Windows 7: Search does not find files that it should, directory is indexed, and *.php included on the extension list

@DWalker

See the experiments in my post above on August 30:  I changed the extensions on some of the files to .IPA and repeated them, for non-indexed searches both from the root [C:] and from Documents.  I used the syntax that I mention in the last post for Brian100, i.e.

*0605*.IPA

and

*TT_6*.IPA.

The searches worked.  The search from C:\ was rather slow, but not unbearably so.

Try checking in Task Manager that the Windows Search service is running, and that the process SearchIndexer.exe is also running (the processes SearchFilterHost.exe and SearchProtocolHost.exe should also be running during a search).  You could also try adding the .IPA extension in Indexing Options | Advanced | File Types, as it is not there by default.

This all works for me on two computers, one under Windows 8 Pro, and one under Windows 7 Ultimate.  If it doesn't work for you, I'm afraid something in your OS is corrupted.

@Brian100

1. Just to be clear, changing the Attachment Manager setting in Group Policy Editor will change the way attachments are handled in the future, but not for any messages and attachments already received.
2. You can search for the TIFFs without using the syntax I suggested.  I tried searching for the files I mentioned previously using the search terms:

*0605*.tif

and

*TT_6*.tif

and both these found the appropriate files.

Might be worth checking that .tif is selected in Indexing Options/Advanced/File Types.

2. I have tried sending myself (on different e-mail accounts) messages with attached .tif files, saving the received .tifs to a folder, and searching for the filename from my Documents folder.  The files were found immediately.  Then I  double-clicked on the filenames so that they opened in Windows Photo Viewer, and then used E-mail in Photo Viewer to send them on to another e-mail address.  I used Outlook 2010.  I had no problems with any of this.  If it doesn't work for you with future e-mails, all I can suggest is the Attachment Manager change.  If that doesn't work, you may need to Repair Microsoft Outlook/Office, or even reinstall it and start over.  After that I run out of ideas, other than a clean reinstallation of the operating system.  But it sounds as though the problem is not a show-stopper now anyway, and you are back in a reasonable operating mode.

[By the way, Microsoft's restricted in-house recovery documentation says it has to be the left leg.]

JMWard,  your last sentece is great...I hear ya.  Its a work PC and I'm tempted to have them re-image it...that's risky depending on who made the image.

My process is that I receive POs as PDFs and TIFFs via email.  I open the files then "save-as" to a folder within Documents.  The name of the PDF or Tiff will be a company name followed by the PO#.  That same day and many times later I will need to attached a copy of that PO to a new email.

Prior to "the patch that Changed everything" I would receive an email for a PO.  I click reply, double-click that PO number, click attach and past the number in File Explorer's search box.  Immediately the PDF or Tiff would display and I'd attach it.

After the change PDFs would display but not Tiffs. 

I'm sure many of those advanced search methods would work but I have to do this too frequently to type all that each time.  However I am interested and would like to know more about the syntax - another time.

"Windows Photo Viewer" had been the default viewer when I double-clicked a PO from an email.  After the search issue began I switched to "Office Document Imaging" (making that the default viewer) and the search issue went away.  All files saved with "Office Document Imaging" showed up in a search, including Tiffs.  The earlier files that had been saved with Windows Photo Viewer are still not searchable today - except the ones I moved to a USB stick and back again.

I find 2 things really strange

1. I can save a Tiff with one document viewer and Search works fine but a different one makes the file unsearchable.
2. Clicking "Start | Search" finds the Tiffs just fine, but using "File Explorer" (used when attaching docs to emails) does not find the same Tiffs.

I still didn't have time today to try the group policy editor but I look forward to it.  Perhaps this weekend.

Thanks again.  Now everyone knows how boring my job is!

I thought that searches would be SLOW in non-indexed locations, rather than searches being completely BROKEN in non-indexed locations.

I don't search often, and I don't search inside file contents.  I have very little of my disk drives set to be indexed, because I don't want Windows to spend all of that time building indexes.

In the rare cases where I search for files, it's OK if it's slow, since the locations are almost always non-indexed, but sheesh, I want the searches to be CORRECT!  The Dos "Dir" command can find .IPA files; why can't Windows Search?

And I don't think any of the previous instructions on modifying the registry to say that indexing is complete really matters -- again, I am OK with slow searches in non-indexed locations.  But I thought that searches (by file names, or partial file name matches) in non-indexed locations would actually work. 

Please let me know if this is wrong.

Thanks.