This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable the search indexer backoff feature in Windows 10 and Windows 11.
Search Indexing in Windows improves the speed and efficiency of searches by creating an index of files and their properties on your device. This index allows Windows to quickly locate and retrieve the information you need.
Indexing is the process of looking at files, email messages, and other content on your PC and cataloging their information, such as the words and metadata in them. When you search your PC after indexing, it looks at an index of terms to find results faster.
When you first run indexing, it can take up to a couple hours to complete. After that, indexing will run in the background on your PC as you use it, only re-indexing updated data.
By default, the indexer backoff feature will use logic to reduce indexing speed when user or system activity is high, and will automatically continue at full speed when activity is not high.
If the search indexer backoff feature is disabled, indexing will continue at full speed even when user or system activity is high.
Reference:
Search indexing in Windows | Microsoft Support
Learn more about how indexing affects searches in Windows.
support.microsoft.com
You must be signed in as an administrator to enable or disable the search indexer backoff feature.
Contents
- Option One: Enable or Disable Search Indexer Backoff in Local Group Policy Editor
- Option Two: Enable or Disable Search Indexer Backoff using REG file
EXAMPLE: Search indexer backoff feature enabled and disabled
The Local Group Policy Editor is only available in the Windows 10/11 Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions.
All editions can use Option Two to configure the same policy.
1 Open the Local Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc).
2 Navigate to the policy location below in the left pane of the Local Group Policy Editor. (see screenshot below step 3)
Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Search
3 In the right pane of Search in the Local Group Policy Editor, double click/tap on the Disable indexer backoff policy to edit it. (see screenshot below)
4 Do step 5 (enable) or step 6 (disable) below for what you want.
5 Enable Search Indexer Backoff
This is the default setting.
A) Select (dot) Not Configured. (see screenshot below)
B) Click/tap on OK, and go to step 7 below.
6 Disable Search Indexer Backoff
A) Select (dot) Enabled. (see screenshot below)
B) Click/tap on OK, and go to step 7 below.
7 You can now close the Local Group Policy Editor if you like.
1 Do step 2 (enable) or step 3 (disable) below for what you want.
2 Enable Search Indexer Backoff
This is the default setting.
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.
Enable_search_indexer_backoff_feature.reg
Download
(Contents of REG file for reference)
Code:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Search]
"DisableBackoff"=-3 Disable Search Indexer Backoff
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.
Disable_search_indexer_backoff_feature.reg
Download
(Contents of REG file for reference)
Code:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Search]
"DisableBackoff"=dword:000000014 Save the .reg file to your desktop.
5 If you have Smart App Control turned on, you will need to unblock the downloaded REG file.
6 Double click/tap on the downloaded .reg file to merge it.
7 When prompted, click/tap on Run, Yes (UAC), Yes, and OK to approve the merge.
8 You can now delete the downloaded .reg file if you like.
That's it,
Shawn Brink
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