Searching word docs in Windows Vista

[Wigglyamps]

Can anyone help, when searching the contents of multiple word documents using the search function, there are occasions when it will not pick up words. Doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason and it is very frustrating as you can't trust the function and have to check all documents individually. Running windows Vista Premium :yuk: . Are there any freeware programs out there that do the job better?
All help gratefully received
Wigglyamps

[Keef]

Are you searching with Vista, or with Word?

Word does various things with the text, so a basic search engine won't find stuff consistently. For example, I live in The Chase, and almost every letter I write contains the word "Chase". Search finds no examples in Word docs if I search my machine. It finds lots in Excel.