How can I use the Windows XP interface to include all file types in a file system search?

Open the search interface (go to Start, then click Search).

Select the "Change preferences" option.

Select the "With Indexing Service (for faster local searches)" option.

Click the "Change Index Service settings (Advanced)" button. A new application will start and show the System catalog.

Click the Show/Hide Console Tree button on the toolbar (the third button from the left) to enable the console tree view.

Right-click the root of the console (e.g., "Indexing Service on Local Machine"), then select Properties from the context menu.

Select the Generation tab.

Select the "Index files with unknown extensions" option.
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Click OK.

Close the Indexing Service application.