diff --git a/scripts/kconfig/nconf.c b/scripts/kconfig/nconf.c
index 762caf8..2a7cb37 100644
--- a/scripts/kconfig/nconf.c
+++ b/scripts/kconfig/nconf.c
@@ -41,9 +41,12 @@ static const char nconf_readme[] = N_(
 "   pressing <Enter> of <right-arrow>. Use <Esc> or <left-arrow> to go back.\n"
 "   Submenus are designated by \"--->\".\n"
 "\n"
-"   Shortcut: Press the option's highlighted letter (hotkey).\n"
-"             Pressing a hotkey more than once will sequence\n"
-"             through all visible items which use that hotkey.\n"
+"   Searching: pressing '/' triggers search mode. nconfig does a\n"
+"              regular string match, case insensitive, starting at\n"
+"              the begining of each menu line.\n"
+"              Pressing Enter highlights the next match, Backspace\n"
+"              removes one character from the match string.\n"
+"              Pressing either '/' again or ESC exits search mode.\n"
 "\n"
 "   You may also use the <PAGE UP> and <PAGE DOWN> keys to scroll\n"
 "   unseen options into view.\n"
@@ -252,7 +255,6 @@ struct mitem {
 	char str[256];
 	char tag;
 	void *usrptr;
-	int is_hot;
 	int is_visible;
 };
 
@@ -275,14 +277,6 @@ static int items_num;
 static int global_exit;
 /* the currently selected button */
 const char *current_instructions = menu_instructions;
-/* this array is used to implement hot keys. it is updated in item_make and
- * resetted in clean_items. It would be better to use a hash, but lets keep it
- * simple... */
-#define MAX_SAME_KEY MAX_MENU_ITEMS
-struct {
-	int count;
-	int ptrs[MAX_MENU_ITEMS];
-} hotkeys[1<<(sizeof(char)*8)];
 
 static void conf(struct menu *menu);
 static void conf_choice(struct menu *menu);
@@ -292,6 +286,7 @@ static void conf_save(void);
 static void show_help(struct menu *menu);
 static int do_exit(void);
 static void setup_windows(void);
+static void search_conf(void);
 
 typedef void (*function_key_handler_t)(int *key, struct menu *menu);
 static void handle_f1(int *key, struct menu *current_item);
@@ -302,6 +297,7 @@ static void handle_f5(int *key, struct menu *current_item);
 static void handle_f6(int *key, struct menu *current_item);
 static void handle_f7(int *key, struct menu *current_item);
 static void handle_f8(int *key, struct menu *current_item);
+static void handle_f9(int *key, struct menu *current_item);
 
 struct function_keys {
 	const char *key_str;
@@ -310,7 +306,7 @@ struct function_keys {
 	function_key_handler_t handler;
 };
 
-static const int function_keys_num = 8;
+static const int function_keys_num = 9;
 struct function_keys function_keys[] = {
 	{
 		.key_str = "F1",
@@ -356,9 +352,15 @@ struct function_keys function_keys[] = {
 	},
 	{
 		.key_str = "F8",
+		.func = "search symbol",
+		.key = F_SEARCH,
+		.handler = handle_f8,
+	},
+	{
+		.key_str = "F9",
 		.func = "Exit",
 		.key = F_EXIT,
-		.handler = handle_f8,
+		.handler = handle_f9,
 	},
 };
 
@@ -444,9 +446,16 @@ static void handle_f7(int *key, struct menu *current_item)
 	return;
 }
 
-/* exit */
+/* search */
 static void handle_f8(int *key, struct menu *current_item)
 {
+	search_conf();
+	return;
+}
+
+/* exit */
+static void handle_f9(int *key, struct menu *current_item)
+{
 	do_exit();
 	return;
 }
@@ -479,110 +488,45 @@ static void clean_items(void)
 		free_item(curses_menu_items[i]);
 	bzero(curses_menu_items, sizeof(curses_menu_items));
 	bzero(k_menu_items, sizeof(k_menu_items));
-	bzero(hotkeys, sizeof(hotkeys));
 	items_num = 0;
 }
 
