Windows Vista Searce folder

  • Thread starter Thread starter JimB
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JimB

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There's a folder in the my documents folder called searches. There are
numerous sub folders under it and, together, they contain 5300 items taking
roughly 39 GB of space on my drive. What is the purpose of this folder? Can
it be deleted without destroying my system? If so, how can I prevent this
folder from filling up again? I was directed to this site but found no help
there.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/features/details/searchfolders.mspx
Thanks, Jim B
 
Re: Searce folder

The fact that it is 'filling up' has so little impact on the hard drive
space you have, that it isn't an issue, whatsoever. It's not like that list
of files is a hard copy of all the files.

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Mark L. Ferguson
..

"JimB" <JimB@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:63FE7B65-5434-422A-94E3-9154485317C9@microsoft.com...
>
> There's a folder in the my documents folder called searches. There are
> numerous sub folders under it and, together, they contain 5300 items
> taking
> roughly 39 GB of space on my drive. What is the purpose of this folder?
> Can
> it be deleted without destroying my system? If so, how can I prevent this
> folder from filling up again? I was directed to this site but found no
> help
> there.
> http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/features/details/searchfolders.mspx
> Thanks, Jim B
 
Re: Searce folder

True, but the question is why are they there if the OP is not saving his
searches.
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"Mark L. Ferguson" <MarkLFerguson@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in
message news:2BB9B5E7-1781-4EAD-9FC4-1031E005AEB6@microsoft.com...
> The fact that it is 'filling up' has so little impact on the hard drive
> space you have, that it isn't an issue, whatsoever. It's not like that
> list of files is a hard copy of all the files.
>
> --
> Was this helpful? Then click the Ratings button. Voting helps the web
> interface.
> http://www.microsoft.com/wn3/locales/help/help_en-us.htm#RateAPostAsAnswer
> Mark L. Ferguson
> .
>
> "JimB" <JimB@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:63FE7B65-5434-422A-94E3-9154485317C9@microsoft.com...
>>
>> There's a folder in the my documents folder called searches. There are
>> numerous sub folders under it and, together, they contain 5300 items
>> taking
>> roughly 39 GB of space on my drive. What is the purpose of this folder?
>> Can
>> it be deleted without destroying my system? If so, how can I prevent this
>> folder from filling up again? I was directed to this site but found no
>> help
>> there.
>> http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/features/details/searchfolders.mspx
>> Thanks, Jim B
>
 
Re: Search folder

Re: Search folder

I only have an 80 GB drive. I have no idea what the purpose of this folder
is. Can I delete them without serious consequences?

"Mark L. Ferguson" wrote:

> The fact that it is 'filling up' has so little impact on the hard drive
> space you have, that it isn't an issue, whatsoever. It's not like that list
> of files is a hard copy of all the files.
>
> --
> Was this helpful? Then click the Ratings button. Voting helps the web
> interface.
> http://www.microsoft.com/wn3/locales/help/help_en-us.htm#RateAPostAsAnswer
> Mark L. Ferguson
> .
>
> "JimB" <JimB@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:63FE7B65-5434-422A-94E3-9154485317C9@microsoft.com...
> >
> > There's a folder in the my documents folder called searches. There are
> > numerous sub folders under it and, together, they contain 5300 items
> > taking
> > roughly 39 GB of space on my drive. What is the purpose of this folder?
> > Can
> > it be deleted without destroying my system? If so, how can I prevent this
> > folder from filling up again? I was directed to this site but found no
> > help
> > there.
> > http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/features/details/searchfolders.mspx
> > Thanks, Jim B
>
 
Re: Search folder

Re: Search folder

Have you been saving your searches?

