[silvertail]

When I do a file search in Vista, it still displays files I have long since deleted. How do I clear Vista's cache of files that are no longer on my hard drive? This is most annoying, and any help with it would be appreciated.

Cheers,
Silv

[TheOutcaste]

Welcome to TSG!

Click Start, type Services, press Enter
Check that the following Services' Startup Type is set to Automatic, and are Started:

DCOM Server Process Launcher
Remote Procedure Call (RPC)
Windows Search

Close Services
If any of the Services showed a Startup Type of Automatic, but were not started, and you were able to start them, Reboot, and check that they are started after rebooting.
.
Click Start, double click Computer
Right click the drive(s) the deleted files were on and click Properties
Make sure Index this drive for faster searching is checked on the General tab
Close the Properties dialog

Click Start, type Indexing Options, press Enter
The number of indexed items is shown at the top
It may also show that Indexing complete., though if you started any services that were stopped, it may be indexing files. In that case it shows Indexing speed is reduced due to user activity.

Make sure the folder that contained the deleted files is NOT listed in the Exclude column, and is(was) NOT a subfolder of a folder that is listed.
Make sure the folder that contained the deleted files is listed in the Included Locations column, or is(was) a subfolder of a folder that is listed.

If you need to make changes, click the Modify button, then click the Show all locations button.
Click the Advanced button.
Click the File Types tab
Make sure the extension of the deleted files is checked.
Click OK
If you made changes, or started a Service, wait until it shows Indexing complete. to see if that clears up the problem. You can close the dialog and come back later to check.

If not, go back to the Indexing Options dialog, and click the Advanced button
Click the Rebuild button. This clears the index and starts over.
This can take from a few minutes to several hours to complete.

Note that Indexing runs in the background at a low priority when the system is in use. It speeds up when it has been idle for a while. If you routinely have the PC sleep or hibernate after a few minutes, it could take days for the index to be updated with changes

HTH

Jerry