# Windows indexing: best to disable?



## 80251 (Jul 8, 2022)

Is there any point to Windows indexing on Windows 10? I rarely search for files, is that the only use for windows indexing and then only for the few folders it actually indexes?


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## Minxie (Jul 8, 2022)

Keep it on. Without it, Windows Search is even worse than it usually is. I set my Indexer to index absolutely everything:










And this has improved the efficiency of Search by a *ton*, so much so that I don't use Voidtools' Everything anymore.

And before you ask, no, it does nothing for performance. The indexer slows down when you're using your PC and speeds up when it's idle.


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## bonehead123 (Jul 8, 2022)

If you keep your personal stuff (pics, docs etc) well organized, you could probably exclude them, unless you are constantly adding/deleting tons of stuff in those areas.  But for apps and windows system files, it does not hurt anything to have them indexed, so that you can find them should you care to modify/delete them.... and again, if you regularly add/delete stuff there, you can always delete & rebuild the index itself, which will make searches easier & faster....


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## Kissamies (Jul 8, 2022)

I keep it. Helps when using HDD (my storage drive) as it doesn't search stuff forever.


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## chrcoluk (Jul 8, 2022)

80251 said:


> Is there any point to Windows indexing on Windows 10? I rarely search for files, is that the only use for windows indexing and then only for the few folders it actually indexes?


If you dont search or use file history feature then the feature serves little purpose in my opinion could disable in your case.


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## Minxie (Jul 8, 2022)

The question is why are you even thinking of disabling indexing? Is performance a concern? As I said it affects nothing, so if you have no reason to disable it, don't touch it.


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## chrcoluk (Jul 8, 2022)

Minxie said:


> The question is why are you even thinking of disabling indexing? Is performance a concern? As I said it affects nothing, so if you have no reason to disable it, don't touch it.


It does have a inherit cost, building the database isnt free, and the i/o grinding as its building can be an annoyance.  

The OP did say he doesnt use windows search.


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## Minxie (Jul 8, 2022)

chrcoluk said:


> It does have a inherit cost, building the database isnt free, and the i/o grinding as its building can be an annoyance.
> 
> The OP did say he doesnt use windows search.


And like I said it affects literally nothing as long as you're using the PC as the indexer slows down to a crawl?

But sure if you don't use search go for it I guess.


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## Kissamies (Jul 8, 2022)

I don't use search either but still, accessing my storage drive is faster when looking at my cat pics folder, as the PC indexes it in the background.


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## ThrashZone (Jul 9, 2022)

Hi,
Indexing off on ssd's don't need it but of course I know where every thing is so search isn't needed.


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## MarsM4N (Jul 9, 2022)

I disabled it, Windows indexing/search is pure trash.  It's too dam slow, eats system resources & also shows online results. Like wtf!?

I highly recommend to replace it with *"Everything"*. It's super fast & only brings up what you're looking for.


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## thesmokingman (Jul 9, 2022)

I've got like over 60GBs and it's all indexed. Go and edit the index list, keep it off ssd drives (in general though I do hit specific folders) and whatever folders ya don't want indexed. It takes a day or so for my system to complete indexing then its all good.


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## caroline! (Jul 9, 2022)

I've disabled it, whenever I use Windows I never use the search to find files, only XP search was cool, intuitive and had a cute animated puppy as default helper. After that they got obsessed with "minimalism" bs and ruined it, lack of functionality is a feature apparently.


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## OneMoar (Jul 9, 2022)

this isn't 2009 leave it on


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## Minxie (Jul 9, 2022)

caroline! said:


> I've disabled it, whenever I use Windows I never use the search to find files, only XP search was cool, intuitive and had a cute animated puppy as default helper. After that they got obsessed with "minimalism" bs and ruined it, lack of functionality is a feature apparently.


More whining as expected from a tech forum. They all should just be renamed to 'MicrosoftBadAndWe'reAllCynics'. Anyway, the default settings for the Indexer admittedly suck as it only crawls user folders, however once you tell the Indexer to index everything and wait a day for it to be done in the background, it gets much better and finds anything I'm searching for.

I have used Windows for most of my life, beginning with 98 SE, and have went through all of its editions. No, XP search wasn't great either. The dog does not save it from the fact that it was horrible. In fact, dare I say, 11's search is currently the best it has ever gotten. Oh but god forbid I praise Windows 11, that's forbidden on these forums - let's just forget the fact that I also criticize it when criticism is due.



thesmokingman said:


> keep it off ssd drives


You people still think SSDs die that easily?


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## OneMoar (Jul 9, 2022)

Minxie said:


> More whining as expected from a tech forum. They all should just be renamed to 'MicrosoftBadAndWe'reAllCynics'. Anyway, the default settings for the Indexer admittedly suck as it only crawls user folders, however once you tell the Indexer to index everything and wait a day for it to be done in the background, it gets much better and finds anything I'm searching for.
> 
> I have used Windows for most of my life, beginning with 98 SE, and have went through all of its editions. No, XP search wasn't great either. The dog does not save it from the fact that it was horrible. In fact, dare I say, 11's search is currently the best it has ever gotten. Oh but god forbid I praise Windows 11, that's forbidden on these forums - let's just forget the fact that I also criticize it when criticism is due.
> 
> ...


there very few things that are as persistent as ignorance


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## ThrashZone (Jul 9, 2022)

Minxie said:


> You people still think SSDs die that easily?


Hi,
Well ssd's unlike hdd's do just up and die without warning 
I have had linuz mint kill a crucial ssd before by never running trim, crucial linux firmware bug a while back on mx100 which I still have four of those to this day rma replacement still kicking to.

I personally just think ssd's are fast enough without indexing
I switched it on recently just messing around and it made no difference at all.


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## Minxie (Jul 9, 2022)

ThrashZone said:


> Well ssd's unlike hdd's do just up and die without warning


I've had plenty HDDs just die 'without warning' yet have an SSD from 2016 at 90% life after being abused tons. That is anedoctal evidence, and the Indexer won't do anything to even touch SSDs let alone kill them. 


ThrashZone said:


> I have had linuz mint kill a crucial ssd


I know you're talking about a bug in this example but Linux is notorious for not enabling trimming by default and killing SSDs.


ThrashZone said:


> I personally just think ssd's are fast enough without indexing.


The speed and type of the storage medium doesn't matter. The indexer is what Windows Search uses to, you know, index files and show search results. All enabling it does is give you more search results that are more accurate, especially if you index everything rather than just leaving it on default settings.


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## lexluthermiester (Jul 9, 2022)

80251 said:


> Is there any point to Windows indexing on Windows 10? I rarely search for files, is that the only use for windows indexing and then only for the few folders it actually indexes?


