a split of a second using the free, portable ‘Everything‘ app.

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I know about “Everything”.

I would like  to know  why indexing is causing me problems.

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geekdom

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Searching for “*.*” will only list files that match that specific pattern. Try searching for “*”.

cheers, Paul

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I had already tried that. it made no difference.

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[BigBadSteve]

From what you describe it’s pretty clearly some bug in Windows Search. The massive number of files you have might be stressing the buggy code more than smaller installations do.

I suggest you focus on the files in your 350 jpgs drawer which weren’t successfully indexed (60 of them, you say), and look for any commonality – things like very long filenames, some special character in the filenames, different file permissions and so on. Documenting anything useful you find could increase the chances of Microsoft fixing the problem when you report it to them via Apps->Feedback Hub.

Or if you’re lucky maybe it’ll be fixed anyway in some upcoming Windows 10 update.

Personally I gave up on Windows Search years ago as a reliable indexing tool because mine would stop functioning completely periodically, and sometimes no documented fixes would work. And believe me, I googled very hard for fixes. Probably like yourself, I became quite annoyed with the frequent time consuming reindexing of large numbers of files.

I have used FileLocator Pro instead for the last few years. Unlike the ‘Everything’ program mentioned by another here, it indexes the contents of readable files, not just the filenames. It’s trialware/payware, and there’s definitely a long initial learning curve, but it’s extremely powerful. You can even set up multiple indexes for different purposes if you want. Incremental indexing doesn’t run all the time, you choose when to update each index (I generally do so every few days). The program has excellent manufacturer support.

If you’re as sick of Windows Search as I was (and many other users are), you just might want to try the FileLocator Pro trial.
https://www.mythicsoft.com/filelocatorpro/download

Asus N53SM & N53SN 64-bit laptops (Win7 Pro & Win10 Pro 64-bit multiboots), venerable HP Pavilion t760 32-bit desktop (XP & Win7 Pro multiboot), Oracle VirtualBox VM's: XP & Win7 32-bit, XP Mode, aged Samsung Galaxy S4, Samsung Galaxy Tab A 2019s (8" & 10.1"), Blu-ray burners, digital cameras, ext. HDDs (latest 5TB!), AnyDVD, Easeus ToDo Backup Home, Waterfox, more. Me: Aussie card-carrying Windows geek.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 5 months ago by BigBadSteve.

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For starters, looking only at the search, not indexing –
If in a Command Prompt you do a DIR for *.jpg (or *.doc, or others) does it locate all 350, or does this also show only 290? How about [ dir /a *.jpg ] ?

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Paulk,

Thanks for answering. The DIR command shows all the files.

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