# searchindexer.exe **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 30, 2008, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/searchindexer-exe/447418 "2008-04-30T00:18:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/searchindexer-exe/447418/1 "2008-04-30T00:18:15Z")
Every so often, searchindexer.exe starts up and monoplizes my CPU. I’m running Vista. What is this process, do I need it, and how do I get it to stop? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/searchindexer-exe/447418/2 "2008-04-30T00:28:32Z")
It’s a Windows process involved with file indexing to make searches faster. If you don’t search your drives for files very often and don’t care how long such searches take, you can turn this off by disabling the Indexing service. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/searchindexer-exe/447418/3 "2008-04-30T01:28:36Z")
I just went to “Turn windows features on or off”, and Indexing Service is not checked. Also, I’ve never visited this feature before, so I guess it has always been unchecked. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/searchindexer-exe/447418/4 "2008-04-30T01:57:34Z")
If you hover over that one, you will note that you get a tooltip that says “File Indexing Service that shipped in versions prior to Windows Vista. Provided as an optional feature for backwards compatibility only”. The searchindexer.exe is used by the “Windows Search” service. In the new control panel view, “System and Maintenance” -\> “Administrative Tools” -\> “Computer Management” -\> “Services and Applications” -\> “Services” and look for the “Windows Search” service. Read the description before you shut it off. The control panel home also has an “Indexing Options” panel. You may find that some location you really don’t want to have indexed is being done. I hardly ever see the thing, but I like to keep all of my real work out of the goddamned Windows user area which it apparently indexes by default. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2008, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/searchindexer-exe/447418/5 "2008-05-08T00:46:12Z")
Sorry to revive this thread, but I thought I’d try one more time. I tried to shut off Windows Search, but Vista couldn’t kill it. Does anyone have anymore ideas, as I sit hear listening to SearchIndexer.exe hum away, or will I just have to live with it? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2008, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/searchindexer-exe/447418/6 "2008-05-08T01:26:17Z")
[QUOTE=Fiddle Peghead] Sorry to revive this thread, but I thought I’d try one more time. I tried to shut off Windows Search, but Vista couldn’t kill it. Does anyone have anymore ideas, as I sit hear listening to SearchIndexer.exe hum away, or will I just have to live with it? Thanks. [/QUOTE] My Vista machine will kill it OK. Hmm. What happens if you change the startup type to “Disabled” and reboot? Edit: what **yabob** said: “Manual”, not “Disabled”. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2008, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/searchindexer-exe/447418/7 "2008-05-08T01:26:59Z")
I take it that you’re on the “Services” control panel that lists the services in a 4 columns display - name, description, status and startup type. I presume that you right clicked on “Windows Search” and selected stop, and it wouldn’t. That’s strange, but we’ll presume that searchindexer has run away in some fashion. OK, if you select “properties”, you can change that “startup type”, which is probably set to “Automatic”. Change it to “Manual”, and the next time you reboot the machine the search service won’t start. You have to change that setting if you want to get rid of a service and not have it restart every time you start the machine. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2008, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/searchindexer-exe/447418/8 "2008-05-08T01:33:58Z")
Oops. I double posted. Sorry ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2008, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/searchindexer-exe/447418/9 "2008-05-08T02:09:21Z")
I’ve taken your suggestion as far as setting startup to “Manual” and so far so good. Thanks everyone. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2008, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/searchindexer-exe/447418/10 "2008-05-08T09:33:29Z")
Also, if you look in the Properties (General Tab) of each drive, you’ll see the option to index the drive at the bottom. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2008, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/searchindexer-exe/447418/11 "2008-05-08T13:55:11Z")
[QUOTE=yabob] In the new control panel view, “System and Maintenance” -\> “Administrative Tools” -\> “Computer Management” -\> “Services and Applications” -\> “Services” [/QUOTE] Or enter \*\*services.msc \*\* into the Run box. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2008, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/searchindexer-exe/447418/12 "2008-05-10T11:35:40Z")
It’s baaaack. Humming away like muthaf\*\*\*er. Why can’t I just go to Task Manager, Resource Monitor, and kill the damn thing? I’ve gotta believe this is not a Vista problem, right?