Unless you need it, yes, disable it. All it does is slightly speed up a limited number of searches. It otherwise just takes up resources...



OneMoar said:


> this isn't 2009 leave it on


No.


OneMoar said:


> there very few things that are as persistent as ignorance


You should know that well..



ThrashZone said:


> I personally just think ssd's are fast enough without indexing


Exactly. Indexing is an outdated service that is no longer relevant for today's computing ethic.


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## micropage7 (Jul 9, 2022)

Minxie said:


> The question is why are you even thinking of disabling indexing? Is performance a concern? As I said it affects nothing, so if you have no reason to disable it, don't touch it.


Agree if not broken don't fix it, leave it as it is


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## Mussels (Jul 9, 2022)

The only time it misbehaves is when people store terabytes of small files on their desktop and they get indexed, smashing performance

It's there to prevent your HDD getting smashed to pieces, let it do it's job


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## eidairaman1 (Jul 9, 2022)

ThrashZone said:


> Hi,
> Well ssd's unlike hdd's do just up and die without warning
> I have had linuz mint kill a crucial ssd before by never running trim, crucial linux firmware bug a while back on mx100 which I still have four of those to this day rma replacement still kicking to.
> 
> ...


It hampered hdd performance back then.


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## lexluthermiester (Jul 9, 2022)

eidairaman1 said:


> It hampered hdd performance back then.


True, and it still does.


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## Bill_Bright (Jul 9, 2022)

> It does have a inherit cost, building the database isnt free, and the i/o grinding as its building can be an annoyance.
> 
> Windows indexing/search is pure trash.  It's too dam slow


This is old-school XP thinking. W10/W11 are not XP. Microsoft has made extensive changes to how indexing works in the latest versions of Windows, and in particular, in the most recent updates to W10 and now W11. And it continues to tweak the feature to ensure it does not impact performance. As seen here, Windows will actually pause the indexing process when the user uses the computer. 

Also, Indexing and Search are two different features.

And sorry folks, but the comments concerning indexing and SSDs, and that indexing in an obsolete service simply demonstrates the accuracy of OneMoar's comment about the persistence of ignorance. 

(1) Indexing and SSDs. 
Fact: Indexing is by far, primarily a "Read" function, involving only a tiny bit of "Writes". Reads have no impact on SSD longevity. But to that...
Fact: Today's SSDs do not suffer from the Write limits of first generation SSDs. 
Side Fact: As far as thrashing a hard drive, that may be true during the initial indexing, but once indexed, Indexing will find your files much more quickly by going directly to the file instead of thrashing about looking for it. So in the long run, Indexing can save thrashing a HD. 

Also, once the initial Indexing is complete, the feature only looks at updated and new files. It is not constantly re-indexing the entire disks. This means any "thrashing" is greatly reduced to a minimum once the initial indexing is complete. 

(2) Indexing as an outdated feature.
Fact: Not true. One of Indexes' greatest features is it indexes the contents of your documents and spreadsheets and other files. So if you are looking for a particular word, for example, Indexing can find the file(s) that contains that word quickly. If you disable Indexing, Search will have to crawl through your entire drive or drives every time you search for something. With Indexing enabled, Search simply looks in the Index db, then goes directly to the file that contains your search item.


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## caroline! (Jul 9, 2022)

Minxie said:


> More whining as expected from a tech forum. They all should just be renamed to 'MicrosoftBadAndWe'reAllCynics'. Anyway, the default settings for the Indexer admittedly suck as it only crawls user folders, however once you tell the Indexer to index everything and wait a day for it to be done in the background, it gets much better and finds anything I'm searching for.
> 
> I have used Windows for most of my life, beginning with 98 SE, and have went through all of its editions. No, XP search wasn't great either. The dog does not save it from the fact that it was horrible. In fact, dare I say, 11's search is currently the best it has ever gotten. Oh but god forbid I praise Windows 11, that's forbidden on these forums - let's just forget the fact that I also criticize it when criticism is due.


I just know where my files are.


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## eidairaman1 (Jul 9, 2022)

caroline! said:


> I just know where my files are.


Minx Sounds like a paid shill lol


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## MarsM4N (Jul 9, 2022)

Bill_Bright said:


> Also, Indexing and Search are two different features.



They are surely two different features, but if a _*index file*_ is available, the search will use that instead of digging through the whole drive & looking for the file.

Like said, indexing speeds up searches on slow drives (HDD's, USB sticks, etc.) but doesn't improve searches on SSD's since they are that fast. 
If I remember corectly, indexing is disabled on SSD's by default for that reason, right?


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## eidairaman1 (Jul 9, 2022)

MarsM4N said:


> They are surely two different features, but if a _*index file*_ is available, the search will use that instead of digging through the whole drive & looking for the file.
> 
> Like said, indexing speeds up searches on slow drives (HDD's, USB sticks, etc.) but doesn't improve searches on SSD's since they are that fast.
> If I remember corectly, indexing is disabled on SSD's by default for that reason, right?


Yes


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## Bill_Bright (Jul 9, 2022)

MarsM4N said:


> but if a _*index file*_ is available, the search will use that instead of digging through the whole drive & looking for the file.


Exactly! Which is why it is a good thing. 



MarsM4N said:


> Like said, indexing speeds up searches on slow drives (HDD's, USB sticks, etc.) but doesn't improve searches on SSD's since they are that fast.


No! That is wrong. "Like said", had you read through the comments, Indexing indexes the contents of the files too. So if you don't remember the file name, but do remember a specific word, Indexing makes finding that file much quicker - even on SSDs. 



MarsM4N said:


> If I remember corectly, indexing is disabled on SSD's by default for that reason, right?


Wrong. Indexing is enabled on all drives by default.


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## chrcoluk (Jul 9, 2022)

Minxie if we dont use indexing it doesnt mean we hate Windows. 

Bill my experience posted here is based on Windows 10 not XP and the "is it idle" task scheduler is lets say is problematic, all fun right when indexing starts during a game or other task. Dare I say it Microsoft isnt perfect.

Not sure why user choice has been bashed here, not all of us use search we know where to find our files and some of us like to keep the background activity to only whats useful to ourselves, nothing wrong with that.

If you search it might be useful, if you dont its not, thats it really.


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## Bill_Bright (Jul 9, 2022)

chrcoluk said:


> all fun right when indexing starts diring a game or other task.


Again, if you look at the link I provided in post #25, you will see if you are playing a game or doing other tasks, Indexing will pause - particularly true if have kept W10 current. So if your system bogged down when you were playing, that was caused by something else.


