file search probs; 10.4.x; Win 2003

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We have 12 Macs all running 10.4.1 or 10.4.2, and all connected via Appletalk to a Windows 2003 server. It seems that since upgrading from 10.3.9 to 10.4.x, "Find File" does not "see" many of the files that are located on the server. However, once we manually locate the files (in the Finder), they are subsequently located when we next do a search. Is this perhaps a Spotlight interference issue? Is there any way to build a locate db for a remote volume such that "Find File" will again work as it did in 10.3.9?

Thanks in advance!

KK
 
Spotlight does not index server volumes, so that's why it doesn't find anything on the server volumes.

Once you "locate" the files, the Spotlight entry you're seeing is probably a cached name or file on your local machine -- like a "Recent Items" entry. Or not, just a guess.

This just made me think about how it's possible, through the GUI, to search on mounted volumes... I have no idea other than using "find -f /path/to/share | grep CriteriaToSearchFor" in the Terminal...

Edit: Ah, just found an article about how to enable Spotlight indexing on server volumes:
http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20050430233117572
From what I gather, it may be required for each user to do this, as the Spotlight index of the share may not be stored on the share itself -- rather, the users' local machine.

I would first have one computer do this, then have a different computer mount the share and do a Spotlight search on that volume. If it doesn't work, you may need to have each user index the volume.

Hope that helps!
 
"ElDiabloConCaca", thanks for your reply.
If I understand you correctly, if would seem that, unlike 10.3.9 and earlier, a "command-F" file search on 10.4 can not accurately search for files on remote volumes, and this even though the search offers to search all "Servers", and may be customized to a particular volume or group of volumes.
This is odd, because, as I explained above, once I merely locate a matching file on a remote volume, subsequent "command-F" searches DO see this particular matching file, while others that match are still ignored. So, the Spotlight-driven search does "remember" the location of remote files, but apparently only after they're manually located. The remote volumes in question are connected at startup and thus have been available for indexing for weeks. Some matches are found; it's just inconsistent.

Just to be sure, I booted one of the computers into OS 9.2.2, and "command-F" found all 42 matches in less than a second.

Why would Apple reduce this crucial functionality in an "upgrade" to their system software?

I'm going to try the "EasyFind" utility; hopefully it will do the trick.
 
"EasyFind", described at:
http://versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/11706

fits the bill, and it's free. I installed it on all of our networked
Macs, and it seems to be a viable alternative until Apple gets its act together and "thinks a little less different". Imagine trying to promote your OS and hardware in any kind of business environment- heck, many people have networks at home, nowadays- without enabling a search over a network.

At the very least, remote volume search should be a "checkbox" option in Spotlight's preference panel, rather than requiring a UNIX terminal script.

-KK
 
Glad to hear you found a solution. I'm sure Apple has something elegant in store, but it's just clunky and unusable for mounted server shares at the moment.
 
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