Windows 11 lets you quickly and easily pause search indexing via the Indexing Options. Here’s how to do it in simple steps.
Quick steps: Press the “Start” button, search & open “Indexing Options“, and click the “Pause” button.
When you search for something, Windows uses the index to quickly find the relevant files and folders. For this to work properly, Windows keeps adding to or rebuilding the index as and when needed, especially when you change, add, or delete files & folders. When Windows is building or rebuilding the index, it can sometimes slow down your system or even make the entire search slow. This is especially true on older systems or systems with mechanical hard drives.
Thankfully, when needed, you can simply pause indexing rather than disable it. Once paused, Windows waits for 15 minutes and automatically starts the indexing process. This gives you the best of both worlds: the power of indexing and the ability to free up system resources in a pinch.
In this quick and easy guide, I will show you how to do it. Let’s get started.
Before You Start
- Pausing search indexing requires administrator rights.
Steps to Pause Search Indexing in Windows 11
First, we must open the Index Options. There are two ways to do it, but I will show the Settings way. So, press the “Windows key + I” to open the Settings app. Once it opens, go to the “Privacy & security” tab in the left sidebar, then click the “Search” option under “Windows Permissions” on the right page.
Click “Advanced indexing options” under the “Related settings”.
The above action opens the “Indexing Options” window. In here, click the “Pause” button at the button.
Note: If the Pause button is greyed out, indexing is not running, and there is no need to pause. The button is functional only when the indexing is actually running in the background.
Once paused, click the “Close” button to close the Indexing Options window. Keep in mind that Windows will automatically start the indexing process after 15 minutes.
That’s it. Write down below any comments or questions you have. I’ll respond quickly.
Thank you,
Vamsi.