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## chrcoluk (Jul 9, 2022)

Bill_Bright said:


> Again, if you look at the link I provided in post #25, you will see if you are playing a game or doing other tasks, Indexing will pause - particularly true if have kept W10 current. So if your system bogged down when you were playing, that was caused by something else.


You think software always works as intended? the problem here is you assuming I dont understand how to diagnose and you assuming the task scheduler idle detection is flawless.

How do you define idle Bill?


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## Bill_Bright (Jul 9, 2022)

chrcoluk said:


> You think software always works as intended?


Of course not. But most of the time it does. Just because there are anecdotal exceptions, that does NOT in anyway mean it is the norm. Nor should it dictate behavior. Exceptions don't make the rule. 

A drunk may hop the curb and drive their car through your front door. Does that mean you should never leave the house? Of course not. 



chrcoluk said:


> If you search it might be useful, if you dont its not, thats it really.


Okay. So what? Just because a feature may not be useful for you, that does not mean it should automatically be disabled. 

The problem with your comment there is even you don't know that you will never use Search. And more significantly - at least when giving advice, is you don't know when/if another poster will need to search for something on their computers. And once again, Indexing is NOT just for finding a file. It also is useful for finding a specific word.


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## MarsM4N (Jul 9, 2022)

Bill_Bright said:


> No! That is wrong. "Like said", had you read through the comments, _*Indexing indexes the contents of the files too*_. So if you don't remember the file name, but do remember a specific word, Indexing makes finding that file much quicker - even on SSDs.



See, that's another thing I hate about Windows indexing. You're looking for Windows or program file & it lists up all sort of crap.
With *"Everything"* you can search only for file names, which if I remember correctly, you can't with Windows indexing/search.


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## Bill_Bright (Jul 9, 2022)

To clarify, I happen to think Everything is an excellent tool. But it does not index content. And that may be fine for you.


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## lexluthermiester (Jul 9, 2022)

@80251
Everyone seems to have an opinion. On the one hand we have people(like myself) who care only about system performance and are not worried about upsetting "the microsoft way" of doing things. On the other hand we have ardent and well known microsoft supporters who sing the praises of "the microsoft way" and always advise "leaving well enough alone". Considering how often microsoft screws things up and leaves things broken & unfixed for years at a time, who's advice do you want to take? The people who will tell you to leave your system as microsoft intends or people who will help you get the most from your system, remind you that it is YOUR PC and help you tweak your configuration to maximize performance? You know which side I'm on...

The REAL fact remains that any service running is *using system resources and drive space for data storage*. With SSDs and modern HDDs the index does NOT help with searches enough to off-set and justify it's presence. Anyone who wants to save system resources(especially on lower spec'd systems) will be disabling any and all services that are not needed. Indexing is one of those services. I take it a step further by deleting the service all together from the Windows install, along with a few others. This action never presents any problems with searches and said searches are always very snappy, even when searching my HDD's.


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## caroline! (Jul 9, 2022)

chrcoluk said:


> Minxie if we dont use indexing it doesnt mean we hate Windows.
> 
> Bill my experience posted here is based on Windows 10 not XP and the "is it idle" task scheduler is lets say is problematic, all fun right when indexing starts during a game or other task. Dare I say it Microsoft isnt perfect.
> 
> ...



Welcome to the internet.

I disable indexer because I literally don't need it so I automatically hate Windows as an OS.






*I use Arch btw*, but that doesn't means I "hate" Windows... it's just an OS, I'm not dumb enough to be a linux stainless steel fangrill that hates on Window$ because of the search function or the crippled CLI it comes with. I exclusively use 10 LTSC to run games because Arch isn't able to.


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## The red spirit (Jul 9, 2022)

I have noticed that my HDD in secondary PC was being used randomly and may not be as responsive in general usage. I just disabled indexing and now it responds perfectly fine, but I use Windows 7 on that machine and I really don't need search basically ever. Also at that time machine only had 4GB RAM and it swapped to HDD often, now it has 8GB, so doesn't need swap as often. I honestly don't see any point in indexing on hard drives, especially in older days, when RAM was scarce. HDDs were dogshit slow, so why burden them more for stuff that barely gets used, especially so on some poor Vista lappy with that small mobile HDD and 2GB RAM. Sounds rather dumb to me. Anyway, just try disabling it and see how that works out. I heard that Windows compression may help performance on HDDs, as long as you have fast CPU, but I have zero idea if that actually helps performance at all.


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## Bill_Bright (Jul 9, 2022)

lexluthermiester said:


> who's advice do you want to take?


Good point!

So here's a concept. Do your own home work. Research the facts and see for yourself. If one of those Microsoft bashers claim Microsoft does this or doesn't do that - Google it!!!! There are over 1.5 billion Windows users out there! Surely if, Indexing, just as an example, was so bad as some here want you to believe, there will be millions and millions of Windows 10 users complaining how Indexing is bogging down their systems. Google it! Are there? If Indexing was so bad, the forums would be flooded with users complaining about this? Are they? If Indexing was so bad, all the bloggers and respected members of the IT media would be telling everyone to disable this feature. Are they? 

No? 

Then there's your answer. 



lexluthermiester said:


> The REAL fact remains that any service running is *using system resources and drive space for data storage*.


Okay - this is absolutely true. And for sure, if you are that desperately low on system resources and your budget restraints are that dire, then for sure, you need to disable everything possible. Actually, you need to uninstall Windows and be using Linux - or cheap burner phone.


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## 95Viper (Jul 9, 2022)

Stay on topic.
Stop your petty arguments... take them to PMs or some other platform.
This is a tech forum, discuss tech; and, not your attitudes toward each other.
Once you have made your point... do not repeat it every time someone has a differing opinion or data.  They heard you the first time.


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## plastiscɧ (Jul 10, 2022)

80251 said:


> Is there any point to Windows indexing on Windows 10? I rarely search for files, is that the only use for windows indexing and then only for the few folders it actually indexes?


You have two possible ways to brake the index to a way i does not concern anymore

1. just tell it, it shall only scan your startmenü







2. switch the win search off completely from the services




i hope it helps


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## oobymach (Jul 10, 2022)

Just an FYI, if you disable search indexing certain games (like one of the new Tomb Raider games) won't save your progress. Fairly warned be thee says I.


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## lexluthermiester (Jul 10, 2022)

oobymach said:


> Just an FYI, if you disable search indexing certain games (like one of the new Tomb Raider games) won't save your progress. Fairly warned be thee says I.


That is not only completely false, but is so bizarre as to be nonsensical. I own all of the recent Tomb Raider games and have no problems with game saves. Take your disinformation elsewhere. Try reddit where disinformation fits in perfectly..


