Windows 10: Windows 11 search indexing service slow or paused

I clean installed Windows 11 Home on our new PC at work in late Dec 2024. Most of the wrinkles in Windows 11 were sorted out except indexing service. On our system, there were 135,000 items pending for Indexing Properties and File Contents. Previously, Windows 10 on the old PC, no issues with indexing. After every reboot of this new PC, the indexing would become active and then stop after about 2000 new items were indexed. Stopping and starting Windows Search service did nothing. The only way to "activate" the indexing was to reboot the PC. After extensive research on the internet, I implement

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Windows 11 Search Index Pauses and never completes.

We have several users reporting that on their new Windows 11 PCs the Windows Search doesn't work. Upon further investigation, we find that for new profiles in Windows 11 the indexing never completes and will pause often. I did a quick search and see that this has been an issue for years with Windows but we have not been affected by it until now in Windows 11.

Nothing suggested by Microsoft has worked. We can't make restarting the service a "fix" for the issue. I know it's not our anti-virus BitDefender because I tried uninstalling it, rebooting and rebuilding the index, it paused almost immediately. I even tried using a different location for the index folder.

Looking at the CPU while the index is build and it never goes above 10%, so it's not a resource issue.

Is Windows 11 search index broken?

 

Windows 11 Search Index Pauses and never completes.

Hi



Welcome to Microsoft community.



The issue you're encountering with Windows 11 search indexing pausing and never completing is indeed frustrating, especially when it affects several users within your environment. While this problem has sporadically appeared in previous versions of Windows, it's concerning to hear it's persisting in Windows 11, despite your efforts to rectify it, including disabling antivirus software and changing the index location.

Given the steps you've already taken, here are some additional troubleshooting steps and considerations that might help resolve the indexing issue:

Ensure all devices are fully updated. Sometimes, Microsoft releases patches for known issues through Windows Updates.

Ensure that the PCs are not set to a power-saving mode, which might limit background processes like indexing.

• Go to Settings > System > Power & sleep and adjust the settings for the PCs to be more performance-oriented.
  

Disk errors can cause problems with file indexing. Running a check disk can identify and potentially fix these issues.

• Open Command Prompt as Administrator and type chkdsk /f /r then press Enter. The system may need to restart to complete the scan.
  

Microsoft provides a troubleshooter that can reset Windows Search completely:

• Download and run the Search and Indexing troubleshooter from Microsoft's official website. Follow the prompts to diagnose and resolve any issues found.
  

It sounds like you've already tried rebuilding the index, but ensure to follow these steps to completely reset it:

• Go to Settings > Privacy & security > Searching Windows.
  
• Click on Advanced indexing options > Advanced > Rebuild under Troubleshooting. Note that rebuilding the index can take a long time, especially if there are many files to process.
  

If these PCs are part of a domain, ensure that there aren't any Group Policy settings inadvertently affecting the indexing service.

• Run gpedit.msc and navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Search. Verify that policies like "Allow Cortana" and "Allow search and Cortana to use location" are configured correctly.
  

Improper file permissions can hinder the indexer's ability to scan certain locations. Ensure that the SYSTEM account has proper permissions to all directories included in the index.

Ensure that the Windows Search service is set to start automatically and is running:

• Press Win + R , type services.msc and press Enter.
  
• Find Windows Search in the list, right-click it, select Properties, set Startup type to Automatic, and ensure the service is running.
  

Event Viewer may provide more insight into what's causing the indexing to pause. Look under Windows Logs > Application for any warnings or errors related to search or indexing.

As a test, create a new user profile on one of the affected machines. If indexing works correctly on the new profile, the issue might be specific to the user profiles, which could necessitate more specific troubleshooting or profile recreation.

Please feel free to let me know how it goes.

Best regards

Derrick Qian | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

 

Indexing is pausing Automatically

We have found issue with the indexing in Windows 11.

Indexing has been paused automatically.

Already checked the following steps.

1) Troubleshoot Search & indexing issue by Windows Troubleshoot

2) Restarted Windows Search Service in services.msc

3) Restarted & Updated

After these steps the system index for an while.

But It will pause automatically after a while.

Please help me to find a solution.

Issue show on almost all Windows 11 PC which is recent upgraded from Windows 10 Home version.