When you search for something using Google, the results are returned in milliseconds, but searching for a file on your own hard drive can take minutes. What gives? Why is a search engine query faster than a local file search?

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问题

超级用户读者Arne想知道为什么他的本地搜索比搜索引擎查询慢：

When I search a file on my HD in Windows 7 or Windows XP it takes some minutes to finish the process.

If I fill in a search term in Google, the answer is on my screen in milliseconds. How is it possible for Google to search the Internet, that is many times larger than my hard drive, faster than my OS can search my computer.

Is it ‘only’ a matter of computing power and the right algorithm?

他肯定不是唯一一个注意到这种差异的人；没有定制操作系统的即时搜索速度非常慢。

答案

超级用户贡献者Simon强调了Google搜索查询和非索引Windows搜索之间的根本区别：

Google is not searching the internet: it is searching an index. Google has huge server farms which are c***tantly scanning and indexing the internet. This process takes a lot of time, just like the search of your unindexed hard drive. In Windows 7, there is an option to index your hard drives. This process takes some time at first but once it is up and running the results of a search will be instantaneous.

If you want to know more about how the Google search works you can read Google’s article “How Search Works” or read the article “How Stuff Works: How Google Works“.

有关加快Windows search查询速度的详细信息，请务必查看以下How to Geek文章：

• 如何使Windows 8索引加密文件
• 了解如何使用Windows7的高级搜索运算符
• 了解更多Windows7搜索技巧，以更轻松地查找文件
• 使Windows 7“开始”菜单搜索更快地查找应用程序

有什么要补充的解释吗？在评论中发出声音。想从其他精通技术的Stack Exchange用户那里了解更多答案吗？在这里查看完整的讨论主题。