Why does "find /" take so long? How do I find a file in the filesystem, knowing its name? How do I use locate? How do I use find?

Please don't use "find /", as it's very slow and a real drain on the network. Use locate by typing locate [string], where [string] is the name of the file you want to find, or part of the name. It's more appropriate to use find to find something in a fairly small area, such as your home directory or a /projects directory, neither of which are searched by locate. The basic find syntax is 'find [path to search] [expression to search for]'; please read the man page for find, for more detailed information.