If the folders you describe are the same as the those described in the link
you can certainly delete them, however doing so will have an insignificant
impact on your available disk space.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/features/details/searchfolders.mspx-------
*Report back, please*
[When responding to posts, please include the post(s) you are replying to so
that others may learn and benefit from the issue]

[How to ask a question]
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375

"JimB" <JimB@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:BF5F88FA-63D0-4CD7-AAC4-BA3DBC05BB65@microsoft.com...
>I only have an 80 GB drive. I have no idea what the purpose of this folder
> is. Can I delete them without serious consequences?
>
> "Mark L. Ferguson" wrote:
>
>> The fact that it is 'filling up' has so little impact on the hard drive
>> space you have, that it isn't an issue, whatsoever. It's not like that
>> list
>> of files is a hard copy of all the files.
>>
>> --
>> Was this helpful? Then click the Ratings button. Voting helps the web
>> interface.
>> http://www.microsoft.com/wn3/locales/help/help_en-us.htm#RateAPostAsAnswer
>> Mark L. Ferguson
>> .
>>
>> "JimB" <JimB@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:63FE7B65-5434-422A-94E3-9154485317C9@microsoft.com...
>> >
>> > There's a folder in the my documents folder called searches. There are
>> > numerous sub folders under it and, together, they contain 5300 items
>> > taking
>> > roughly 39 GB of space on my drive. What is the purpose of this folder?
>> > Can
>> > it be deleted without destroying my system? If so, how can I prevent
>> > this
>> > folder from filling up again? I was directed to this site but found no
>> > help
>> > there.
>> > http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/features/details/searchfolders.mspx
>> > Thanks, Jim B
>>
 
Re: Search folder

Re: Search folder

Unless Vista does it by default, the answer is no and the second answer is I
haven't a clue how to do that. Is there a setting that turns this off? When
i total up the "size on disk" in the properties of these folders, I get
approx. 39 GB Is that a real number? It seems like a significant amount of
disk space to me unless I'm misinterpreting it. Then there's the question of
the 5900 (useless?) files the processor has to keep track of. I hate clutter.
I sure appreciate the time you're taking to help me out here.

JIm

"Bob" wrote:

> Have you been saving your searches?
>
> If the folders you describe are the same as the those described in the link
> you can certainly delete them, however doing so will have an insignificant
> impact on your available disk space.
> http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/features/details/searchfolders.mspx-------
> *Report back, please*
> [When responding to posts, please include the post(s) you are replying to so
> that others may learn and benefit from the issue]
>
> [How to ask a question]
> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375
>
> "JimB" <JimB@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:BF5F88FA-63D0-4CD7-AAC4-BA3DBC05BB65@microsoft.com...
> >I only have an 80 GB drive. I have no idea what the purpose of this folder
> > is. Can I delete them without serious consequences?
> >
> > "Mark L. Ferguson" wrote:
> >
> >> The fact that it is 'filling up' has so little impact on the hard drive
> >> space you have, that it isn't an issue, whatsoever. It's not like that
> >> list
> >> of files is a hard copy of all the files.
> >>
> >> --
> >> Was this helpful? Then click the Ratings button. Voting helps the web
> >> interface.
> >> http://www.microsoft.com/wn3/locales/help/help_en-us.htm#RateAPostAsAnswer
> >> Mark L. Ferguson
> >> .
> >>
> >> "JimB" <JimB@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> >> news:63FE7B65-5434-422A-94E3-9154485317C9@microsoft.com...
> >> >
> >> > There's a folder in the my documents folder called searches. There are
> >> > numerous sub folders under it and, together, they contain 5300 items
> >> > taking
> >> > roughly 39 GB of space on my drive. What is the purpose of this folder?
> >> > Can
> >> > it be deleted without destroying my system? If so, how can I prevent
> >> > this
> >> > folder from filling up again? I was directed to this site but found no
> >> > help
> >> > there.
> >> > http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/features/details/searchfolders.mspx
> >> > Thanks, Jim B
> >>
>
>
 
Re: Searce folder


JimB;657212 Wrote:
> Unless Vista does it by default, the answer is no and the second answer
> is I haven't a clue how to do that. Is there a setting that turns this
> off? When i total up the "size on disk" in the properties of these
> folders, I get approx. 39 GB Is that a real number? It seems like a
> significant amount of disk space to me unless I'm misinterpreting it.
> Then there's the question of the 5900 (useless?) files the processor has
> to keep track of. I hate clutter. I sure appreciate the time you're
> taking to help me out here.
>
> JIm


If you right-click one of the icons inside one of the "folders", do you
get an option that says "Open file location"? And when you select this
option, where does it take you?


