I have a DVD database spreadsheet that has 167k entries and about 12
columns of never changing data.

In Excel, it is a 14MB file that can be searched within milliseconds.

In Access, it is a 169MB file, and searches take several seconds.

It would appear that Access, the database, has a MAJOR flaw in the way
it stores data.

It also apparently performs un-needed steps when performing a simple
search function as well.

That is truly sad, since all the dopes here have been telling me that
my spreadsheet is better of as a database.

It would appear that Excel is better at doing database type things than
the database does.

This problem rears its ugly head elsewhere is your processing paradigms
as well.

If I create a spread sheet that has one sheet that performs lookups to
the 14 MB workbook, the spreadsheet that is a single row lookup of the
bigger workbook suddenly climbs to the exact same size as the workbook it
references. That is absolutely wrong!