-/* return the index of the next hot item, or -1 if no such item exists */
-static int get_next_hot(int c)
-{
-	static int hot_index;
-	static int hot_char;
+typedef enum {FIND_NEW_MATCH, FIND_NEXT_MATCH, FIND_NEXT_MATCH_INC} match_f;
 
-	if (c < 0 || c > 255 || hotkeys[c].count <= 0)
-		return -1;
-
-	if (hot_char == c) {
-		hot_index = (hot_index+1)%hotkeys[c].count;
-		return hotkeys[c].ptrs[hot_index];
-	} else {
-		hot_char = c;
-		hot_index = 0;
-		return hotkeys[c].ptrs[0];
-	}
-}
-
-/* can the char c be a hot key? no, if c is a common shortcut used elsewhere */
-static int canbhot(char c)
+/* return the index of the matched item, or -1 if no such item exists */
+static int get_mext_match(const char *match_str, match_f flag)
 {
-	c = tolower(c);
-	return isalnum(c) && c != 'y' && c != 'm' && c != 'h' &&
-		c != 'n' && c != '?';
-}
-
-/* check if str already contains a hot key. */
-static int is_hot(int index)
-{
-	return k_menu_items[index].is_hot;
-}
-
-/* find the first possible hot key, and mark it.
- * index is the index of the item in the menu
- * return 0 on success*/
-static int make_hot(char *dest, int len, const char *org, int index)
-{
-	int position = -1;
-	int i;
-	int tmp;
-	int c;
-	int org_len = strlen(org);
-
-	if (org == NULL || is_hot(index))
-		return 1;
-
-	/* make sure not to make hot keys out of markers.
-	 * find where to start looking for a hot key
-	 */
-	i = 0;
-	/* skip white space */
-	while (i < org_len && org[i] == ' ')
-		i++;
-	if (i == org_len)
-		return -1;
-	/* if encountering '(' or '<' or '[', find the match and look from there
-	 **/
-	if (org[i] == '[' || org[i] == '<' || org[i] == '(') {
-		i++;
-		for (; i < org_len; i++)
-			if (org[i] == ']' || org[i] == '>' || org[i] == ')')
-				break;
-	}
-	if (i == org_len)
-		return -1;
-	for (; i < org_len; i++) {
-		if (canbhot(org[i]) && org[i-1] != '<' && org[i-1] != '(') {
-			position = i;
-			break;
+	static int last_match;
+
+	if (flag == FIND_NEW_MATCH)
+		last_match = 0;
+	else if (flag == FIND_NEXT_MATCH_INC)
+		++last_match;
+
+	int index;
+	for (index = last_match; index < items_num; ++index) {
+		char *non_space = k_menu_items[index].str;
+		/* skip the leading 4 bytes, as they are noise. */
+		non_space += 4;
+		/* and any white space from indentation */
+		while (*non_space != '\0' && isblank(*non_space))
+			++non_space;
+		if (strncasecmp(match_str, non_space, strlen(match_str)) == 0) {
+			last_match = index;
+			return index;
 		}
 	}
-	if (position == -1)
-		return 1;
 
-	/* ok, char at org[position] should be a hot key to this item */
-	c = tolower(org[position]);
-	tmp = hotkeys[c].count;
-	hotkeys[c].ptrs[tmp] = index;
-	hotkeys[c].count++;
-	/*
-	   snprintf(dest, len, "%.*s(%c)%s", position, org, org[position],
-	   &org[position+1]);
-	   */
-	/* make org[position] uppercase, and all leading letter small case */
-	strncpy(dest, org, len);
-	for (i = 0; i < position; i++)
-		dest[i] = tolower(dest[i]);
-	dest[position] = toupper(dest[position]);
-	k_menu_items[index].is_hot = 1;
-	return 0;
+	if (flag == FIND_NEXT_MATCH || flag == FIND_NEXT_MATCH_INC)
+		return get_mext_match(match_str, FIND_NEW_MATCH);
+	else
+		return -1;
 }
 