--
Dzomlija

Peter Alexander Dzomlija
-Do you hear, huh? The Alpha and The Omega? Death and Rebirth? And as
you die, so shall I be Reborn...-

_*Prometheus*_
MOBO: ASUS MB-M3A32-MVP Deluxe/WiFi-AP
CPU: AMD Phenom 9600 Quad
RAM: 2 x A-Data 2GB DDR2-800
GPU: ASUS ATI Radeon HD 2400PRO, 256MB
BOX: Thermaltake Tai-Chi Water Cooled
OS: Windows Vista Ultimate x64
 
Re: Searce folder

Tried several. They take me to the place where the files are located on my
hard drive. This is what makes me think deleting these files would be
disastrous.

"Dzomlija" wrote:

>
> JimB;657212 Wrote:
> > Unless Vista does it by default, the answer is no and the second answer
> > is I haven't a clue how to do that. Is there a setting that turns this
> > off? When i total up the "size on disk" in the properties of these
> > folders, I get approx. 39 GB Is that a real number? It seems like a
> > significant amount of disk space to me unless I'm misinterpreting it.
> > Then there's the question of the 5900 (useless?) files the processor has
> > to keep track of. I hate clutter. I sure appreciate the time you're
> > taking to help me out here.
> >
> > JIm
>
>
> If you right-click one of the icons inside one of the "folders", do you
> get an option that says "Open file location"? And when you select this
> option, where does it take you?
>
>
> --
> Dzomlija
>
> Peter Alexander Dzomlija
> -Do you hear, huh? The Alpha and The Omega? Death and Rebirth? And as
> you die, so shall I be Reborn...-
>
> _*Prometheus*_
> MOBO: ASUS MB-M3A32-MVP Deluxe/WiFi-AP
> CPU: AMD Phenom 9600 Quad
> RAM: 2 x A-Data 2GB DDR2-800
> GPU: ASUS ATI Radeon HD 2400PRO, 256MB
> BOX: Thermaltake Tai-Chi Water Cooled
> OS: Windows Vista Ultimate x64
>
 
RE: Searce folder

FYI gentlemen
I deleted one file (an email contact) that I knew I could easily reconstruct
from this folder. It was as if I deleted it from the contacts folder. I'm
sure the same would be true for all the other files in the search folder,
disaster!

"JimB" wrote:

>
> There's a folder in the my documents folder called searches. There are
> numerous sub folders under it and, together, they contain 5300 items taking
> roughly 39 GB of space on my drive. What is the purpose of this folder? Can
> it be deleted without destroying my system? If so, how can I prevent this
> folder from filling up again? I was directed to this site but found no help
> there.
> http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/features/details/searchfolders.mspx
> Thanks, Jim B
 
Re: Searce folder


JimB;657367 Wrote:
> FYI gentlemen
> I deleted one file (an email contact) that I knew I could easily
> reconstruct
> from this folder. It was as if I deleted it from the contacts folder.
> I'm
> sure the same would be true for all the other files in the search
> folder,
> disaster!
>
> "JimB" wrote:
> > > >
> > >
> > > There's a folder in the my documents folder called searches. There
> > are
> > > numerous sub folders under it and, together, they contain 5300 items
> > taking
> > > roughly 39 GB of space on my drive. What is the purpose of this
> > folder? Can
> > > it be deleted without destroying my system? If so, how can I prevent
> > this
> > > folder from filling up again? I was directed to this site but found
> > no help
> > > there.
> > > 'Search Folders'
> > (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/features/details/searchfolders.mspx)
> > > Thanks, Jim B > >

Then what you see as "folders" and files under "Document\Searches", are
nothing more than Search results. You don't want to go deleting that -
unless, of course, you want to wipe out your data. Although that still
does not explain why the "Searches" folder is under "Documents"...


