Can I force full speed to the indexing service of Windows?

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Can I force full speed to the indexing service of Windows?

On windows 7 there's 'pause' and there's 'indexing speed is reduced due to user activity' but what if one wants full speed during
desktop activity?
windows-7

windows-search

file-search

desktop-search
edited Jan 16 '14 at 16:15
1,316

asked Jan 17 '11 at 10:06

j riv

Andrea
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14

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15

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In XP, I believe you could do this by accessing the indexing service utility. From MS documentation: 1.Open
Computer Management (Local) 2.In the console tree, double-click Services and Applications. 3.Double-click
Indexing Service. To open Computer Management, click Start, and then click Control Panel. Click
Performance and Maintenance, click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Computer Management.
Harv Jan 17 '11 at 18:28
And then what? You only click there. j riv Jan 19 '11 at 19:59
What is the indexing process' execution priority set to? cp2141 Jun 30 '11 at 13:48
By the way, for what is worth I noticed that it doesn't take more than 2 to 5 minutes for it to go to full speed so
it's not a critical functionality to have in the first place. At least in Windows 8. j riv Mar 11 '13 at 18:00

5 Answers

Summary from this page

limit what folders are indexed
update your Windows Search to version 4.0 (But only if Windows Updater hasn't already
done)
HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Search\DisableBackoff

set the value to 1 if you are on a non-domain joined computer

on domain joined computer, edit your group policy and set Disable indexer backoff to
enabled Computer Configuration\Windows Settings\Administrative Templates\Windows
Components\Search

DisableBackoff=1 in other words: Don't worry about system activity - just index and get
it over with already!
edited Jan 14 '13 at 18:33

nixda
14.1k

answered May 5 '11 at 15:53

cbarth
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There is a setting in the group policy for the computer, so you don't have to manually edit the
registry.
Open run dialog:

Type "gpedit.msc" and select OK

Browse to Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows
Components\Search

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http://superuser.com/questions/234211/can-i-force-full-speed-to-the-in...

Select "Disable indexer backoff", and set it to Enabled.

This setting will not take effect until the service is restarted. The easiest way is to just reboot
your computer, but you can do it live
Open run dialog:

Type "services.msc" and select OK

Scroll to "Windows Search"
Right click and select "Restart"

See also
edited Feb 19 at 11:49

answered Jan 14 '13 at 18:07

thecoshman

Triynko

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This is really a better method than editing the registry. alx9r Aug 31 '13 at 17:45
If the index service is running at the moment: services.msc -> Windows Search -> stop -> wait a sec... ->
start again. Or restart your PC. mgutt Feb 18 '15 at 14:57
If it is running, it will not be applied instantly. So go to servises.msc -> windows search -> restart the service
Ev0oD Aug 1 '15 at 9:36

This only works for Pro or higher versions of window. Home version does not have this option Smac89
Aug 16 '15 at 20:54

Above registry "hack" in the first top rated answer only seems to apply to Windows search 4 in
XP, not 7.
The correct path to the registry key is:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Search\Gathering Manager
Furthermore, you have to change the permissions to allow the change, then restart the search
service.
These are the instructions I found which worked:
1. Start up the registry editor. Press
+
, type in regedit , and press
. Alternatively, if you dont have a Windows Logo Key on your keyboard, click the
start menu button, type in run , press
, then type in regedit , and press
once
more.
2. Find the key to change. In the folder view tree to the left, browse your way through to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Search\Gathering Manager . Once youre there
(the Gathering Manager folder is selected in the tree), a whole bunch of keys will appear
in the right-hand window. Find the one thats called DisableBackOffOnUser .

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This key is what its all about. It basically determines whether or not the indexing
process should stop when the users doing something. There are other similar keys
that you could edit to force the indexer to keep indexing even if you were playing
Bioshock while ripping a DVD and little flames were coming from your processor, but
thats not really necessary, so well just focus on this one key. Unfortunately, Vista
wont let you change the keys value (if you try, itll let you down with: Error writing
the values new contents. ), even though we've been elevated to have administrator
privileges. So, to get permission to change the key's value, you need to do the
following.
3. Click on the key, so that its selected. Go to the Edit menu and select Permissions . In the
pop-up window, click the Advanced button. In the new pop-up window, select the Owner
tab, then in the list below Change owner to: , select Administrators , then click the OK
button on both pop-up windows to return to the registry editor.
4. Now, we can double-click the key and change its value to
the registry editor.

(one). Click

OK

and close

5. Restart your computer (or just restart the Windows Search service if you know how), and
the indexer will start indexing your stuff even while youre working. In the about twenty
minutes it took me to write this, Vista has indexed 46,000 files on my computer.
edited Jun 16 '14 at 9:31

answered Jun 16 '14 at 8:30

user2830797

HopelessN00b
1,730

13

27

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To restart windows indexing, Windows Key + R -> services.msc -> OK -> find Windows Search -> right
click -> Restart Smac89 Aug 16 '15 at 21:10

Go in the registry to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Search\Gathering
Manager\
and set the value of "DisableBackoff" to 1
Other interesting registry keys:
DisableBackOffNotificationOverride
DisableBackOffOnCPU
DisableBackOffOnIO
DisableBackOffOnNotifications
DisableBackOffOnUser
edited Jun 5 '12 at 12:31

answered Jun 5 '12 at 8:55

slhck
115k

AmaCha
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"Searchindexer.exe" in task manager (you may have to show processes from all users), you
can set the priority for that program in there.
Right click on Searchindexer.exe, select Priority> Above Normal or High (never select "real
time")
http://techblissonline.com/run-program-process-cpu-priority-windows-vista-xp/
The down side:
It could slow desktop performance or lock up the system if set to high of a priority, A restart of
the system or kill the process will clear this setting.
You have to set this every time SearchIndexer loads.
.
Here is some software that can change the priority on a permanent basis, I wold not make a
permanent change utill you have experimented with settings first, it could cause problems
when booting if you choose a too high priority and set it permanently.
http://www.prnwatch.com/prio.html
.
edited Jan 17 '11 at 17:14

answered Jan 17 '11 at 17:05

Moab
42.5k

62

111

3/4/2016 3:32 PM

Can I force full speed to the indexing service of Windows? - Super User

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http://superuser.com/questions/234211/can-i-force-full-speed-to-the-in...

I'm not sure the indexing service does its thing by changing its own process priority.. Harv Jan 17 '11 at
18:25
Not sure what the OP means by "Full Speed" either, just posted the only thing that could apply to the
question, at least to me anyway. Moab Jan 17 '11 at 20:49
2

The question is clear, it does not mean priority. It means the opposite of 'it's reduced due to user activity'
which is mentioned in the question. So stop blaming me. j riv Jan 19 '11 at 19:56
It is not to me, link to where I blamed you for anything. Moab Jan 19 '11 at 22:14

3/4/2016 3:32 PM