Finding a file on Windows is far too slow for its own good.I have waited minutes only to never find the file I was looking for.I tried the popular fix, and it worked well enough that I kept it around for a long time.
Then I found something that did the same job without making me feel like I needed a manual.Add How-To Geek on Google Add as Preferred Source Follow on Google Discover Windows Search and Everything both let you down Everything is fast but hard to love Finding files on Windows has gotten worse over the years, and it likely has something to do with how much bigger drives are getting.You're basically making the OS build a giant database to keep tabs on everything.
We're used to searching this way because it's easy, but it eats your CPU and disk.That database can grow to several gigabytes all by itself.This is awful because Windows also stuffs local file searches with things you don't want.
So you're getting web suggestions, app recommendations, and cloud results, when you just want a file.I was recommended Everything by voidtools as a great feature to fix that broken search.I have to admit it is pretty good when you first try it.
Everything heads straight to the source and reads the NTFS Master File Table right off your drive.That's basically like looking at the index Windows uses to track every file on the disk.This lets it scan hundreds of thousands of files each second and keep everything current in real time instead of checking one folder at a time.
You type a filename, and results show up almost instantly.Everything only searches filenames, not what's inside them.It looks at name, path, size, and date, and never opens the files themselves.
That's how it stays so quick.Windows Search digs deeper and reads inside documents, which is why it's way slower and heavier on resources.To be honest, even when I waited an unreasonably long time for Windows to search, it rarely found the file I wanted.
I would type the exact name, and it would still skip the file.My biggest issue with Everything is that it doesn't look good and has too many dense menus and search syntax modifiers.Even if you can get used to that, there are so many configuration options when I just want to find the file I need.
Anything Search is what I use now It's easy to install and stays out of your way Close Anything Search is free in the Microsoft Store, so you just need to install it.This is one of the few great apps that doesn't come with admin prompts or a GitHub download.The Store takes care of the .NET requirements and keeps the app updated in the background.
It runs on both regular x64 machines and ARM64 devices without any extra setup.Once installed, the app sits in your system tray using barely any memory, and you can bring it up immediately with a double-click or a keyboard shortcut.I like it a lot more than Everything because Anything Search looks like it actually belongs on a modern Windows machine.
My favorite part is that it follows your system's dark or light theme and looks sharp on both 1080p and 4K displays.It just feels polished instead of thrown together.Searching is really fast, which is the point of all of this.
As you type, results start filtering in real time from a local SQLite database.You don't need wildcards or special syntax; just type part of a filename, a folder name, or a file extension, and it narrows things down on the fly across a million or more indexed items.When you find what you need, double-clicking opens the file or its parent folder, and right-clicking gives you options to open it, reveal it in File Explorer, copy its full path, or copy just the filename.
There's also a Recent Searches panel that keeps a history of your past lookups with timestamps and result counts, so you can rerun an old search without remembering what you typed.Anything Search has trade-offs Anything can miss changes and locked folders Everything is still the fastest tool at the moment of initial indexing because it reads the MFT directly from disk sectors.Everything populates quickly, but I've had times where it couldn't find Notepad++ for some weird reason.
Anything Search runs under standard user permissions, so it crawls directories using regular Windows APIs instead of reading the MFT as Everything does.That means the first full scan can take up to a couple of minutes.Still fast, but noticeably slower than Everything.
There's also a difference in how they track changes.Everything watches the NTFS change journal, which logs every file change, even across reboots.Anything Search uses standard Windows file change notifications instead.
For most everyday use, this works fine, but during heavy disk activity like deleting thousands of build output files, the notification buffer can overflow and miss changes temporarily until a background sync catches up.That's not such a big deal, but I also noticed that my memory usage was a little higher on Anything Search.Anything Search may not be your cup of tea If you want regex support, scripting integration, or the absolute fastest possible indexing, Everything is still the right tool.
I can't get past that interface, but I'm sure plenty of people don't mind.But if you want a fast search tool without Everything's clunky look, Anything Search is worth a try.Anything Search OS Mac, Linux, or PC Mobile App No Cost Free Anythign Search is a faster and more reliable alternative to Everything and Windows search.
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