Google Desktop is a free, downloadable application that lets you quickly search your computer or the Web for files, email, chats, viewed webpages, music, and other media. Google Desktop can also be configured to display personalized news, content, utilities, and games on your desktop.
System requirements
- Operating systems: Windows XP or Windows Vista
- Browsers: Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 or above or Mozilla Firefox
- One gigabyte (GB) of available space on your hard drive
- For best performance, at least 256 MB RAM and 500 MHz or faster Pentium processor
Steps to install Google Desktop
To install Google Desktop, follow the instructions below:
- Visit http://desktop.google.com
- Click the Install Google Desktop button to download the installer file.
- Open the installer file and click the Run button.
- Review the Google Terms of Service, and click the I agree button.
- On the next screen, select the Desktop options that you want to enable. You can always change these settings later in your Desktop Preferences page.
- 'Enhanced Search': Deselect this option if you don't want Desktop to also include matches from your email, web history, and other sources in your search results.
- 'Sidebar with Gadgets': If you want to utilize Desktop for searching your computer, but don't want the sidebar with gadgets, deselect this option.
- 'Default Google search and homepage': Deselect this option if you don't want Desktop to use Google as the default search engine or set http://www.google.com as your browser homepage.
- 'Usage statistics and crash reports': Select this option if you want Desktop to automatically send Google crash reports and anonymous usage statistics. Learn more about the information that's sent.
- Click the Done button to finish installation.
After Desktop installs completely, you can access it by clicking the Desktop icon (a multicolored swirl) in your system tray . You can also click the Start menu in your computer taskbar, select Programs, then Google Desktop to open Desktop.
Browse the Getting Started Guide to learn more about the features that Google Desktop offers.
To find out if you're running the latest version of Desktop or to hear about any changes in the latest release of Google Desktop, check our release notes.