A method of performing a continuous cell search for new cells in a wireless communication systems having a plurality of base stations and a mobile station, the method including the steps of: (a) using (1) a primary synchronization code to acquire slot synchronization for identified cells; (b) using (2) a secondary synchronization code to find frame synchronization and identify a code group of the identified cells; (c) determining (3) a primary scrambling code used by the identified cells; and (d) rejecting (4) cells corresponding to previously identified primary scrambling codes from post-processing, wherein the method further includes the steps of: (e) correlating slot timings identified in step (a) with frame timings corresponding to primary scrambling codes identified in previous runs of steps (b) and (c); and (f) rejecting slot timings identified in step (a) from further processing in steps (b) and (c) when correlation is detected.