How to Use the Search in Windows Vista
- 1). Click the Start button. A text box is displayed at the bottom of the Start menu pop-up. This is the internal search bar for Vista. The search bar is also located in the main Explorer window. Click "Computer" in the Start menu to open the window.
- 2). Type the name of a program or file you want to find. For instance, if you want to search for all Excel spreadsheets on your computer, type "*.xlsx" into the search text box. The wildcard character means to search for all file names with the extension value "xlsx".
- 3). Press "Enter". Vista shows you a search icon in the main display window. As it searches, it shows you the results in the central pane. If you typed a program name such as "Notepad", the program automatically opens. If you entered file names, the file names that match the search text are displayed.
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