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## 80251 (Jul 10, 2022)

If I turn off windows indexing will I be losing more socks in the dryer too?


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## eidairaman1 (Jul 10, 2022)

80251 said:


> If I turn off windows indexing will I be losing more socks in the dryer too?


No


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## AleXXX666 (Jul 10, 2022)

Minxie said:


> You people still think SSDs die that easily?


come on, not everyone buys samsung high end, wd black ssds etc. and for average joe's cheapo ssd he got by local shop campany "nvme, speed, gaming" (and in fact this is cheapest crappy dram-less nvme ssd) it's a concern for ssd lifetime improving, lol


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## oobymach (Jul 10, 2022)

lexluthermiester said:


> That is not only completely false, but is so bizarre as to be nonsensical. I own all of the recent Tomb Raider games and have no problems with game saves. Take your disinformation elsewhere. Try reddit where disinformation fits in perfectly..


It's not disinformation, I had this happen to me, so don't jump down my throat because your system behaves differently._* It's a known issue*_......................and yes, I had disabled windows indexing and turning it back on magically allowed the game to save.









						Game will not save progress at all :: Rise of the Tomb Raider General Discussions
					

Temp solution: Check that your permissions for the save files are enabled to alow read/write (or full control) for all users. Spent just over 4 hours on the game, having completed the radio towers in the soviet installation & progressed past the first firefight. Now when i load my 13% save it...




					steamcommunity.com
				




Here's where I found the fix.






						Not work save! (Rise of the Tomb Raider)
					

People tell me I do not plow conservation, repak from hatab, in the game folder there is no folder steam sohranki lay as expected in documents with numbered folder, but still not saved! what to do?



					sharehub.pro
				






> > Guest                            10.06.20
> > Thanks, this solved issue (*turning on indexing*) I have it disabled system wide so enabling it for the save folder fixed the issue.


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## lexluthermiester (Jul 10, 2022)

oobymach said:


> It's not disinformation, I had this happen to me, so don't jump down my throat because your system behaves differently._* It's a known issue*_......................and yes, I had disabled windows indexing and turning it back on magically allowed the game to save.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That is not a problem with the game. I have had no such issues with my copy of it. Whatever that problem is, it is a glitch in another part of Windows, which is hardly surprising. Additionally, that is a VERY isolated issue and does not effect all users of that game nor any other game. Either way, such a limited problem should not be used as a fear-factor to influence a configuration choice.


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## Frick (Jul 10, 2022)

So in conclusion:

Whatever. Having it on is fine and even great if you want to search within files (like for example specific strings across hundres of log files), turning it off is fine too, especially if you don't search for files ever. You won't notice anything actively turning it off.


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## MarsM4N (Jul 10, 2022)

oobymach said:


> It's not disinformation, I had this happen to me, so don't jump down my throat because your system behaves differently._* It's a known issue*_......................and yes, I had disabled windows indexing and turning it back on magically allowed the game to save.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Doesn't make any sense that indexing would affect game saves. 

The information from your link is pointing more in the direction that it's a _*read/write permission issue*_. Which come down to poor game programming & wouldn't be the first time.
Also notice the date of the post. It was days before the official release of the game, so it's more likely a pre-release bug which most likely got fixed years ago by now.


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## caroline! (Jul 10, 2022)

The Tomb Raider game issue could've been related to the ridiculous DRM malware it's packed with, those tend to create weird errors and glitches most of the times if you dare mess with Windows settings or mod it in some way, sometimes you can't even start some games if you don't have an internet connection, that'd be the improved version of having the game disc on the drive at all times while you were playing. 

But anyway, I said it could've been related to that because of the date, the thread is from 2016 and Crapuvo wasn't removed disabled until 2021 for that particular game, that thing can't be fully removed as it'd break important parts of the games, so what crackers often do is bypass it so the game file still works without having to call the DRM to start.

I've played that game, with the WS service disabled, and had no issues, but also had a dormant DRM. It's not a problem caused by indexing.


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## ExcuseMeWtf (Jul 10, 2022)

I disable this and use Total Commander for search anyways


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## oobymach (Jul 11, 2022)

lexluthermiester said:


> That is not a problem with the game. I have had no such issues with my copy of it. Whatever that problem is, it is a glitch in another part of Windows, which is hardly surprising. Additionally, that is a VERY isolated issue and does not effect all users of that game nor any other game. Either way, such a limited problem should not be used as a fear-factor to influence a configuration choice.





MarsM4N said:


> Doesn't make any sense that indexing would affect game saves.
> 
> The information from your link is pointing more in the direction that it's a _*read/write permission issue*_. Which come down to poor game programming & wouldn't be the first time.
> Also notice the date of the post. It was days before the official release of the game, so it's more likely a pre-release bug which most likely got fixed years ago by now.



It could be that I was using an older version of windows 10 because for a long while I was unable to update win 10 to the new version, I have that fixed now but the issue only came up because I had disabled indexing. Also the game was probably brand new just out of beta (I sometimes jump on early releases) so it could have been a bug. I don't generally turn write permission settings off and in tracking down the problem it's one of the fixes I tried that didn't work. It's a lesson learned, now I just leave indexing on auto.


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## lexluthermiester (Jul 11, 2022)

oobymach said:


> It could be that I was using an older version of windows 10 because for a long while I was unable to update win 10 to the new version


That could have been it.


oobymach said:


> I have that fixed now but the issue only came up because I had disabled indexing.


There have been a number of very weird Windows glitches over the years. Never heard of this one, but it seems like it fits into that category. The indexing service really shouldn't have any effect on game save functionality. Very weird indeed.


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## Minxie (Jul 11, 2022)

caroline! said:


> Welcome to the internet.
> 
> I disable indexer because I literally don't need it so I automatically hate Windows as an OS.
> 
> ...


I love forums like these - your post, and @eidairaman1 saying I'm a "paid shill by MS"? You know, you gotta love the shill argument that pops up every time someone has no counter-argument to what you're saying. I wish I'd have been a paid shill. I'd have been on a tropical island instead of wasting my time here. Anyway...

Never did I say, or at least meant to say that if you disabled indexing since you don't need it, you dislike Windows as a whole. I was talking about the anti-MS and Windows mentality of these forums, while sometimes justified, it's mostly biased or at the very least, uninformed. I was also talking solely about myself disagreeing about XP's search being better. I clarified that I also have criticism towards Windows 11 (such as being released way too early and having some removed functionality - that they're adding back but should've never been taken out) because praising it here in any shape or form will get the cynics onto you.