--
Dzomlija

Peter Alexander Dzomlija
-Do you hear, huh? The Alpha and The Omega? Death and Rebirth? And as
you die, so shall I be Reborn...-

_*Prometheus*_
MOBO: ASUS MB-M3A32-MVP Deluxe/WiFi-AP
CPU: AMD Phenom 9600 Quad
RAM: 2 x A-Data 2GB DDR2-800
GPU: ASUS ATI Radeon HD 2400PRO, 256MB
BOX: Thermaltake Tai-Chi Water Cooled
OS: Windows Vista Ultimate x64
 
Re: Searce folder

Based on what you said they are merely shortcuts to the actual files.

That appears to answer the question of whether or not you should delete
them. The answer being "No" unless you want to delete the file itself.
Bottom line is they are not using a significant amount of hard disk space.
Do a thorough check for malware, following all of the steps at one of these
Web pages.
Help with malware:
All MS-MVP Sites.


Consider this: Whenever a new error condition appears on your computer, it
is almost certain that there was some change to the computer soon before the
problem began. http://aumha.org/a/parasite.htm

Unexplained computer behavior may be caused by deceptive software.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/827315

http://aumha.org/a/quickfix.htm

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm
http://inetexplorer.mvps.org/darnit.html

http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k/Malware_Defence.htm

http://aumha.org/a/parasite.php

-------
*Report back, please*
[When responding to posts, please include the post(s) you are replying to so
that others may learn and benefit from the issue]

[How to ask a question]
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375

"JimB" <JimB@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:58BF7622-6C33-4722-BB0B-7839070B2032@microsoft.com...
> Tried several. They take me to the place where the files are located on my
> hard drive. This is what makes me think deleting these files would be
> disastrous.
>
> "Dzomlija" wrote:
>
>>
>> JimB;657212 Wrote:
>> > Unless Vista does it by default, the answer is no and the second answer
>> > is I haven't a clue how to do that. Is there a setting that turns this
>> > off? When i total up the "size on disk" in the properties of these
>> > folders, I get approx. 39 GB Is that a real number? It seems like a
>> > significant amount of disk space to me unless I'm misinterpreting it.
>> > Then there's the question of the 5900 (useless?) files the processor
>> > has
>> > to keep track of. I hate clutter. I sure appreciate the time you're
>> > taking to help me out here.
>> >
>> > JIm
>>
>>
>> If you right-click one of the icons inside one of the "folders", do you
>> get an option that says "Open file location"? And when you select this
>> option, where does it take you?
>>
>>
>> --
>> Dzomlija
>>
>> Peter Alexander Dzomlija
>> -Do you hear, huh? The Alpha and The Omega? Death and Rebirth? And as
>> you die, so shall I be Reborn...-
>>
>> _*Prometheus*_
>> MOBO: ASUS MB-M3A32-MVP Deluxe/WiFi-AP
>> CPU: AMD Phenom 9600 Quad
>> RAM: 2 x A-Data 2GB DDR2-800
>> GPU: ASUS ATI Radeon HD 2400PRO, 256MB
>> BOX: Thermaltake Tai-Chi Water Cooled
>> OS: Windows Vista Ultimate x64
>>
 
Re: Searce folder

It's been my experience that you can delete a shortcut to a file and not
delete the file itself.

