How to force Spotlight to re-index folders or volumes
A small hint for a big problem, how do you force Spotlight to re-index an entire volume, just like an external FireWire disk?
Do you want to re-index a file or folder—or even an entire volume—for Spotlight?
Just do this:
From the Apple menu, choose System Preferences.
Click Spotlight.
Click the Privacy tab.
Drag a file, a folder, or even an entire volume (your hard drive) to the list.
Remove the item or volume you just added.
Spotlight will re-index the contents of the item you initially dragged to the list
That’s all! The Spotlight icon in the upper right corner will start flashing and reindexing will begin!