The Windows Search Indexer indexes files, folders, e-mails, and other stuff from your PC so Windows can quickly find the items you are looking for. If this process is causing high CPU or high disk usage, I will tell you how to turn off Windows Search Indexer on Windows 10/11.
- Press Win + R to open the Run command and type services.msc, then press Enter:
- On Services, browse to Windows Search and double-click on it:
- Under the General tab, change Startup Type to Disabled to prevent Windows Search from running at startup.
- Now on Service Status click on Stop to turn off Windows Search right now:
- Click on Apply.
This will completely stop Windows Search Indexer, and you might see a notification whenever you try to search for a file; ignore it.
(You actually don’t need Windows Search Indexer; two programs are way superior to default Windows Search; check how to make Windows search faster.)
If you change your mind and want to re-enable it, follow the same steps above but change Startup Type to Automatic (Delayed Start) and resume the Service Status.
How to Change Indexing Options to Reduce Windows Search Index CPU Usage
If you prefer not to disable Windows Search Indexer, but would rather just reduce its CPU usage, you can do this by reducing or changing the indexed locations on Indexing Options.
This is how to do it:
- On Windows Search, type Indexing Options and click on the first result:
- Click on the Modify button:
- Now select the locations and specific folders or drivers that you want to index, then press OK:
Conclusion
The best way to turn off Microsoft Windows Search Indexer is to go to services.msc > Windows Search > change Startup Type to Disabled, then click on Stop in Service Status.
If you want to turn it off completely, you can go to Indexing Options and click on the Modify button to change the indexed locations on your PC.
There are way better options for file indexing than Windows’ default one. One of them is the Everything app, which is also one of the must-have software for Windows.