"Bob" wrote:

> Based on what you said they are merely shortcuts to the actual files.
>
> That appears to answer the question of whether or not you should delete
> them. The answer being "No" unless you want to delete the file itself.
> Bottom line is they are not using a significant amount of hard disk space.
> Do a thorough check for malware, following all of the steps at one of these
> Web pages.
> Help with malware:
> All MS-MVP Sites.
 
Re: Searce folder

Thanks for the heads up re malware. This is a new laptop. I have AVG watching
over things, but hadn't run spybot and ad-aware. Spybot found a bunch of
tracking cookies. Ad aware didn't find anything critical.

I'd like to get back to what creates this folder and how do I prevent it
from continuing?

"Bob" wrote:

> Bottom line is they are not using a significant amount of hard disk space.
> Do a thorough check for malware,
 
Re: Searce folder

Are you certain that Norton or McAfee Security was not preinstalled?

"JimB" <JimB@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:C27FF031-0EAF-4B4A-9BF1-E8A22A83E459@microsoft.com...
> Thanks for the heads up re malware. This is a new laptop. I have AVG
> watching
> over things, but hadn't run spybot and ad-aware. Spybot found a bunch of
> tracking cookies. Ad aware didn't find anything critical.
>
> I'd like to get back to what creates this folder and how do I prevent it
> from continuing?
>
> "Bob" wrote:
>
>> Bottom line is they are not using a significant amount of hard disk
>> space.
>> Do a thorough check for malware,
 
Re: Searce folder

McAfee no, Norton yes, but totally removed

"Bob" wrote:

> Are you certain that Norton or McAfee Security was not preinstalled?
>
> "JimB" <JimB@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:C27FF031-0EAF-4B4A-9BF1-E8A22A83E459@microsoft.com...
> > Thanks for the heads up re malware. This is a new laptop. I have AVG
> > watching
> > over things, but hadn't run spybot and ad-aware. Spybot found a bunch of
> > tracking cookies. Ad aware didn't find anything critical.
> >
> > I'd like to get back to what creates this folder and how do I prevent it
> > from continuing?
> >
> > "Bob" wrote:
> >
> >> Bottom line is they are not using a significant amount of hard disk
> >> space.
> >> Do a thorough check for malware,
>
>
 
RE: Searce folder

Thanks everybody. I found the answer here:

http://www.vistax64.com/vista-file-management/131471-recent-searches-folder.html

read the last entry in this thread (Ronnie Vernon)


"JimB" wrote:

>
> There's a folder in the my documents folder called searches. There are
> numerous sub folders under it and, together, they contain 5300 items taking
> roughly 39 GB of space on my drive. What is the purpose of this folder? Can
> it be deleted without destroying my system? If so, how can I prevent this
> folder from filling up again? I was directed to this site but found no help
> there.
> http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/features/details/searchfolders.mspx
> Thanks, Jim B
 
Re: Searce folder

Assuming you used Norton Removal Tool.
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/tsgeninfo.nsf/docid/2005033108162039

Sorry, I don't have any additional suggestions.
Good luck.

"JimB" <JimB@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:29185553-8ED2-4EE0-9F46-E7B1AADD7497@microsoft.com...
> McAfee no, Norton yes, but totally removed
>
> "Bob" wrote:
>
>> Are you certain that Norton or McAfee Security was not preinstalled?
>>
>> "JimB" <JimB@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:C27FF031-0EAF-4B4A-9BF1-E8A22A83E459@microsoft.com...
>> > Thanks for the heads up re malware. This is a new laptop. I have AVG
>> > watching
>> > over things, but hadn't run spybot and ad-aware. Spybot found a bunch
>> > of
>> > tracking cookies. Ad aware didn't find anything critical.
>> >
>> > I'd like to get back to what creates this folder and how do I prevent
>> > it
>> > from continuing?
>> >
>> > "Bob" wrote:
>> >
>> >> Bottom line is they are not using a significant amount of hard disk
>> >> space.
>> >> Do a thorough check for malware,
>>
>>
 
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