How to find a lost file on your Computer?

If you are using Windows XP – this is a quick way to find lost files on your computer.

Open the “Start Menu" (either left click on the Start Button left side of the Task Bar OR tap the Windows Flag Key on your keyboard)

When the Start Menu appears, choose “Search” and the Search Dialog Box Opens, with 3 search options:

1. All or part of a file name
2. A word or phrase in the file
3. Look In

Use Option 1 when you know all or part of the document-file name, but you can also add the file extensions (for example for word file, type *.doc, Excel *.xls, Acrobat *.pdf, *.ppt and *.exe for executable files.

Use Option 2 when you don't know the name of file but know that it contains a string of text, by typing the text you want to find from any file or folder. This is time taking process but creates very precise result.

Use Option 3, Look In, to Look in Specific Drives, Folders or Networks that you want to Search for what you put in Option 1 or Option 2 In Look in, click the drive, folder, or network you want to search.

To save time, always select the specified drive or location instead of whole computer
Click Start Button, point to Search, and then click For File or Folders, a Search Results dialog box will appear.

In Search for files or folders named, type the file name or folder name you want to find in containing text.

To specify additional search criteria, click Search Options, and then click one or more of the following options to narrow your search:

• Select Date to look for files that were created or modified on or between specific dates
• Select Type to look for files of a specific type, such as a text or WordPad document
• Select Size to look for files of a specific size
• Select Advanced Options to specify additional search criteria
• Click Search now.