How to Turn Off Windows Indexing

Windows Indexing builds a search catalog of your files, emails, and other content to make searches faster. Turning it off can free up CPU and disk usage, speed up an older machine, or stop background activity on a laptop. This guide walks you through disabling indexing for all drives or just specific folders, and what to expect afterward. You’ll need administrator access to the PC.

What You’ll Need

• An account with administrator privileges (you’ll be prompted for a password or confirmation).
• About 5 minutes of time.
• No other tools or downloads are required.

Step-by-Step

1. Open the Indexing Options control panel. Press Windows Key + R to open the Run dialog, type control /name Microsoft.IndexingOptions, and press Enter. Alternatively, search for “Indexing Options” in the Start menu and click the result.
2. Click the “Modify” button. This opens the “Indexed Locations” dialog, which lists all the places Windows currently indexes (typically your user folders, Start menu, and sometimes Microsoft Outlook).
3. Deselect all locations. Uncheck every box in the list. If you see a “Show all locations” button, click it to reveal all drives and folders, then uncheck those too. Make sure no checkmarks remain.
4. Click OK. Windows will ask you to confirm that you want to change indexing settings. Click “Yes” or “OK” to proceed.
5. Wait for the rebuild prompt. A message may appear saying “Indexing will be turned off. Do you want to rebuild the index?” Click “No” — you want to stop indexing, not rebuild it.
6. Stop the Windows Search service (optional but recommended). To fully disable the background process, press Windows Key + R, type services.msc, and press Enter. Scroll down to “Windows Search,” right-click it, and select “Properties.” Set “Startup type” to “Disabled,” click “Stop,” then “Apply” and “OK.” This prevents the service from running at all.
7. Reboot (or not). A restart isn’t required, but it clears any lingering indexer processes. If you prefer, just wait a few minutes.

Common Mistakes

• Only disabling the service without changing indexed locations. If you stop the service but leave locations checked, the service may restart on its own or after an update, re-enabling indexing. Always do both steps.
• Not clicking “Show all locations.” The default list often hides system drives and other volumes. If you don’t expand it, you may miss drives that are still indexed.
• Choosing “Rebuild index” when prompted. This recreates the index and wastes time—you want to turn it off, not rebuild it.
• Forgetting that some apps rely on the index. Outlook’s instant search, Windows Explorer search, and some third-party launchers will become slower or stop working properly. Be aware of this trade-off.

Tips

• Turn it off only for specific folders. If you want to keep search fast for your Documents but stop indexing your entire C: drive, go to Indexing Options → Modify, uncheck everything, then re-check only the folders you use most. This gives you a partial speed boost without losing all search functionality.
• Use a solid-state drive (SSD). On SSDs, search is already fast without an index, so disabling it has little downside. On a traditional hard drive, disabling indexing may slow down file searches noticeably.
• Re-enable later. To turn indexing back on, go to Indexing Options, click Modify, check the locations you want, and restart the Windows Search service (set Startup type to “Automatic” and start it).
• Check for high CPU usage. If you’re disabling indexing because of high CPU usage, also check for other culprits like Windows Update or antivirus scans—indexing is just one possible cause.

Troubleshooting

• Indexing options won’t open or says “Indexing is not running.” This usually means the Windows Search service is already stopped. Go to Services (services.msc), find Windows Search, and ensure it’s set to “Automatic” if you want to use the control panel, or just leave it disabled if that’s your goal.
• After disabling, search still returns results. Some apps (like web browsers or email clients) have their own internal indexes. Windows Explorer search may also fall back to a slow, manual scan—results appear but take longer. This is normal.
• The service won’t stop or keeps restarting. Open Services, right-click Windows Search, select Properties, set Startup type to “Disabled,” click “Stop,” and then click “Apply.” If it still restarts, check for Group Policy settings (gpedit.msc) that may force indexing—look under Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → Windows Components → Search.
• Disk usage remains high after disabling. The index files (in C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Search) may still be present. You can delete them manually, but they’ll be recreated if you ever re-enable indexing. To free space, you can also use Disk Cleanup to remove search index files.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will turning off indexing break Windows Search?

No, but it will make searches slower. Windows will fall back to a manual scan of your files, which can take much longer on large drives.

Can I disable indexing for just one drive?

Yes. In Indexing Options → Modify, uncheck all locations, then re-check only the drive you want to keep indexed. Other drives won’t be indexed.

Does disabling indexing affect Cortana or the Start menu?

Yes. Cortana and Start menu search rely on the index. Disabling it may make those searches slower or return fewer results.

Is it safe to delete the index files after disabling?

Yes, it’s safe. The files are just a cache. They’ll be recreated if you re-enable indexing. Use Disk Cleanup to remove them safely.

Will Windows automatically re-enable indexing after an update?

Sometimes. Major Windows updates can reset service settings. After an update, check Indexing Options and the Windows Search service to ensure they’re still disabled.

Does disabling indexing improve gaming performance?

It can help if the indexer is running in the background causing disk or CPU spikes, but the effect is usually small. Most games are GPU-bound, so don’t expect a big FPS boost.

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