Why Does the Windows Search Command Lock Up the Computer?

Windows Search is touted by Microsoft as a powerful tool for organizing the contents of your computer, as well as any of your information that is stored on shared folders and e-mail servers. However, some users have noticed that the indexing process of Windows Search can significantly slow down their computers' performance.

Identification

1. According to Microsoft, "Windows Search creates and maintains a system index of the contents of a computer." What this means, however, is that, before Windows Search can work, it has to create that index. It also has to update that index whenever you use Windows Search after having made changes to your computer---such as installing new programs, creating news files, or moving files around.

Significance

2. This indexing process is supposed to be unobtrusive. When you are using the computer and the indexer tries to run, if it notices that you are already running other programs, it will not consume as many system resources. Instead, it will wait until your computer becomes idle. However, if you actually ask Windows Search to do a search, and the index is not up to date, it will have to bring the index up to date before it can run your search.

Considerations

3. The "smart back off" technology can be turned on and off. If it is turned off, your computer may slow down significantly. If you are having serious performance issues related to the indexing process, check your settings to make sure that this mechanism is active.

Function

4. While indexing, Windows Search must inspect all of your folders, all of your files, and all the contents of those files. This process consumes a significant amount of your system's resources. The more resources it consumes, the faster the indexing process can be carried out, but the slower your computer's performance will be during that time. In contrast, if you use the "smart back off" mechanism, the indexer will consume fewer system resources, but whatever system performance falloff you might still experience will last that much longer.

Prevention/Solution

5. The most drastic choice you could make would be to uninstall Windows Search. However, given its usefulness, you may want to take another course of action. One option is for you to leave your computer on and running for a little while each day while you are not using it. If you already have a virus scan scheduled for a certain part of the day, then you're probably already leaving your computer on sometimes when you're not using it. If not, it is an easy practice to adopt. You can simply leave the computer on while you eat dinner. If you'll be leaving your computer unattended for a while, remember to turn off the monitor to preserve screen life and conserve energy. Also make sure that Windows is not set to go into standby mode automatically if you are away from the computer for more than a few minutes.