If you don’t want users modifying which locations Windows Search indexes, follow these steps to disable the Modify Search Index Locations feature in Windows 11.
Quick steps: Open the Group Policy Editor, go to the “Computer Configuration” > “Administrative Templates” > “Windows Components” > “Search” folder, double-click the “Prevent customization of indexed locations in Control Panel” policy, and select “Not configured” or “Enabled” to enable or disable modifying search index locations in Windows 11.
Most don’t know this, but Windows doesn’t automatically index your entire hard drive. Instead, it only indexes a few select folders such as the Start menu and Users. If you want to search for your own files or folders in other drives, you can add more folders or drives to the search index by modifying which locations are indexed by Windows. While this is a good thing, there might be situations where you don’t want users changing index locations. For example, maybe you want a specific folder or drive to be always indexed and don’t want users changing that. In that case, you can simply disable modifying the index locations. On the other hand, if you or some other program accidentally disabled search index location modification, you can enable it.
In this quick and easy guide, I will show you the steps to enable or disable modifying search index locations in Windows 11 using the Group Policy Editor (available only in Pro and Enterprise editions) and Registry Editor. Let’s get started.
Before You Start
- To enable or disable the modification of index locations, you need administrator.
Enable or Disable Modify Search Index Locations Using Group Policy
Important note: Group Policy Editor is only available in Pro and Enterprise editions. If you are using the Home edition, follow the Registry Editor method (second one).
Launch the Group Policy Editor by searching for “Edit Group Policy” in the Start menu. You can also open the Run dialog (Windows key + R), type “gpedit.msc”, and click “OK”. After opening it, go to the following folder on the left sidebar.
“Computer Configuration” > “Administrative Templates” > “Windows Components” > “Search“
Now, on the right panel, double-click the “Prevent customization of indexed locations in Control Panel” policy.
Next, configure the policy as follows and click the “OK” button to save the changes.
- Prevent changing search index locations: Select the “Enabled” option.
- Allow changing search index locations: Select the “Not configured” option.
By selecting “Not configured” (default option) or “Enabled”, you can enable or disable the ability to modify search index locations. For example, if you select the “Enabled” option, the “Modify” button in the “Index Options” (search for “Index Options” in the Start menu) will be disabled, and you cannot change the index locations.
Enable or Disable Modify Search Index Locations Using Registry Editor
Those with the Home edition edit the Registry Editor to enable or disable modifying search index locations. However, before proceeding, please back up the registry.
On your keyboard, press the “Start” button, search for “Registry Editor“, and click the top result or the “Open” option on the right panel of the Start menu search results. Once it opens, go to the following folder.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\
Right-click the “Windows” folder on the left sidebar of the Registry Editor and select “New“, then “Key“. Set the name of the new folder as “Windows Search“
Again, right-click the “Windows Search” folder and select “New“, then “DWORD (32-bit) Value“. Set the value name to “PreventModifyingIndexedLocations“.
Now, double-click the “PreventUsingAdvancedIndexingOptions” value, set the Value Data as follows, and click “OK“.
- Prevent changing search index locations: Set the “Value Data” to “1“.
- Allow changing search index locations: Set the “Value Data” to “0“.
After that, close the Registry Editor and restart your computer. After restarting, the ability to modify the index location is disabled or enabled depending on your registry setting. For example, if you set the Value Data of “PreventModifyingIndexedLocations” to “1”, the “Modify” button in the “Index Options” (search for “Index Options” in the Start menu) will be disabled, and you cannot change the index locations.
That is it. Write down below any questions or comments you have. I’ll respond as quickly as possible.
Thank you,
Vamsi.
