How Do I Fix Microsoft Windows Search Indexer’s High CPU Usage?

SearchIndexer.exe is responsible for indexing files on your computer. As you may already know, indexing means scanning through every file on your hard drive and storing its contents in a database.

This is necessary because if you were to open any document on your computer without searching for it beforehand, you’d waste hours trying to find it. So, whenever you save a new document, it automatically gets added to the database.

However, SearchIndexer.exe doesn’t stop once it finishes indexing files. Instead, it continues to run in the background, constantly searching through your entire system.

That’s why it uses so much memory and processor power. Because of this, SearchIndexer.exe can cause your PC to freeze or crash, even the search box hangs.

To fix this problem, you should try to disable the service altogether. However, if you do that, you’ll lose access to all of your indexed documents. So instead, we suggest using a third-party utility called CCleaner. It allows you to remove unnecessary files and programs from your computer. Once you’ve done that, you can reenable the SearchIndexer.exe service.

Once you’ve disabled the service, you can start the program again and let it finish indexing your files. Then, you can delete the temporary files created by the program.

Steps To Fix The Windows 10 Search Indexer High CPU Usage

Restart The Windows Search Service

High CPU usage caused by the Windows search indexer can cause problems for users trying to access files and folders in Windows Explorer even the file search engine. You may find yourself unable to perform certain tasks until the problem is fixed the problem might be the indexed location.

To resolve the issue, restart the Windows Search service. This will stop the indexing process and free up resources.

Open the Start menu and select Run. Type services.msc and press Enter.

Scroll down and double-click and open its Properties dialog box.

Click the Startup tab and change the startup type to Automatic (Delayed Start), if necessary.

Select the Startup Type dropdown list and select Disabled.

Click Apply and OK to close the dialog boxes.

Restart Windows and open the Start Menu. Select File Explorer and click on the Options button.

Under Advanced Settings, uncheck the option Automatically detect settings and connections.

Check the option Show hidden items and folders.

Close the window and try opening the file explorer again. The CPU utilization will work fine.

Run The Build In Search And Indexing Troubleshooter

Windows 10 comes with built-in troubleshooters that can help solve common issues even the basic search. One of those troubleshooters is called explorer Search and Indexing. You’ll see two options here: Run the built-in troubleshooter and Let windows check and fix the problem from the Executable search path. Both work well, but the second option gives you more control over the process.

To run the built-in troubleshooters, simply type troubleshoot into the Start Menu search bar and press Enter. Scroll down for Run the troubleshooter.

Find the service named “Search and Indexing”, right-click on it and select Properties. Set Startup Type to Automatic and Restart Now.

Once restarted, you should no longer experience high CPU usage.

Reduce The Volume Of Information That The Search Indexer Is Indexing

Search indexers are programs that scan documents and files on your computer to find keywords and phrases. These programs are used to speed up searches on Google and Bing. However, if the volume of data that the search indexer process indexes becomes too large, it can slow down your PC.

To reduce the volume of data that your search indexer indexes, follow these simple steps:

Type “Indexing options” on the Start Menu search and hit Enter.

Click on the Modify button.

Expand the C Drive folder.

Deselect some of the checkboxes.

Press the Ok button.

Close the Indexing Options window.

You can now close the Indexing Options window and press the ok button on the Indexing Options Window.

Now you can exit the Indexing Options window by pressing the X button at the bottom right corner.

Windows Search Indexer Must Be Rebuilt

To rebuild the index, you must first disable any existing indexes. Open the Windows Search Indexing Options window. After clicking Ok, you will see a message stating that rebuilding the index might take a very long time. Once the indexing process finishes, you should notice a significant improvement in the speed of your searches. Now  you can search software, search tool and indexing functions by doing indexing settings. 

You can also try rebooting your computer if you haven’t already done so. This will force Windows to restart and reindex all files. However, you shouldn’t reboot your PC every time you run into problems with the Windows Search Indexing Service. Doing this can cause system instability. Instead, try rebooting once every couple of weeks.

Disable The Search Indexer

If none of the above methods works, then disabling the search indexer might be the only option left. You can easily find out if the search indexer is still running by opening Task Manager. Simply right-click on the process named “searchindexer.exe”, select Open File Location, and locate its location. Once located, delete the file.

You can also disable the search feature by following the steps below:

1. 2. Select Change settings for Search.

3. Uncheck the box next to “Search using Bing”.

4. Click OK.

5. Close any open programs and restart your computer.

6. Reopen the program where you had previously unchecked the box.

7. Now, uncheck the box next to “Use Bing to power apps and websites”.

8. Click Apply and close the window.

9. Restart your computer.

10. Reopen the program you had previously closed.

11. Now, re-enable the box next to “Search using Bing”.

12. Click OK.

13. Close any open programs.

Run system file checker

You may have noticed that your computer seems slow lately. Maybe you’ve had problems searching through documents, opening programs, or browsing the web. Or maybe you’ve seen a spike in the number of errors popping up on your screen.

There are several reasons why your PC might seem sluggish. One reason is that your hard drive is running low on space. Another possibility is that there is a virus or spyware infection on your machine. A third cause is that your operating system needs updating.

If none of those sounds familiar, then you should probably look at fixing the Windows 10 search indexing problem instead.

Fix Windows 10 Search Indexing Problem

First, open the Command Prompt window as Administrator. Then type “sfc /scannow”. Press Enter. Wait until the scan completes.

Next, restart your computer. Once it starts up, open Task Manager. Find the program named “Windows Search Service”, right-click on it, select Properties and change its Startup Type to Automatic. Click OK.

Now, close the Task Manager. Type “net stop wuauserv”. Press Enter. Now, type “net start wuauserv”. Again, press Enter.

Once the service is started, open Task Manager once more. Right-click on the Windows Search Service, and select Stop. Close the task manager.

Finally, open the Command Prompt again. Type “wusa /uninstall /force”. Press Enter.