Windows' powerful, rarely used search tools

Most people search Windows using the Start menu or Windows 8's "start typing to search" Start screen. But for more granular results, try the search box in the upper-right corner of Windows Explorer.

The advanced search tools let you add fancy filters, from date and file type to Boolean operands.
This Microsoft page offers a full list of such commands in Windows 7.
In Windows 8, you'll find similar functionality in the Search Tools section of the File Explorer's Ribbon UI.

 

Picture 1: Search tools

You can create a shortcut to a custom search by simply dragging the magnifying-glass icon in the File Explorer location bar to the desired location. Clicking it will always give you up-to-date results.