Secret Tips For…
Windows Search Indexer
Perform faster searches
Windows Search Indexer aims to do for your computer what Google does for the internet: make it searchable. It powers the search function in File Explorer and the Start menu, and when operating well it works a charm. Sadly, it’s not always this way, with searches sometimes sluggish and inaccurate.
You can improve search performance by telling Windows Search Indexer to ignore folders or drives that you don’t want to include, meaning they won’t appear in search results. Click Start, type indexing options, then press Enter. You’ll see the current indexed folders listed under Included Locations. To change these, click Modify. Browse through the folders (click the small arrows to expand them), ticking or clearing the relevant boxes to include/exclude.
By removing locations, you’ll speed up searches and reduce the strain on your PC. Click OK when you’ve finished.
Choose which file types to index
As well as specifying folders, you can choose which file types to index. To view all currently indexed file types, click Advanced in the Indexing Options window, then select the File Types tab.
The list is pretty comprehensive, but if you notice a file type isn’t included, enter its three-letter file extension into the ‘Add new extension to list’ box, then click Add.
You can also choose how each file type is indexed. Click a file type in the list. In the ‘How should this file be indexed’ box, you’ll see whether this file type has a basic index based on their properties (Index Properties Only) or a more comprehensive index that scans their contents (Index Properties and File Contents, see screenshot above). The latter results in more powerful searches, but indexing will take longer and be more demanding on your PC.
Rebuild the index
The search index is stored in a single file: ‘windows.edb’. Over time, it can increase significantly. And if it’s sitting on the same partition as your Windows installation, it may harm performance.
To check its size, click Advanced in the Indexing Options window and note the folder listed under ‘Current location’. Now open a File Explorer window and navigate to the folder you noted down (if you can’t see it, click the View tab and make sure ‘Hidden items’ is ticked). In this folder you should see a Search subfolder. Open it, then the subsequent Data, Applications and Windows folders, where you’ll find the ‘windows.edb’ file.
Rebuilding the index can help fix oversized windows.edb files and other search problems. Go back to the Indexing Options window, click Advanced, then the Rebuild button (see screenshot below). You can still use your PC while the index is being rebuilt, but searches may not work properly until it’s finished. It’s a good idea to run this overnight.
If the index file increases to a similar size after rebuilding, moving it to a different drive or partition will stop it affecting performance. Under the ‘Current location’ box, click ‘Select new’ and choose where to store it.
Pause the indexing process
To avoid slowing Windows, Search Indexer usually indexes files when your PC is idle – but not always. To find out what it’s up to, open Task Manager (Ctrl+ Shift+esc). In the Processes tab, look for items labelled ‘Microsoft Windows Search’.
If the indexing process is taking up a lot of resources, go back to the Indexing Options window and click Pause to begin a 15-minute time out. For a longer break, go back to Task Manager, click the Services tab, right-click the Wsearch service, then select Stop. The index process will restart when you next load Windows, but you can also relaunch it manually by right-clicking the service then selecting Start.