-/* Make a new item. Add a hotkey mark in the first possible letter.
- * As ncurses does not allow any attributes inside menue item, we mark the
- * hot key as the first capitalized letter in the string */
+/* Make a new item. */
 static void item_make(struct menu *menu, char tag, const char *fmt, ...)
 {
 	va_list ap;
-	char tmp_str[256];
 
 	if (items_num > MAX_MENU_ITEMS-1)
 		return;
@@ -597,16 +541,13 @@ static void item_make(struct menu *menu, char tag, const char *fmt, ...)
 		k_menu_items[items_num].is_visible = 1;
 
 	va_start(ap, fmt);
-	vsnprintf(tmp_str, sizeof(tmp_str), fmt, ap);
-	if (!k_menu_items[items_num].is_visible)
-		memcpy(tmp_str, "XXX", 3);
+	vsnprintf(k_menu_items[items_num].str,
+		  sizeof(k_menu_items[items_num].str),
+		  fmt, ap);
 	va_end(ap);
-	if (make_hot(
-		k_menu_items[items_num].str,
-		sizeof(k_menu_items[items_num].str), tmp_str, items_num) != 0)
-		strncpy(k_menu_items[items_num].str,
-			tmp_str,
-			sizeof(k_menu_items[items_num].str));
+
+	if (!k_menu_items[items_num].is_visible)
+		memcpy(k_menu_items[items_num].str, "XXX", 3);
 
 	curses_menu_items[items_num] = new_item(
 			k_menu_items[items_num].str,
@@ -638,11 +579,9 @@ static void item_add_str(const char *fmt, ...)
 	va_end(ap);
 	snprintf(tmp_str, sizeof(tmp_str), "%s%s",
 			k_menu_items[index].str, new_str);
-	if (make_hot(k_menu_items[index].str,
-			sizeof(k_menu_items[index].str), tmp_str, index) != 0)
-		strncpy(k_menu_items[index].str,
-			tmp_str,
-			sizeof(k_menu_items[index].str));
+	strncpy(k_menu_items[index].str,
+		tmp_str,
+		sizeof(k_menu_items[index].str));
 
 	free_item(curses_menu_items[index]);
 	curses_menu_items[index] = new_item(
@@ -1108,6 +1047,7 @@ static void conf(struct menu *menu)
 	int res;
 	int current_index = 0;
 	int last_top_row = 0;
+	int in_search = 0;
 
 	bzero(pattern, sizeof(pattern));
 
@@ -1150,22 +1090,44 @@ static void conf(struct menu *menu)
 				show_help((struct menu *) item_data());
 				break;
 			}
-			if (res == 10 || res == 27 ||
+			if (res == '/' || (in_search && res == 27)) {
+				in_search = 1-in_search;
+				bzero(pattern, sizeof(pattern));
+				move(0, 0);
+				refresh();
+				clrtoeol();
+			} else if (in_search) {
+				char c = (char) res;
+				int tmp = -1;
+				if (isalnum(c)) {
+					pattern[strlen(pattern)] = c;
+					pattern[strlen(pattern)] = '\0';
+					tmp = get_mext_match(pattern,
+							FIND_NEXT_MATCH);
+				} else if (res == 10)
+					tmp = get_mext_match(pattern,
+							FIND_NEXT_MATCH_INC);
+				else if (res == KEY_BACKSPACE || res == 127) {
+					pattern[strlen(pattern)-1] = '\0';
+					tmp = get_mext_match(pattern,
+							FIND_NEXT_MATCH_INC);
+				}
+				if (tmp != -1)
+					center_item(tmp, &last_top_row);
+			} else if (res == 10 || res == 27 ||
 				res == 32 || res == 'n' || res == 'y' ||
 				res == KEY_LEFT || res == KEY_RIGHT ||
-				res == 'm' || res == '/')
+				res == 'm')
 				break;
-			else if (canbhot(res)) {
-				/* check for hot keys: */
-				int tmp = get_next_hot(res);
-				if (tmp != -1)
-					center_item(tmp, &last_top_row);
+			if (in_search) {
+				mvprintw(0, 0, "searching: %s", pattern);
+				clrtoeol();
 			}
 			refresh_all_windows(main_window);
 		}
 
 		refresh_all_windows(main_window);
-		/* if ESC  or left*/
+		/* if ESC or left*/
 		if (res == 27 || (menu != &rootmenu && res == KEY_LEFT))
 			break;
 
