"Paul Randall" <paulr901@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:uIjKN$6DIHA.5228@xxxxxx
>
> "Paul Randall" <paulr901@xxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:eFn9xNvDIHA.2004@xxxxxx
>> I'm running preinstalled Vista Home Basic on a cheapo Compaq desktop,
>> which has no updates and has been connected to the internet for a half
>> hour at most through a firewalled router, so it is probably not infected
>> with much junk.
>>
>> Four questions:
>>
>> 1) On the Indexing Options which I access from control panel, I click the
>> modify button to change the locations to be indexed or excluded from
>> indexing. I can't find any way to remove the following locations from
>> the 'exclude' list: Program Files, ProgramData, Default, and WINDOWS. I
>> don't want any files excluded. How can I remove everything from the
>> exclude list? >
> I've found part of the answer to question 1. The indexed locations
> windows has an upper part and a lower part. Clicking the 'show all
> locations' button, the upper window shows some (all?) drive letters with
> breadcrumb icons to expand the folder tree. Next to each drive or folder
> is a selection checkbox. The list of excluded places is displayed in the
> lower window. All folders not checked in the upper tree window show up in
> the list of excluded folders for each drive. Some of my excluded folders
> were easy to find in the tree. Default was a pain, but eventually I
> discovered a folder named default down a few levels.
>
> I was not able to INCLUDE folder C:\ProgramData or any of its subfolders
> because the checkboxes are grayed out.
>
> I'd like help or links to info on how to enable indexing of this folder.
>
I believe this is a case of checking the 'Index this folder for faster
searching' box via
Right-click 'ProgramData' folder > Properties > Advanced
Be aware that the index itself is in 'C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Search'
so 'Indexing the index' might potentially have unpredictable ramifications
(??)
Also the fact that it's a hidden folder will also affect what you can
sjearch for in that folder.
> -Paul Randall
>
>> 2) When I click the Advanced button on the Indexing Options page, and go
>> to the file types tab, I get a list of almost 400 file extensions. I
>> assume that checking the checkbox means that files of this extension
>> should be indexed. By default, not all of the file extensions are
>> checked. I am allowed to check all but a few of them, but some don't
>> stick. Two extensions that won't stick are .z96 and .zfsendtotarget. If
>> I close and reopen this window, they revert to being unchecked. What can
>> I do to make the checking a checkbox stick?
>>
>> 3) For some extensions, the filter description column says: Registered
>> IFilter is not found. One example is files of type .zumaSavedGame.
>> Below, in the 'How should this file be indexed?' section, there are two
>> options, one of which can be chosen for the highlighted file type in the
>> upper section; the choices are 'Index Properties Only', and 'Index
>> Properties and File Contents' (the default option for .zumaSavedGame).
>> When I try to select 'Index Properties Only', sometimes it sticks for a
>> little while and sometimes it doesn't, meaning sometimes I can OK out of
>> Indexing Options and restart it from control panel, and my change to
>> .zumaSavedGame is still there, and sometimes it reverts to the default.
>> Is this how it is supposed to work, and if not, what can I do to fix it?
>>
>> 4) For some extensions, like .WebAllowBlockList, the checkmark is
>> checked, and I can not uncheck it. When I hover over that extension, I
>> get a popup saying 'You do not have permission to change the settings for
>> this extension'. I can't find any files with this extension, but Vista
>> is pretty good at hiding stuff, and why have this extension in the list
>> if there are no such files? Anyhow, can anyone shed light on what is
>> happening here or what I can do to get permissions to change the setting
>> for this extension or prove to myself that no such file exists?
>>
>> Thanks for any help/understanding you can give me.
>>
>> -Paul Randall
>> >
>
For your other questions, I'd suggest having a look in the registry under
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT at particular extensions
eg
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt\PersistentHandler shows the ClassId for the IFilter
for text files etc
which you can then explore under
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID
What you see via Indexing Options reflects what you can view there.
Excluded extensions are also listed under
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows
Search\Gather\Windows\SystemIndex\Extensions\ExtensionList
If you make changes via the GUI and observe the effect of those in the
registry (and vice versa), then things may become clearer. You may need to
stop and restart the Windows Search service if you make changes via the
registry.
Re your other questions it sounds like there's possibly some registry
corruption there eg an untidy removal of an installed IFilter
Also 'WebAllowBlockList' relates to Parental Controls, so it would make
sense that you couldn't chedk the box to search its contents via the gui,
but you could examine (and potentially change it) under
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.WebAllowBlockList
Haven't covered all your questions I suspect, but a few pointers I hope.
--
Jon