Forum Discussion

SGL's avatar
SGL
Copper Contributor
Oct 23, 2026

why cant my computer search for gigantic files?

whenever i try to search for gigantic files by entering "size:gigantic" onto the search bar, it gives me nothing; how can i fix this? im positive there are files somewhere

 

configuration

2 Replies

  • Jamony's avatar
    Jamony
    MCT
    Oct 24, 2026

    Your screenshot shows Portuguese File Explorer using the English query size:gigantic, so a language-dependent search keyword is worth checking before repairing Windows. Microsoft documents that friendly search labels depend on language, while canonical property names avoid that ambiguity. In the same drive, try System.Size:>1073741824 to search for files larger than one gibibyte without using the named category. Allow the search to complete. Then repeat inside a folder containing a file whose size you have verified in Properties. If that works, narrow or widen the numerical threshold to suit your needs. If it still returns nothing, search for that known file by name in the same folder and compare the results. Check indexed locations and exclusions only after this controlled test. An empty result alone does not prove that the index is corrupt or that Windows cannot search large files.

  • WinEndpointOps's avatar
    WinEndpointOps
    Brass Contributor
    Oct 24, 2026

    The size:gigantic filter is real, but it only works in File Explorer's search box, not in the taskbar or Start search, and it only finds files that are in the search index (or that you ask Explorer to search without the index). Some things to check:

     

    • Search from File Explorer. Open the folder or drive you want to search (This PC for everything), click the search box at the top right, and type size:gigantic. In Explorer, gigantic means files larger than 128 MB.
    • If it still returns nothing, the folder is probably not indexed. After you search, click the three dots (or the Search options) and tick Include non-indexed files, or check Settings > Privacy & security > Searching Windows and look at which folders are included in the index. Searching a whole drive without the index is slower but works.
    • Make sure you typed the filter with no space after the colon, and try size:>1GB instead, which is usually more useful and works the same way (size:>500MB also works).
    • If you are not sure the files exist, sort the folder by Size (View > Details, click the Size column), or run the Storage settings view (Settings > System > Storage > Other or Large files) to see them.

    As a bonus, you can combine filters, for example size:>1GB kind:video or size:>1GB datemodified:last year to find the big old files you can delete.