I understand why these cynics exist though, Microsoft's community managers literally ask you, as an insider, to be as cruel with them as possible in the feedback for both Windows and Edge. You should've seen my feedback history for the past 8 years - it isn't pretty, but it was effective. The difference between my feedback and their forum posts though, is that I've educated myself on what I'm reporting and while I had harsh undertones in my feedback, I kept polite about it. And that has proven effective every time and has actually brought about change.

Apologies if I haven't worded myself properly and have been misunderstood, I admittedly haven't been in the best of moods at the time - but I'm not craving an OS conflict as I really don't care what you use to interface yourself with your hardware, be it Linux, macOS, Windows, or hell even TempleOS. I'm simply asking for common sense instead of misinformation which is abundant in these places. Indexing does not affect anything and I recommend the OP leaves it on - that's all I have to say on the matter. If you personally feel it isn't effective or you don't need it, that's valid too and you can disable it if you so choose.



chrcoluk said:


> Minxie if we dont use indexing it doesnt mean we hate Windows.


Again, that's not what I meant. Read what I said to caroline above. My point about the MS & Windows hate is *completely and utterly unrelated and disconnected* to my opinions on you using the Indexer or not, and that point stems from my exhaustion of seeing all the same uninformed posts on every MS or Windows related thread I check out here. Everyone has a love hate relationship with Windows, myself included, I recognize that. It's fine to bash on it for valid reasons. But like it or not, these forums don't usually have those reasons and don't educate themselves, leading to unjustified bandwagons of cynicism.



AleXXX666 said:


> come on, not everyone buys samsung high end, wd black ssds etc. and for average joe's cheapo ssd he got by local shop campany "nvme, speed, gaming" (and in fact this is cheapest crappy dram-less nvme ssd) it's a concern for ssd lifetime improving, lol


It literally doesn't matter, period. No SSDs made within the last decade will even feel touched by the Indexer, even when you set it to index everything.

I don't know why I keep coming back to this place honestly. It's just endless conflict and negativity about every topic imaginable. Impossible to have a civilized thread. And before you say anything, no, it's not just because 'it's the internet' - I've seen genuinely nice and reasonable tech communities and many other non-tech related communities. But this place... come on guys, does every thread about a simple question have to devolve into 6 pages of arguments? Like I understand that to some people, my original post might've seemed harsh and unnecessarily argumentative, but I didn't intend it to be that at all - it's probably just my sarcastic way of speaking making it seem as if I was craving an argument, which admittedly I should stop practicing. But seriously now, if I jump off a cliff, do you have to follow?

Unwatching. I've said all that I needed to here in post #2.


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## plastiscɧ (Jul 11, 2022)

Minxie said:


> I love forums like these - your post, and @eidairaman1 saying I'm a "paid shill by MS"? You know, you gotta love the shill argument that pops up every time someone has no counter-argument to what you're saying. I wish I'd have been a paid shill. I'd have been on a tropical island instead of wasting my time here. Anyway...
> 
> Never did I say, or at least meant to say that if you disabled indexing since you don't need it, you dislike Windows as a whole. I was talking about the anti-MS and Windows mentality of these forums, while sometimes justified, it's mostly biased or at the very least, uninformed. I was also talking solely about myself disagreeing about XP's search being better. I clarified that I also have criticism towards Windows 11 (such as being released way too early and having some removed functionality - that they're adding back but should've never been taken out) because praising it here in any shape or form will get the cynics onto you.
> 
> ...


but that is not what the OP has asked to discuss or help.
he is clearly asking for SHUTDOWN. so you should offer him RELIABLE solutions to be able to do this.

simple and easy


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## Minxie (Jul 11, 2022)

plastiscɧ said:


> but that is not what the OP has asked to discuss or help.
> he is clearly asking for SHUTDOWN. so you should offer him RELIABLE solutions to be able to do this.
> 
> simple and easy


Dunno if this is bait or not, but he was asking whether or not it's best to disable indexing, not instructions on how to disable it. I said it's best to keep it on. Case closed, "auf wiedersehen".


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## plastiscɧ (Jul 11, 2022)

Minxie said:


> Dunno if this is bait or not, but he was asking whether or not it's best to disable indexing, not instructions on how to disable it. I said it's best to keep it on. Case closed, "auf wiedersehen".


well, it is known that the search for files also works without index.
why do you advise him to do this if he is not looking for this solution?

I would like to have a red car. no, take white, which is not so warm inside in the summer. -

in this case, it doesn't matter which color is better if you don't credibly demonstrate that deactivation has disadvantages.


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## LabRat 891 (Jul 12, 2022)

Used to think it's best off. Now, I agree with Minxie(first reply in thread).
If you EVER use Windows' search, you'll regret turning off Indexing. Even on a multi-core w/ nVME it's slow and inaccurate without it.


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## plastiscɧ (Jul 12, 2022)

let's put the cart before the horse;

what decisive ADVANTAGE does it bring to index a completely hunchbacked outdated OS with 550,000 single files if I search most of the time as an Joe Normal consumer only photos and other media?


Minxies OS and mine (10 vs 11) maybe that's the reason why.....


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## lexluthermiester (Jul 12, 2022)

Minxie said:


> I love forums like these - your post, and @eidairaman1 saying I'm a "paid shill by MS"?


To be fair, it looks like you created a TPU account just to fluff the noise about "the microsoft way".


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## HD64G (Jul 12, 2022)

Indexing is of no use for SSDs and is hampering the system performance when on HDD. So, where was the plus besides specific needs of some people?


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## Bill_Bright (Jul 12, 2022)

HD64G said:


> Indexing is of no use for SSDs


Not true. If one knows the file or folder name, then you are right and Indexing is of no use on a SSD  - or a HDD. Regular Search can find it. Or if adept with a command prompt, you can easily find that file with the simple command from root:

*dir filename.* /s *​
But if one only knows a specific word (a person's name for example), but does not know which file among 1000s of files that name is mentioned, Indexing can find it. 

No one, I say again, no one can predict that they will never know  or forget the filename of a file they need that contains some word they are looking for. 

And Indexing may only hamper performance on a HDD while Indexing is in progress - which is when the computer/user is otherwise idle - at least with the latest version of W10 and now W11. Indexing today is not like it was yesteryear.



HD64G said:


> So, where was the plus besides specific needs of some people?


The real question is, where is the minus for just leaving it alone? If have like 4GB of RAM, an entry level i3, integrated graphics and 32-bit W10 Home on a crowded 5400RPM hard drive and you never just let your computer go to sleep after using it, you might be impacted by Indexing. But even then, it should step back into the background minimizing any impact (assuming the W10 is running the most recent versions). 

Who else might not need it? Someone who never stores any personal files on their system. 

Again, Indexing today is not the same as it was before.