@@ -1233,9 +1195,6 @@ static void conf(struct menu *menu)
 			if (item_is_tag('t'))
 				sym_set_tristate_value(sym, mod);
 			break;
-		case '/':
-			search_conf();
-			break;
 		}
 	}
 }
@@ -1260,12 +1219,14 @@ static void show_help(struct menu *menu)
 
 static void conf_choice(struct menu *menu)
 {
+	char pattern[256];
 	const char *prompt = _(menu_get_prompt(menu));
 	struct menu *child = 0;
 	struct symbol *active;
 	int selected_index = 0;
 	int last_top_row = 0;
 	int res, i = 0;
+	int in_search = 0;
 
 	active = sym_get_choice_value(menu->sym);
 	/* this is mostly duplicated from the conf() function. */
@@ -1321,14 +1282,37 @@ static void conf_choice(struct menu *menu)
 				show_help((struct menu *) item_data());
 				break;
 			}
-			if (res == 10 || res == 27 || res == ' ' ||
-				res == KEY_LEFT)
-				break;
-			else if (canbhot(res)) {
-				/* check for hot keys: */
-				int tmp = get_next_hot(res);
+			if (res == '/' || (in_search && res == 27)) {
+				in_search = 1-in_search;
+				bzero(pattern, sizeof(pattern));
+				move(0, 0);
+				refresh();
+				clrtoeol();
+			} else if (in_search) {
+				char c = (char) res;
+				int tmp = -1;
+				if (isalnum(c)) {
+					pattern[strlen(pattern)] = c;
+					pattern[strlen(pattern)] = '\0';
+					tmp = get_mext_match(pattern,
+							FIND_NEXT_MATCH);
+				} else if (res == 10)
+					tmp = get_mext_match(pattern,
+							FIND_NEXT_MATCH_INC);
+				else if (res == KEY_BACKSPACE || res == 127) {
+					pattern[strlen(pattern)-1] = '\0';
+					tmp = get_mext_match(pattern,
+							FIND_NEXT_MATCH_INC);
+				}
 				if (tmp != -1)
 					center_item(tmp, &last_top_row);
+			} else if (res == 10 || res == 27 || res == ' ' ||
+					res == KEY_LEFT){
+				break;
+			}
+			if (in_search) {
+				mvprintw(0, 0, "searching: %s", pattern);
+				clrtoeol();
 			}
 			refresh_all_windows(main_window);
 		}
@@ -1530,9 +1514,10 @@ int main(int ac, char **av)
 	/* set btns menu */
 	curses_menu = new_menu(curses_menu_items);
 	menu_opts_off(curses_menu, O_SHOWDESC);
-	menu_opts_off(curses_menu, O_SHOWMATCH);
+	menu_opts_on(curses_menu, O_SHOWMATCH);
 	menu_opts_on(curses_menu, O_ONEVALUE);
 	menu_opts_on(curses_menu, O_NONCYCLIC);
+	menu_opts_on(curses_menu, O_IGNORECASE);
 	set_menu_mark(curses_menu, " ");
 	set_menu_fore(curses_menu, attributes[MAIN_MENU_FORE]);
 	set_menu_back(curses_menu, attributes[MAIN_MENU_BACK]);
diff --git a/scripts/kconfig/nconf.h b/scripts/kconfig/nconf.h
index fb42966..58fbda8 100644
--- a/scripts/kconfig/nconf.h
+++ b/scripts/kconfig/nconf.h
@@ -69,7 +69,8 @@ typedef enum {
 	F_BACK = 5,
 	F_SAVE = 6,
 	F_LOAD = 7,
-	F_EXIT = 8
+	F_SEARCH = 8,
+	F_EXIT = 9,
 } function_key;
 
 void set_colors(void);
