Microsoft does not make it clear they are only searching certain file extensions. It can really throw you off the track when you are looking for a certain string within a file.
For example. If I was looking for the string 'purchase' within all files that matched *.* windows would skip all file extensions that it does not recognize.
A simple registry change can be made to bring XP, and 2003 search back the way it was:
Under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE:
SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\ContentIndex\FilterFilesWithUnknownExtensions
Set the above value to 1
It will treat unknown extensions as text files. After a reboot the change will take effect.
Now when you search for a string within the files that match the wildcard of *.* it will actually search all files it finds - Imagine that!
Posted By: Steve Wiseman on Tuesday, April 11, 2006
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