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## Mussels (Jul 17, 2022)

caroline! said:


> I just know where my files are.


Windows doesnt. The moment you search for something in the start menu, you're gunna notice the massive delays if it's not indexed.
Files are indexed once and it's done. It's not a never ending task that adds every single file on your drives.


I dont get anyones logic - indexing slowed old shitty drives while it first indexed, but once it was DONE it was a massive performance boost - it's literally a cache.

This is nothing more than impatience, people would throw a billion files on their desktop, get mad the files were being indexed and never let the damn thing finish.


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## 80251 (Jul 17, 2022)

So indexing makes sense on spinning rust but not on SSD's?


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## Mussels (Jul 18, 2022)

80251 said:


> So indexing makes sense on spinning rust but not on SSD's?


That's what it was designed for, yes.

It still speeds up SSD's - you're just

1. not going to notice the initial slowdown since it caches faster
2. far less likely to have an SSD read saturated to see the biggest benefits


It's stupidly easy to reduce the amount of cached locations if you hoard things in dumb locations (like storing terabytes of files on your desktop) - just exclude that location. run with it disabled and see how slow it is to even find programs in your start menu


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## plastiscɧ (Jul 18, 2022)

_in summary_

Index - In these areas you will come across indices

The term "index" does not mean exactly the same thing in every context. According to Wikipedia and Duden, the term "index" describes the following, among other things:
An index can serve as a register - for example, in textbooks.
In law, an index hides a blacklist on which prohibited material is listed.
In databases, when you come across an index, it is a separate structure that helps you navigate through the chaos of data.

_When is an index useful?
The use of indexes is recommended for databases that store large amounts of data and are queried very frequently. Here it depends on which information plays a central role._

What does an index do?
What belongs in the index?

Index as register
An index as a register summarizes references in a fixed order:
In books or journals, an index is usually located in the appendix.
Here, a distinction is made between subject indexes and indexes of persons as well as mixed forms.
These are also called subject indexes, name indexes or indexes.
This index is usually arranged alphabetically and contains references or brief information on keywords.


Index as blacklist
The phrase "end up on the index" has long been established in the colloquial language. Meant with it above all the following:
Synonyms for the index in the sense of a blacklist are negative list, blacklist or blacklist.
People, things and often also works are listed here that are to be disadvantaged in some way compared to all others.
According to its own statement, the index of the Federal Review Board for Media Harmful to Young People includes media with "war glorification", "real depictions that violate human dignity", "media dominated by violence", "posturing", and "obvious serious danger to young people".
Films, music, PC games, pictures or texts that are harmful to young people can end up on this index, for example, and are then not permitted for free sale.

In the past, books that the Pope considered critical of the Church, hostile to the Church, blasphemous or sacrilegious were placed on the Catholic Church's index. These were banned, banished or even burned.


Index in databases
Indexes play a special role in databases. Database index enables convenient and fast search functions in software:
Regardless of the order of database entries, a logical order results from the database index.
This means that when a new entry is written to a database, it may be physically written after the last entry, but is entered in the index at exactly the right place. The index is therefore a pointer.
The primary key from databases can be considered as the most important index that uniquely identifies each record. A simple index, like an initial letter of a record, is a weak index, because it can be repeated very often.
So in principle, a database index works like the index as an index in a book: you can find a keyword in a book more quickly if there is already an index that tells you the page numbers on which the word appears.


_*TLDR:*_
*So indexes increase the efficiency of searches in databases and pseudo-databases, like Windows Explorer or Google.*


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## Bill_Bright (Jul 18, 2022)

80251 said:


> So indexing makes sense on spinning rust but not on SSD's?




Why does this have to be repeated so many times? 

Indexing catalogs the contents of files - NOT just the file and folder names. 

If you already know the filename of the file you want, then Indexing with a SSD offers no advantage over regular search. You can use File Manager or even the command prompt and quickly find your file. 

HOWEVER, if you do NOT know the filename but know a word in the file (a person's name, for example), those tools, including standard Search, will not help you. But Indexing will and therefore still has great value and makes great sense - even for SSDs.


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## chrcoluk (Jul 19, 2022)

I have indexing off, I type HxD in the start menu box and it instantly shows me the entry, same with Word etc.  So I am not sure its a requirement for fast start menu searching, and the index does get updated at its configured time in the task scheduler, if it was a run one time only deal how would it detect new files and file changes.


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## lexluthermiester (Jul 19, 2022)

plastiscɧ said:


> _*TLDR:*_
> *So indexes increase the efficiency of searches in databases and pseudo-databases, like Windows Explorer or Google.*


While there is merit to this, most people don't need that functionality and the problems far over-shadow the benefits.



Bill_Bright said:


> Indexing catalogs the contents of files - NOT just the file and folder names.


Yeah, and that takes resources. It's also not very secure. Another solid reason to shut the service off or delete it.


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## eidairaman1 (Jul 19, 2022)

80251 said:


> So indexing makes sense on spinning rust but not on SSD's?


Rust is oxidized metal, HDDs are not oxidized.


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## plastiscɧ (Jul 19, 2022)

lexluthermiester said:


> While there is merit to this, most people don't need that functionality and the problems far over-shadow the benefits.
> 
> 
> Yeah, and that takes resources. It's also not very secure. Another solid reason to shut the service off or delete it.


I have also not really, I have so far found everything I was looking for.
But every animal has its own little playground.


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## Bill_Bright (Jul 19, 2022)

lexluthermiester said:


> Yeah, and that takes resources. It's also not very secure. Another solid reason to shut the service off or delete it.


Everything takes resources. HOWEVER, you seem to be implying it is hogging resources all the time, which, of course is not true. It is not constantly indexing every file. Once indexed, its done until that file is modified or new files are added. And again indexing is done way in the background, when the user is idle. 

Not very secure? Come on! That's nonsense. 

We get that if it has the Microsoft name on it, you don't like it. But there is no need to make up stuff in your efforts to make everyone else not like it either. 


lexluthermiester said:


> While there is merit to this, most people don't need that functionality and the problems far over-shadow the benefits.


You speak with forked tongue. Once again you imply there are HUGE problems affecting the majority of Windows users without showing us any evidence to back your claims.

Show us evidence Indexing creates a security issue! Show us evidence of these "problems" you claim "far over-shadow" the benefits. Not your anecdotal "because I say so" claims. 

The reality is Indexing is beneficial (has "merit") and makes available a useful function - regardless if users use it or not. And the reality is, any problems that do arise tend to be very minor and affect only a very few number people.


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## lexluthermiester (Jul 20, 2022)

Bill_Bright said:


> Not very secure? Come on! That's nonsense.


You think a *Windows service* indexing the *CONTENTS* of files being a security problem is nonsense? Where did you get your certification for security SOP criteria?


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## 80251 (Jul 20, 2022)

I wondered about that too, if malware can access whatever file(s) are holding the index of contents of files it might be easier to find out what files are interesting and maybe see the contents of said files just by hacking the indexing service or the indexing files themselves.


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## eidairaman1 (Jul 20, 2022)

Just kill it and be free


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## Mussels (Jul 20, 2022)

lexluthermiester said:


> You think a *Windows service* indexing the *CONTENTS* of files being a security problem is nonsense? Where did you get your certification for security SOP criteria?


If you cant trust windows, don't use it.

The end.


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## lexluthermiester (Jul 20, 2022)

Mussels said:


> If you cant trust windows, don't use it.
> 
> The end.


That's one school of thought. Some might call it a defeatist perspective. I subscribe to the school of thought that strives to use Windows in the most secure way possible. This means disabling fluff and nonsense that doesn't matter, customizing the Windows configuration to exclude runtimes that are either not needed, needlessly use system resources or present problems to user security. 

Telling someone who does not trust microsoft/Windows to simply not use it is disingenuous at best, especially when such an idea means excluding things that can not be done on other OS platforms. No, just no.

Helping people make Windows work for them instead of against them is the correct answer.


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## Mussels (Jul 20, 2022)

lexluthermiester said:


> That's one school of thought. Some might call it a defeatist perspective. I subscribe to the school of thought that strives to use Windows in the most secure way possible. This means disabling fluff and nonsense that doesn't matter, customizing the Windows configuration to exclude runtimes that are either not needed, needlessly use system resources or present problems to user security.
> 
> Telling someone who does not trust microsoft/Windows to simply not use it is disingenuous at best, especially when such an idea means excluding things that can not be done on other OS platforms. No, just no.
> 
> Helping people make Windows work for them instead of against them is the correct answer.


Yeah but advising other people without that level of paranoia to follow what you do, is only going to cause them issues and complications for no gain.
You do you, but you shouldn't be advising people to follow in that level of 'security' - especially in this case when it's got nothing at all to do with the thread topic


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## lexluthermiester (Jul 20, 2022)

Mussels said:


> Yeah but advising other people without that level of paranoia to follow what you do, is only going to cause them issues and complications for no gain.
> You do you, but you shouldn't be advising people to follow in that level of 'security' - especially in this case when it's got nothing at all to do with the thread topic


Since when has being focused on safe computing considered paranoia? Also, I think you're losing context here. We're not talking about radical changes. The OP asked if there was any point to the Index on Windows. Many have offered reasons for and against. In reality, the Index service doesn't just make an index of files, but also some of their contents. Such activities are not only useless for most users but also a very clear personal/professional security problem which could easily be exploited. As such, my advice is to disable the service or delete it. This will not break Windows or even slow it down. Quite the contrary, because that service is not running, it will not be using system resources and disk space. This change will, in fact, improve performance.


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## R0H1T (Jul 20, 2022)

I've never used indexing in 15+ years of it being a hassle, even after I switched from HDD to NAND bases storage some 8+ years back! Never missed it


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## phanbuey (Jul 20, 2022)

i keep it off... all my files are backed up so they're all organized in a repo, I really only use the quick launch to type and kick off apps, and you don't need indexer for that.

Not to mention, it can glitch out and just constantly index which is a decent performance hit.


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## rafik2019 (Jul 20, 2022)

I usually remove/disable stuff from installation iso, services, windows update, defender etc. because its useless for me, all that crap just sit in memory.
Use MSMG Toolking and NTLite(I use both for installation media).
Ah and dont use windows11 its cancer, get windows 10 LTSC.


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## Bill_Bright (Jul 20, 2022)

lexluthermiester said:


> You think a *Windows service* indexing the *CONTENTS* of files being a security problem is nonsense?


No. That is not what I said.

What is nonsense is your comment. And as @Mussels correctly suggested, it is you, due to your clear disdain for anything Microsoft, and your self-proclaimed insistence that you are smarter than all those PhDs and computer scientists at Microsoft, constantly spreading such FUD all the time - typically with unsupported, nonsensical or even made up claims - that does more harm than good!

A perfect example is this:


lexluthermiester said:


> Such activities are not only useless for most users but also a very clear personal/professional security problem which could easily be exploited.



Pure hogwash!!!! Once again you do NOT speak for most users!!!! Stop pretending you do! And it does not even matter if most use it or not. "Some" may find the ability to find a file just by searching on a specific word among potentially 100s or 1000s of documents, perhaps going back years, to be very useful, time saving and beneficial. 

"_Personal/professional security problem_"? More hogwash!!! Show us one article from a reliable source that suggests Indexing poses a security risk. 

"_Easily be exploited_"? Total fabricated nonsensical FUD! Where's your evidence? Show us one article, just one that shows a user's "personal or professional security" was compromised because they did not disable Indexing. 

All the data indexed is not only already on the user's computer, it is stored in the clear, and is already organized in a coherent manner - that is in the full context of the document's subject. How is that more secure? Show us corroborating evidence that indicates the indexed information is stored in a less secure manner, or is more easily available, exploitable, and useful to a bad guy.


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## lexluthermiester (Jul 21, 2022)

Bill_Bright said:


> No. That is not what I said.


That is exactly what you said and everyone can see it.


Bill_Bright said:


> all those PhDs and computer scientists at Microsoft


Who have a bias in favor of what's best for the microsoft way of doing things, which is *frequently* *not* in favor of what's best for the average user.


Bill_Bright said:


> constantly spreading such FUD all the time - typically with unsupported, nonsensical or even made up claims - that does more harm than good!


More personal jabs. Struck another nerve have I?


Bill_Bright said:


> Pure hogwash!!!! Once again you do NOT speak for most users!!!! Stop pretending you do!


I have more credibility than you do. But ok, you keep thinking whatever you want to think.


Bill_Bright said:


> And it does not even matter if most use it or not.


So then, why would it matter if it's disabled or not?


Bill_Bright said:


> "Some" may find the ability to find a file just by searching on a specific word among potentially 100s or 1000s of documents, perhaps going back years, to be very useful, time saving and beneficial.


Everyone can do this WITHOUT the index. Might take a bit longer, but then again, how often does the average user conduct a search like that?


Bill_Bright said:


> "_Personal/professional security problem_"? More hogwash!!! Show us one article from a reliable source that suggests Indexing poses a security risk.
> 
> "_Easily be exploited_"? Total fabricated nonsensical FUD! Where's your evidence? Show us one article, just one that shows a user's "personal or professional security" was compromised because they did not disable Indexing.


The problem is easy to see. The  onus is on YOU to prove it is NOT a potential security issue or attack vector.


Bill_Bright said:


> All the data indexed is not only already on the user's computer, it is stored in the clear, and is already organized in a coherent manner - that is in the full context of the document's subject. How is that more secure?


Given what an "Index" is, how do you not understand how a catalog of both files AND their contents is not a security problem and a tempting target for an attacker? They would otherwise have to search manually and they wouldn't know what they're looking for. But a populated index has everything they might need.



Bill_Bright said:


> Show us corroborating evidence that indicates the indexed information is stored in a less secure manner, or is more easily available, exploitable, and useful to a bad guy.


No thanks. I don't need to do what common sense covers by default.

Oh, and just in case you missed it, I did say the following earlier..


lexluthermiester said:


> Unless you need it, yes, disable it.


Which directly implies that I acknowledge that some users do use and need it. There are a number of use case scenario's for the proper utilization of the index. The average user does not need it. Most gamers do not need it. It can be easily and safely disabled. Case closed, end of discussion.


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## 95Viper (Jul 21, 2022)

DIscuss the topic... not each other.
Stop the constant bickering.
Discuss the topic civilly.


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## Mussels (Jul 21, 2022)

rafik2019 said:


> I usually remove/disable stuff from installation iso, services, windows update, defender etc. because its useless for me, all that crap just sit in memory.
> Use MSMG Toolking and NTLite(I use both for installation media).
> Ah and dont use windows11 its cancer, get windows 10 LTSC.


The last sentence just reduces your credibility, 11 is a great OS for people who just let it do its thing. It works, and has a LOT of features lacking in 10 (I just went back to 10 to test some performance issues with icue and LGS, and god it was horrible. So many things 11 has changed and improved that you just don't notice until you go back)

While it can break things, i definitely used to run debloated XP and win7 back in the day.
If you're willing to put in the effort to strip those things out and re-do it every time you get an OS update, you can definitely save a lot of RAM and disk space... my custom-made XP ISO ran at 90MB of RAM usage.


When cutting 3.5GB of memory usage from not using bloated apps gained me an entire 1FPS to my 99% average, i feel like debloating the OS itself will make even less difference, sadly.


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## Frick (Jul 21, 2022)

The Good Old Days when you had to turn off everything not required to run the computer to have enough memory for Diablo 2 to load.


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## ThrashZone (Jul 21, 2022)

Hi,
Whole lot of bickering over turning off indexing 
Clearly search still works with indexing off so not sure what the core issue is, ssd's even sata are fast and don't need it period


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## lexluthermiester (Jul 21, 2022)

Mussels said:


> So many things 11 has changed and improved that you just don't notice until you go back


This!


Mussels said:


> my custom-made XP ISO ran at 90MB of RAM usage


That's impressive!


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## ExcuseMeWtf (Jul 21, 2022)

Mussels said:


> If you cant trust windows, don't use it.
> 
> The end.


Let me know how that works out next time you learn about critical vulnerability discovered in any Windows component


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## LFaWolf (Jul 21, 2022)

80251 said:


> I wondered about that too, if malware can access whatever file(s) are holding the index of contents of files it might be easier to find out what files are interesting and maybe see the contents of said files just by hacking the indexing service or the indexing files themselves.


If malware got hold of your index database, you are already done. Most malware nowadays don’t care about the contents of your files, but more interested in encrypting them and asking you for ransom - hence the name ransomware.


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## Bill_Bright (Jul 21, 2022)

80251 said:


> I wondered about that too, if malware can access whatever file(s) are holding the index of contents of files it might be easier to find out what files are interesting and maybe see the contents of said files just by hacking the indexing service or the indexing files themselves.


Why would they waste their time? Bad guys are lazy opportunist. 


LFaWolf said:


> If malware got hold of your index database, you are already done.


Exactly. 

If a bad guy already managed to get past your router, your firewall, your antimalware solution, why waste their time with an Index database? They already have direct access to everything on your disk - including your contacts, browser history and a whole lot more than they can glean from the Index database. If they already have gained that level of access, you have already been totally compromised and you have a much more serious issue to deal with than than Indexing. 

Don't fall for the FUD.


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## plastiscɧ (Jul 21, 2022)

Good and valid arguments on all sides; pro and contra indexing.

MS has, however, when I read through the faq, its own reading that combines all the contra arguments in itself.

or would like to combine....







https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/search-indexing-in-windows-10-faq-<<<<< source

If you use it I would suggest, tip on its fingers and adjust it. i guess that helps instead of thinking: "All for good, go on..!"
Make it YOUR tool not their (in case of open telemetry, maybe).


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## 80251 (Jul 22, 2022)

I don't know if I like the idea of an MS OS indexing my files and their contents.


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## LFaWolf (Jul 22, 2022)

80251 said:


> I don't know if I like the idea of an MS OS indexing my files and their contents.


Then go ahead and turn it off, and ask the mod to lock this thread. There is no need to convince you otherwise.


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## Mussels (Jul 22, 2022)

ExcuseMeWtf said:


> Let me know how that works out next time you learn about critical vulnerability discovered in any Windows component


Oh sure, disabling telemetry or indexing will absolutely fix that.



80251 said:


> I don't know if I like the idea of an MS OS indexing my files and their contents.


Then dont use an MS OS.
Or any antivirus.
Or ever open those files.

That level of paranoia is not helpful.

Either you're doing something that needs to be secure - in which case it needs to be on an airgapped, offline PC - or you're just wasting time on paranoia.


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## 80251 (Jul 22, 2022)

Secure Linux is the safer alternative to any windoze OS. I'd trust practically any *ix OS to index my file content, but MS? The whole idea is laughable. If it wasn't for gaming, I wouldn't have an MS OS on any of my boxes.


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## Solaris17 (Jul 22, 2022)

80251 said:


> I'd trust practically any *ix OS to index my file content, but MS? The whole idea is laughable.





> Where is the index information stored?​All data gathered from indexing is stored locally on your PC. None of it is sent to any other computer or to Microsoft. However, apps you install on your PC may be able to read the data in the index, so be careful with what you install and make sure you trust the source.








						Search indexing in Windows 10: FAQ - Microsoft Support
					

Get answers to questions about how indexing affects searches in Windows 10.




					support.microsoft.com
				




wack, I can install apps on linux that read log files and can scan my FS all the time. Time to boycott suse, redhat, canonical because %reasons%.


I think this has gone on long enough now. Im sure the OP has enough information to do whatever he wants at this point, and everyone else appears to be too bored to give a damn what the needs were to being with.


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