What is Searchindexer.exe?(All Problems Solved)

You might have seen Searchindexer.exe in your Task Manager or maybe you are having some problem in your system because of searchindexer.exe. In this article, we will tell you all important details about it and also the solutions for the problems you might be facing because of it.

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What is SearchIndexer.exe?

Basically, it’s a process that is responsible for Indexing your Files in your System so that Windows Search could be faster. It increases search speed in every search actions that are performed in your System. Whether it’s searching in Start Menu or Searching a file in Windows Explorer. This process was created by Microsoft and comes with all the versions of Windows from Windows XP to Latest Windows 10.

 Let’s view the Process in the System

To view SearchIndexer.exe, you have to open Task Manager by Right Clicking on your Task Bar and selecting Task Manager.

• Go to Process Tab in Task Manager
• Search for SearchIndexer.exe process
• Right Click on it and select Go to Service(s)
• It will take you to Services tab and then WSearch(Windows Search) process would be already selected
• Double click on WSearch to see it properties
• In File Description, you can see that its Microsoft Windows Search Indexer. That is it does indexing of files for fast searching of files.

How much CPU does SearchIndexer.exe take?

In older version of Windows such as Windows XP, this process used to consume lots of CPU but Microsoft improved it in later versions. In Windows Vista and all other later Windows Versions, this process doesn’t consume much CPU.

You can see this for yourself by simply right-clicking on the process name in the Task Manager list, and then choosing to Go to Service(s) from the menu. It is so lightweight and optimized that you won’t even realize that it’s running. It is optimized in such a way that it will run 100% when System is idle otherwise it will consume negligible System resources.

Can You Disable SearchIndexer.exe?

Yes, you can disable it. Although there is no need to disable it as its a very lightweight process but still if you feel it is creating problems in your system, then you can disable it.

To disable searchindexer.exe, just do the following Steps:

1. Click on Start Menu and search for services.msc and press Enter.
2. From the Services Window, select Windows Search(type W to reach to it fast) and right click on it and select Properties.
3. 
4. From Windows Search Properties inside Startup Tab, look at Startup Type and select Disabled, to disable the process.
5. Click on Stop Button to Stop or Kill the process.
6. Click on Ok

Now SearchIndexer is killed and disabled also. If you want to enable it later. You just have to set Startup Tab as Automatic(Delayed Start).

Can you Uninstall the Service?

Definitely, you can disable it, but we don’t recommend it as it makes your searching fast by keeping your files indexed. Still, if you want to uninstall the service then do the following Steps:

1. Open Control Panel by opening Start menu and typing Control Panel and click on it.
2. Search for Windows Features in it
3.  This opens a windows saying Turn Windows features on or off
4. Here uncheck Windows Search and click on OK button

Could you make SearchIndexer.exe consume less CPU?

Yes, you can do that. But generally this is not required but still, we’ll tell you the steps to do that. You can do that by reducing the amount of data that you are indexing. As it is not required to index each and every file on your system.

1. Open Start Menu and type Indexing Options
2. On the Window that opens, you can Stop this service temporarily by Clicking on Pause. It will pause indexing for 15 minutes.
3. However, if you want to modify it, then Click Modify. Now select only those files that you want to search and want them to be indexed.
4. This can drastically improve your System Performance by reducing the amount of CPU consumed.

Another optimization you can do over this is to sort only the filenames and not the content.

1. Open Indexing Options
2. Select Advanced option
3. Goto File Types tab
4. Now select the file types that you want to be indexed
5. Now inside How should this file be indexed? Select Index Properties Only. This will make search only in the filenames and not inside the content within them.

Conclusion – What is SearchIndexer.exe?

Its a file indexing process that makes searching in Windows Search faster. It consumes very little CPU by default. If you observe this process is consuming lots of CPU, then you can Disable it or do the optimizations so that it consumes fewer System resources. Generally, it doesn’t create any problems. It can also be the case due to some malware your System is slowed down. Then it’s best to do an Antivirus Scan and remove all the malware from your System.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article.

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