Instantly Find Files: Flash Drives, Network Shares & DVDs

The Challenge of Managing Offline Storage

Accumulating numerous backup discs, external drives, and USB hard drives is a common experience, even for those without advanced computer skills. Locating a specific file within this collection can quickly become frustrating, particularly if the media isn't currently connected to your system.

The Need for Efficient File Indexing

When files reside on non-localized media, direct access is unavailable, compounding the difficulty of retrieval. A well-organized system for indexing these files is crucial to overcome this challenge.

Creating a Rapid File Index

Building a fast and effective file index allows for quick identification of files stored on offline media. This process streamlines the search for specific data, saving valuable time and effort.

Steps to Implement a File Indexing System

The following outlines how to construct a system capable of rapidly indexing your offline files. This will enable efficient searching and retrieval of your important data.

• Cataloging Your Media: Begin by creating a comprehensive list of all your backup media.
• File Listing: For each drive or disc, generate a detailed list of all contained files.
• Centralized Database: Consolidate these lists into a single, searchable database.
• Regular Updates: Maintain the index by updating it whenever new files are added or removed.

Implementing these steps will transform a disorganized collection of offline storage into a readily searchable archive. This approach significantly reduces the time spent locating specific files.

The Need for Comprehensive File Indexing

Locating files is straightforward when all data resides on a single computer. Efficient search utilities, such as Everything by VoidTools, rapidly scan the master file table to pinpoint desired files.

However, managing files across multiple drives, removable media—including data DVDs, flash drives, and USB hard drive backups—and network shares introduces significant search challenges. The speed of local search tools can be sorely missed when files are inaccessible to them.

Expanding Search Capabilities

This guide demonstrates how to index data from network shares, flash drives, and external backup drives. The process avoids complex Windows modifications or workarounds often found in other tutorials.

The goal is to enable Windows to reliably recognize the existence of files, like "Taxes 2009 1040.pdf," across your entire data storage infrastructure.

Benefits of the Proposed Solution

You will experience simplified searching and rapid catalog generation within a compact and portable application. The software’s footprint is minimal, consuming less than 200KB of disk space.

Even indexing all local, network, and external storage devices in a typical office environment results in a file index collection of approximately 30MB.

Key advantages include portability and minimal resource usage.

• Simplified Searching: Quickly find files regardless of location.
• Fast Catalog Creation: Efficiently build a comprehensive file index.
• Portability: Easily transfer the application and index to different computers.
• Lightweight Design: Minimal impact on system resources.

Essential Requirements

To follow along with this guide, you will require a few key items.

• A copy of the Cathy application.
• Access to the storage drives containing the files you intend to index.
• Optionally, CathyCmd can be utilized for automating local index updates.

Cathy is a straightforward and cost-free utility initially developed by Robert Vašíček in the 1990s. Its original purpose was to manage a personal MP3 file library.

Vašíček has consistently maintained and improved this project throughout the years, providing regular updates several times annually.

Installing and Configuring Cathy

Begin by extracting the single file, Cathy.exe, to a secure directory after downloading it. We chose to install it in /My Documents/My Dropbox/Drive Indexes/ to ensure our drive indexes were backed up to Dropbox. This also allowed us to conveniently search file indexes from locations outside our home network.

Initial Setup

After extraction and placement, execute the program. The initial interface will appear without any pre-existing files or catalogs, ready for configuration.

Should you encounter an error related to mfc100.dll, it indicates a missing dependency. Download and install the appropriate Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable Package – either the 32-bit version or the 64-bit version.

Creating Your First Catalog

Let's initiate the process by creating a catalog. What should be cataloged? Any accessible drive, disk, removable media, network drive, or data source with a readable directory structure is suitable. Consider these sources for indexing to enhance your search capabilities:

• Local Hard Drives
• Removable Hard Drives
• CD/DVD Backups
• Flash Drives
• Network Shares

We will begin by indexing our network shares, as files are most often located there when not found on the local machine.

To create your first catalog, navigate to the Catalog tab within the main GUI. Enter the pathname as recognized by your computer in the "Root" box (for example, G:\MyDVDBackup or \\server\MP3s). We will start by indexing \\Hive\Software, the location of our software installation files. You can also modify the volume label at this stage.

The volume label will be displayed within Cathy and used as the filename for the catalog created for this location. By default, it adopts the name of the last folder in the directory structure. In our example, it would be [software]. We will edit this to \\Hive\Software\ to clearly identify the index's source as the office server.

Additionally, you can add comments in the Comment box, which will appear alongside future search results. Cathy typically ignores certain files like .tmp files, but you can adjust these exclusions if needed. Once you've reviewed the settings, click the "Add" button.

The new catalog entry will be added to the list. A corresponding file will also be created in the directory where Cathy.exe resides.

Testing the Catalog

Switch to the search tab in the main GUI. Type a search expression into the "Pattern" box to locate files within the catalog. The /Software/ folder on the office server contains Windows Home Server add-ins, including LightsOut. We will search for this to test the catalog.

The file was found immediately! Renaming the volume to the network share name simplifies identifying the file's location within the search results. Furthermore, if the search result points to an accessible resource, you can right-click the entry to open the file or explore the path directly from within Cathy.

Expanding Your Index

Add as many sources as desired. Remember that any resource accessible to your computer – network shares, discs, or even mounted remote FTP folders – can be indexed. Be aware that indexing a larger number of files will require more processing time; Cathy can index approximately a quarter million files in around 30 seconds, so allow sufficient time for completion.

Automating Catalog Updates for Local Drives and Network Shares

Progressing through the initial stages of the tutorial provides a significant advantage, establishing a searchable index of your offline media. This enables rapid and straightforward discovery of files, pinpointing the location of items like old tax returns on specific backup disks or network shares.

However, several straightforward adjustments to your Cathy workflow can enhance your experience and maintain data currency.

When utilizing Cathy to search local or network drives—where directory contents are subject to change, unlike static backups like burnt DVDs—establishing a process for updating these directories is beneficial. While you can manually refresh a catalog's contents within Cathy by right-clicking, this is cumbersome and introduces friction into the search process.

Instead, we will leverage CathyCmd, a compact command-line interface for Cathy search, to create a simple batch script for updating all local and network directory catalogs. Download CathyCmd from the Cathy website and extract the executable to the same directory as Cathy.exe.

The next step involves creating a script to control CathyCmd. Create a new text file named "update.txt" in the installation directory and open it. This file will contain instructions for CathyCmd, specifically lines beginning with #IGN and #DEV.

Refer to the sample script below for guidance on structuring your own script:

## The IGN command is used to indicate files\directories you want ignored:#IGN *.tmp; \tmp; \Temp*;## The DEV command indicates the folders\file locations you want cataloged:## The format is: path , volume name#DEV E:\ , DATA

Save the script after making your desired edits. To verify the script's functionality, we recommend creating a test file in the target location. We created a file named "whataintnocountry.txt" on the E:\ drive.

Execute the script by running CathyCmd.exe with the "-f" parameter followed by the script file name, as follows: