Alternative to Windows's file/folder search

Question

It's needless to say that the Windows search utility can be useless at times. It's extraordinarily slow, does not search within all folders, and ignores some files on the disk. I'm looking for an alternative where the application would meet these basic requirements,

• Relatively quick
• Gratis
• Can search in all folders (including hidden folders)
• Use wildcards (*.html) for filenames when performing a search
• Runs on Windows 10

Some features that are not necessary but preferred would be,

• Estimates time remaining until completion when performing a search
• Replaces the search bar within Explorer and/or the start menu
• Does not run a service or process when the application is not being run (only runs when the application has been started by the user)
• Can choose the number of subfolders the search will look into
• Can choose to search on multiple disks
• Can view results based on,
  • Date modified
  • Date created
  • Alphabetical order
  • Size on disk

Answer 1

I would also would like to add the program I currently use called everything. It again meets my requirements but something to note is that the results are instant. It's easy to use and takes up little disk usage as-well. You can search for both folders and files.

Everything Search Engine

"Everything" is an administrative tool that locates files and folders by filename instantly for Windows. Unlike Windows search "Everything" initially displays every file and folder on local or removable NTFS volumes on your computer (hence the name "Everything"), and on mapped network drives with ETP server and an everything installation too. You type in a search filter to limit what files and folders are displayed. 19 languages supported.

How is Everything different from other search engines

• Small installation file.
• Clean and simple user interface.
• Quick file indexing.
• Quick searching.
• Quick startup.
• Minimal resource usage.
• Small database on disk.
• Real-time updating.

Answer 2

An application that I have used in the past is called Agent Ransack. It is a free application and meets most of my requirements. It is very fast at finding results and has many options when searching for files.

Agent Ransack

Agent Ransack is a tool for finding files and information on your hard drive fast and efficiently. When searching the contents of files Agent Ransack also displays the text found. Users can then quickly browse the results without having to separately open each file! Agent Ransack provides compelling advantages over similar search tools:

• Regular expressions that allow complex rule based searches.
• Immediate contents results view
• Various wizards to walk the user through thesearching process.

Answer 3

Just use ultrasearch, fastest I have seen to date and easiest too.

Now for features that you asked for,

• Relatively quick -> Extremely Quick
• Gratis -> YES
• Can search in all folders (including hidden folders) -> YES (Even system folders)
• Use wildcards (*.html) for filenames when performing a search -> YES
• Runs on Windows 10 -> YES

Optional features,

• Estimates time remaining until completion when performing a search -> Shows a progress bar( But it only takes an instant to complete most searches)
• Replaces the search bar within Explorer and/or the start menu -> NO
• Does not run a service or process when the application is not being run (only runs when the application has been started by the user) -> YES
• Can choose the number of subfolders the search will look into -> Not directly but yes
• Can choose to search on multiple disks -> YES
• Can view results based on, -> YES
  • Date modified
  • Date created
  • Alphabetical order

UltraSearch

UltraSearch does not maintain an index which is stored on your harddisk, but achieves its speed by working directly on the Master File Table (MFT) of the NTFS partitions. UltraSearch even identifies NTFS hardlinks.

Simply enter a file name or a pattern like *.exe and see the first results while you are still typing. In addition, UltraSearch supports regular expressions.

Answer 4

I use this Python script https://github.com/mikeputnam/simplepythongrep It takes your search term and walks the directories looking for files containing the term.