Whenever you perform a search using the search functionality in the start menu, Windows Vista also searches the files in your hard drive. Depending on the size of your hard disk and the amount of files that you have, this can make the whole process really slow.

To avoid such problems you can set windows not to search the file index :

1. Right-click on the Start Button and select Properties.
2. Click on the Customize button.
3. Uncheck Search Communications.
4. Set Search Files to Don’t Search for files.
5. Click OK.