How to kill Vista's search indexer and save your HD

[zridling]

Sick of your HD spinning and churning nonstop day after day, driving you nuts? I use XYplorer's search to find files and never need this feature. If you use a third-party search utility, then disable Vista's Search Indexer service. Here's how:

Start > Run >Services (or type "services.msc" at the run command)


Right-click on the WINDOWS SEARCH service, and select PROPERTIES


In the 'Service Status' section on the General tab, hit the STOP button


On the same tab at the 'Startup type' dropdown list, choose DISABLED


Hit the APPLY button, close the Services dialog, and save your HD.
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There, I just stopped cussing.

[MrCrispy]

I find Vista's search in the start menu for finding programs indispensable! I've tried FARR, Launchy etc but the builtin search is easy and works great. I've set the search service to index only the start menu and I never see it running anymore. The latest WDS 4.0 has also made search faster. Try it out, you may be surprised 

[nontroppo]

I have a new desktop machine which I'm going to force myself to use vista on for more than a few days. I don't want to waste time on learning its ins-and-outs however.

So far the experience has been smoother than my last attempts, but the start menu search drives me nuts. I have a folder in my Program Files with utilities, none of which come up in the menu. So I added a shortcut, but the shortcut gets a different place in the menu compared to the programs it knows about. Why doesn't it just index Program files without such arbitrary distinctions. Where do I manage this?

[justice]

Why doesn't it just index Program files without such arbitrary distinctions. Where do I manage this?

It probably assumes you don't want the 99% extra junk that's in your program files. But just search for indexing options (its also part of the control panel) > modify > show all locations. I'd consider finding all the .exe's in your utils folder with a filesearch tool, then right click and create shortcuts for all of them at once and add them to a utils start menu folder?

[nontroppo]

Thanks justice. I now realise Vista's search is pretty bare-bones by default. No content searching, only the start menu and user files indexed; but a weird collection of useless filetypes indexed. I guess I've been spoilt by Leopard's Spotlight and FARR.


Still I will ignore Zaine  and persevere: no FARR and no 3rd-party indexer until I've given Vista its fair chance.

[Josh]

I too love the vista search for the start menu and explorer windows. I am leaving mine up and running.

[nontroppo]

I don't know whether I'd call it love just yet  I think this functionality *should* be integrated into the OS at its core, but I've not had a smooth experience with Vista's search so far...

[Stoic Joker]

Sick of your HD spinning and churning nonstop day after day, driving you nuts?

I would be if it happened, but I've yet to see it. After the initial install Vista will have to build the indexes from scratch and that can make for a rather active period, but once it's done it's done. The index updates are reasonably transparent...unless you're fixated on the HDD activity light willing it to stay off. There is no constant thrashing of activity.

On machines with slower disks, if there is a lot of file movement/changes/updates it could leave the indexing service playing catch-up on a regular basis ... but that's not Vista or the indexing systems fault.

I've seen performance tweaks involving either tuning or disabling the indexer as far back as Win2000, and I've plaved with most of them. However I've yet to see any of them produce a noticable impact on performance.

[zridling]

I don't know what mine were doing, but until I shut this off, Vista's search indexer was running and ramping my drives nonstop during idle periods (and I don't have a defragger installed either). Now my HD lights stay off when idle, and I like it.

[Josh]

If the search indexer hasnt been changed, then you should be fine with its default indexing options. If you change it to index program files, then it will do so.