I will second that the search functionality can be unreliable. Sometimes no results are offered when you try to be specific.

My thoughts:
- permanent sticky in each forum section to please look through the front two - three pages do and try a search before posting
- permanent FAQ sticky with links to FAQ questions, wiki, tutorials, ...
- temporarily pin hot topics with a clear topic description to catch more OS 2008 or whatever not working responses. Things fall of the front page and new people will simply post a new thread.
- volunteers who simply & calmly point out (as in without any attitude):
* Please see this thread: [ thread link]
* Please check this search result: [search result link]