How To Disable Search Indexing and Increase Performance [Windows]

The indexing service built into Microsoft Windows 7 and Windows Vista is better than what it was in Windows XP. With the user-friendly integrating of the search bar within explorer window, Microsoft has ensured that users quickly find what they want. But, if you don’t use Windows Search so much, you can disable it and free up some hard disk and memory resources.

Disabling the indexing service does not disable the search or search bar functions of Windows 7 or Vista, but disabling it will slow down getting the results a bit. But, disabling it will do speed the rest of your computer system up a bit, so whether you want to disable Windows Search service or not is up to you.

To disable the Windows 7 or Vista Indexing service:

First, click on the Start button to open the Start Menu. Now, type services in the search bar and press Enter.

services.msc

In the services window, find an entry for windows search service.

Right-click on it and select properties. You can also double-click on the entry to open the properties dialog box.

In the Startup type drop down box, change the value to Disabled, and then click the Stop button below to stop the service immediately.

windows search properties

Press Enter to confirm.

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