Desktop search has a bad reputation of being a resource hog whilst not providing the results to make the overhead worthwhile.  One of the best and most efficient Desktop Search engines around at the moment is the Exalead Desktop search.

One of the most common problems with other Desktop Search results is their ability to help you easily navigate through search results.   Exalead provides a very initiative interface allowing you to quickly filter by document type,  date range, author, recipient, file type and so on.  It supports up to 120 file formats (300+ if you purchase the professional edition),  and also supports fairly advanced search for Lotus Notes email client and MS Exchange.   Exalead also helps you find any attachment hidden inside an email, and has a built in spell checker to help you find documents with difficult names.

Installing Exalead desktop search is simple,  and installs a small web server and indexing component on your PC.  It then uses a web browser interface to help you navigate through the search results.   Basic requirements are as follows.

Windows 2000 (SP4), XP (SP2 and SP3), Vista/Vista SP1, Windows 7
Internet Explorer 6+ and FireFox 1.5+
To index emails/contacts: Outlook Express 5.x/6.x, Outlook 2000/XP/2003/2007, Windows Mail, Microsoft Exchange, Mozilla Thunderbird, Lotus Notes (from version 5.09)

What do you use for Desktop Search?

Visit Exalead Desktop search and download the tool.