Over the years, Windows Search has been a vital part of the Windows operating system. It has been working to make it easier for users to find the content they want on their devices and the Internet.
Windows Search is a free tool that lets you search for various types of files or folders in your local storage. It can also access results from the web and OneDrive. This is a very fast way to find a file, as it usually searches across all of your files and folders.
However, suppose you notice that the search times have significantly increased, and the documents are not being displayed in a certain folder. In that case, you might require to update the functionality to accommodate your needs.
The other option is to configure the search feature to only look in certain directories in order to make it faster and more accurate.
This guide will help you to do so, but before you start implementing any changes, it is important that you thoroughly understand what is causing the issue.
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Why Does Windows 11 Get Slow?
The tool’s search feature allows you to find all the files and folders that are on your local drive. It also provides the location of the specific ones.
In layperson’s terms, it uses an indexer as a sort of table or list that holds all their documents’ addresses. Whenever they look for something, the list it is matched against returns the address it came from.
The Indexer can find up to 1 million items, more than the 30,000 typically indexed. It can crash whenever it exceeds this limit, and it can also cause excessive system resource usage.
If you breach the 400,000 mark, you can expect to see a significant decrease in the search engine’s performance. In addition, the size of the files that are indexed affects the performance.
Adding several small files together with a few large ones can cause problems. This is typically the case since numerous sizes and types of files are involved.
Fortunately, there are many ways to fix this issue, and not all hope is lost. After learning the reason behind the problem, it is time to talk about how to solve it.
What Exactly is Indexing and Why is it Important?
According to Microsoft, this process is referred to as “indexing.” It involves looking through the content of your PC and preserving its metadata and words. When you search results for a specific term, it will analyze the information to find the most relevant results.
By creating a personal database, you can later access your files wherever you are. In most cases, retrieving the results only takes a few seconds compared to what would have taken minutes otherwise.
Apart from its name and path, an index also stores the contents of a file. Similar to how an app’s information is stored in an index, a text file’s details will also be included.
How to Improve the Accuracy and Speed of Windows 11?
The number of files you want to index can be enormous. so before you start doing this, you must decide on the files you wish to include.
To start the settings app, press the Start menu, type in “settings,” and choose “Best match.” Alternatively, you can launch it by pressing the Windows Key + I key.
To configure security and privacy, navigate to the settings menu and select “Privacy & Security.”
To search for Searching Windows, locate the Windows Permissions section
You can choose from two types of options: Classic and Enhanced.
The Classic helps you to store your documents, music, and desktop folders. On the other hand, the Enhanced option is for those who want to index all of your PC’s files.
Ways to Improve the Accuracy and Speed of Windows 11
Tip #1: Update Your Windows
Improving your computer system is the easiest and most effective way to resolve most issues. You can do so by going to the Start Menu and clicking the “Settings” option.
To start the Windows Update, move to the left-hand menu and click on the “Windows Update” tile. You can also download and install the updates through the “Download & Install” option.
If the process has already started, click “Restart Now” to restart the computer.
Tip #2: Restart Your Windows
Most of the GUI components of the Windows operating system are handled by Windows Explorer, including the Start Menu, Taskbar, Desktop, and other related elements. If something seems to be wrong, the results of the search may take a while to return.
To navigate the task manager, right-click the taskbar and select the “Task Manager” option. Then, click the “Run new task” button to open the latest window.
After that, locate the textbox and click “OK” or “Enter.” The screen might briefly flicker, but it is not a big deal since it means that Windows Explorer has successfully restarted. You can then check if this procedure has improved the performance of your PC’s search engine.
Tip #3: You Can Use the Windows Search Index Utility to Determine and Fix Issues
This next step is to try out the Indexing troubleshooter, which will assist you to know and fix systemic errors.
Locate the left side of the page and select the “System” tab. Then, click the “Troubleshoot” -> Other Troubleshooters option in the right section.
Open the “Search & Indexing” tile. A new window will then appear.
How to Enable/Disable Index Search in Windows 11
Windows 10 and 11 have the default feature that aids users to search for information. If you have disabled it, you can still utilize it by navigating to the Run dialog box and changing the settings.
- To start the program, find the Start menu, input “run,” and select the “Best match” category. Then, under the Run dialog box, input “services.msc.”
- To start Windows Search, go to the search page, double-click on it, and then click on the Properties button. You can either enable or disable the search feature depending on its current state.
Changing the Index Method
When you select the number of files you want to be indexed, you have created a parameter to set the search index. But you can still refine it by choosing the feature that only looks at the files’ properties. To do so, open the File Explorer, and follow the steps below.
- Navigate to the Properties section and click on the drive bar. (eg C: drive)
- In the general tab, make sure that the files on this drive – Allows Files on this drive have contents indexed in addition to file properties.
- After you click on the OK button, the settings will be changed.
Conclusion
Finally, the Windows Indexing feature is very powerful and makes it easy to find the results you want in Windows. In addition, it is quickly one of the many ways Windows uses to speed up your search results.
Moreover, along with these, turning to other methods can also boost the performance of your Windows PC. Some of these include removing unnecessary software and running regular updates.