Hardware Index

Indexing the file system will greatly improve the time it takes to search your hard drive, but in return, indexing demands space on your drive. Indexing will not only record the file names and locations, but will also record words that are found in your files. The indexing service has a set of noise words that it ignores, such as it, that, is, not, and the. As files are indexed, the results are stored in a catalog, and when searching for files you are able to specify the catalog you want to use. By default there is a catalog configured to index your local files on your hard drives. This default catalog is called system and is found in the System Volume Information directory of your boot drive or C: drive.

To enable basic indexing of your drive, follow these steps:

1. Right-click your drive in My Computer and select Properties.
2. Select the check box labeled For Fast Searching, Allow Indexing Service to Index This file.
   This enables indexing, provided that the Indexing Service is running.

You can verify that the Indexing Service is running by using the Services Administrative Tool, Start → Control Panel → Administrative Tools → Services, and verifying that the Indexing Service is started.

To ensure that the Indexing Service is running on Windows XP, do the following:

1. Choose Start → Search.
2. In the Search companion pane on the left, click Change Preferences.
3. In the results that appear, click With Indexing Service (For Faster Local Searches).
   If the results show an option for Without Indexing Service, then you are already set to use them. By following either of these links, the left pane of the search window allows you to change the Indexing Service setting.