G
Guest
28-Feb-06
To: Win XP General Forum
"SEARCH" oddities in Win XP
---------------------------
[Win XP Pro SPII / 256 MB RAM / iNTEL cELERON 2.66 GHZ / Small Home Net]
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1. Tried find all "*.wav" files on system via "SEARCH". Saved results
(just a "results shortcut"). Clicked shortcut. Not much dif in search
times between regular search and 'Saved Results' shortcut.
Q. What is adventage of 'Save Search'? Think it only saves the 'search
term' - not any 'Results', per se.
2. Made the mistake of searching both C: (FAT 32) and D: (NTFS) partitions
in same session. This can lead to odd consequences when copy mixed-drive
(C & D) results from results window to a 'Results' folder created on either
partition - because the "Search" auto-re-starts when XP detects the "*.wav"
files that were just pasted into the new 'Results' folder and logs them also.
So, unless one is aware of this anomalous behavior and takes preventive
measures, it keeps on filling up the original search-results window forever.
This may be noticed only when copying manageable blocks of files from the
Results window, one block at a time.
Should have searched one drive first and pasted results into folder on other
drive (or copied to floppy, flash stick or CD).
Q. Is there any logical reason for or benefit from the above-described
behavior? This does not sound normal and can be potentially troublesome.
3. The 1st time I selected and tried to copy ALL the results (some 2500
files, in this case), there were 2 possible scenarios. After selecting/high
lighting ALL files and right-clicking on the lot, the normal cursor either
returned immediately, or, the active (hourglass) cursor took about a minute
to return to the normal arrow cursor - as if it were 'searching'.
In both cases, the right-click menu never came up. It came up only after
every "2nd" file-select attempt.
I thought this was some flaw in my system, but it looks now that it's due to
another odd circumstance. It seems that the search also caught some files for
which no full path was listed; nor was a path indicated in file properties.
However, If I omitted these "partial-path" files from the selection, all was
normal again. A new search for just the listed "partial path" files (using
the listed terms as the new search terms), turned up nothing.
Q. The question arises, how can Windows find and list the results in the first
instance but not in the 2nd? I know the files exist somewhere because clicking
on them executes the sound code they contain.
4. There were 2 sets of patial-path files listed in the manner below:
a) CLIPS/MMEDIA/(filenames)
b) YAHOO_/MESSENGER/MEDIA/(filenames)
Note the 'forward slashes' (/) in the truncated (no drives) paths. I thought
these might have been located in some shared folder on one of the home-net
comps but so far I haven't found the files via the network.
Note also that Windows was requested to search only drives C: and D: and not
any shared or virtual folders or drives. Yet The only possible logical
explanation I can see is that these exist in some 'shared' folder on another
computer on the network - but which I can't find - manually or via "Search".
There are only a few of these 'part-path' files; yet I can't copy them en-
masse (or even just 2 at a time) from the the results window. Each time I try
to copy and paste them, the following error message screens:
"Cannot copy files: Cannot read from the source file or disk"
Oddly enough, 'though,
a) they can be copied and pasted 'one by one' and
b) the files (sounds) execute when I double-click them - in both
the original results window and in the new folder.
Q. The question arises, how can Windows find and run the files, in the first
instance and then, in the very next breath, turn around and say it 'cant
copy...'
and paste those very same files, in the 2nd instance? Dpoesn't seem logical.
Can anyone offer any explanation for the above-noted oddities?
Thank you,
To: Win XP General Forum
"SEARCH" oddities in Win XP
---------------------------
[Win XP Pro SPII / 256 MB RAM / iNTEL cELERON 2.66 GHZ / Small Home Net]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Tried find all "*.wav" files on system via "SEARCH". Saved results
(just a "results shortcut"). Clicked shortcut. Not much dif in search
times between regular search and 'Saved Results' shortcut.
Q. What is adventage of 'Save Search'? Think it only saves the 'search
term' - not any 'Results', per se.
2. Made the mistake of searching both C: (FAT 32) and D: (NTFS) partitions
in same session. This can lead to odd consequences when copy mixed-drive
(C & D) results from results window to a 'Results' folder created on either
partition - because the "Search" auto-re-starts when XP detects the "*.wav"
files that were just pasted into the new 'Results' folder and logs them also.
So, unless one is aware of this anomalous behavior and takes preventive
measures, it keeps on filling up the original search-results window forever.
This may be noticed only when copying manageable blocks of files from the
Results window, one block at a time.
Should have searched one drive first and pasted results into folder on other
drive (or copied to floppy, flash stick or CD).
Q. Is there any logical reason for or benefit from the above-described
behavior? This does not sound normal and can be potentially troublesome.
3. The 1st time I selected and tried to copy ALL the results (some 2500
files, in this case), there were 2 possible scenarios. After selecting/high
lighting ALL files and right-clicking on the lot, the normal cursor either
returned immediately, or, the active (hourglass) cursor took about a minute
to return to the normal arrow cursor - as if it were 'searching'.
In both cases, the right-click menu never came up. It came up only after
every "2nd" file-select attempt.
I thought this was some flaw in my system, but it looks now that it's due to
another odd circumstance. It seems that the search also caught some files for
which no full path was listed; nor was a path indicated in file properties.
However, If I omitted these "partial-path" files from the selection, all was
normal again. A new search for just the listed "partial path" files (using
the listed terms as the new search terms), turned up nothing.
Q. The question arises, how can Windows find and list the results in the first
instance but not in the 2nd? I know the files exist somewhere because clicking
on them executes the sound code they contain.
4. There were 2 sets of patial-path files listed in the manner below:
a) CLIPS/MMEDIA/(filenames)
b) YAHOO_/MESSENGER/MEDIA/(filenames)
Note the 'forward slashes' (/) in the truncated (no drives) paths. I thought
these might have been located in some shared folder on one of the home-net
comps but so far I haven't found the files via the network.
Note also that Windows was requested to search only drives C: and D: and not
any shared or virtual folders or drives. Yet The only possible logical
explanation I can see is that these exist in some 'shared' folder on another
computer on the network - but which I can't find - manually or via "Search".
There are only a few of these 'part-path' files; yet I can't copy them en-
masse (or even just 2 at a time) from the the results window. Each time I try
to copy and paste them, the following error message screens:
"Cannot copy files: Cannot read from the source file or disk"
Oddly enough, 'though,
a) they can be copied and pasted 'one by one' and
b) the files (sounds) execute when I double-click them - in both
the original results window and in the new folder.
Q. The question arises, how can Windows find and run the files, in the first
instance and then, in the very next breath, turn around and say it 'cant
copy...'
and paste those very same files, in the 2nd instance? Dpoesn't seem logical.
Can anyone offer any explanation for the above-noted oddities?
Thank you,