But there are some problems and inconsistencies with search. First off, the search results you'll get vary according to where you perform them. You'll get one type of results from the search box on the Start menu, and another type using advanced search.

In addition, your entire hard disk isn't indexed, and so unbeknownst to you, search may ignore vast portions of your data. By default, it indexes mainly the \Users folder, but ignores pretty much all the other folders on your hard disk. Why do it this way? Microsoft is trying to force people to store all their data underneath their own \Users folder. But very few people actually do that, and if you're one of those people who doesn't, you won't be happy with search.

TIP: There is a workaround, however. Choose Control Panel > System and Maintenance > Indexing Options, and you can choose other folders to put into the index.

Microsoft also made a completely bizarre design decision that makes search far less useful than it should be. Tucked away into Windows Vista's recesses is a very useful search pane for Windows Explorer that you'll hardly ever see. The pane appears across the top of Windows Explorer, and has buttons labeled All, E-mail, Document, Picture, Music, and Other. It's a great help for filtering search results. Do a search, then click on the Picture button, for example, and it will display only results that are images. To turn on the pane, in Windows Explorer choose Organize > Layout > Search Pane.

So far so good, right? But the pane appears and disappears for reasons that at first are impossible to fathom. The Search Pane option is rarely available when you choose Organize > Layout. You can make the pane appear only if you're in one of a few select folders, such as Computer and Desktop. You can't make it appear anywhere else, because the option simply isn't available...with one exception. When you type a letter into the search box in Windows Explorer, you can make the pane appear no matter which folder you're in. But delete the letter, and you can't make it appear.