Windows Search Indexing keeps restarting from scratch after reboot in Windows 11


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jacobacci

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Windows 11 25H2
A complete Windows index on my Win 11 24H2 machine has around 500'000 items. Every now and then I notice that search becomes extremely hit and miss. When I look at the indexing status, I notice that Windows has restarted indexing from scratch. After indexing is complete (which can take several days), search works normally - until Windows decides to restart indexing from scratch again.
This makes search practically unusable on my machine.
I have disabled indexing backoff.
Is there anything I can do to fix this (clearly not working as designed) behaviour?
 
Windows Build/Version
Win 11 24H2 26100.6584

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 25H2i7-12700FCORSAIR Vengeance LPX - DDR4 - kit - 32 GB: 2...NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
OS
Windows 11 25H2
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
MSI
CPU
i7-12700F
Motherboard
MSI PRO B660-A DDR4
Memory
CORSAIR Vengeance LPX - DDR4 - kit - 32 GB: 2 x 16 GB
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
Sound Card
onboard
Monitor(s) Displays
ASUS PA32UCX
Screen Resolution
3840x2160
Hard Drives
ADATA SP900
AVAGO MR9361-8i SCSI with 3x Exos X20
PSU
Corsair RM650X
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Fractal Design Define R5 Blackout Edition
Cooling
Noctua CPU and Case Fans
Keyboard
Unicomp Model M
Mouse
Logitech MX Master
Internet Speed
1Gb/s
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MS Edge
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Microsoft Defender
Try this tutorial:
www.elevenforum.com

Repair Windows Search and Index in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to repair the Search Engine feature for Windows Search and search indexing in Windows 10 and Windows 11. You can use Windows Search to find your apps, files, settings, help, and more on Windows—plus unlock the power of the web with quick access to online...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11
OS
Windows 11
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Custom Built
I'd suggest disabling Window indexing & search and using Everything instead: voidtools
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

W11
OS
W11
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
2 HP Desktops, 1 Dell Desktop, 2 Dell XPS Laptops, 1 HP Laptop
Keyboard
Logitech
Mouse
Logitech MX Master 4 & 3
Internet Speed
500 mps
Browser
Firefox
Antivirus
Bitdefender
Thanks @pepanee
Disabling SearchEngine-Client-Package worked. Then did a restart.
but
dism /Online /Enable-Feature /FeatureName:"SearchEngine-Client-Package"
gave the following result:

Code: 
C:\Windows\System32>dism /Online /Enable-Feature /FeatureName:"SearchEngine-Client-Package"

Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool
Version: 10.0.26100.5074

Image Version: 10.0.26100.6584


Error: 0x800f080c

Feature name SearchEngine-Client-Package is unknown.
A Windows feature name was not recognized.
Use the /Get-Features option to find the name of the feature in the image and try the command again.

The DISM log file can be found at C:\WINDOWS\Logs\DISM\dism.log

After a few tries, the enable command worked, but there was no prompt to restart the computer.
The dism.log does not show any entries with the correct timestamp.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 25H2i7-12700FCORSAIR Vengeance LPX - DDR4 - kit - 32 GB: 2...NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
OS
Windows 11 25H2
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
MSI
CPU
i7-12700F
Motherboard
MSI PRO B660-A DDR4
Memory
CORSAIR Vengeance LPX - DDR4 - kit - 32 GB: 2 x 16 GB
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
Sound Card
onboard
Monitor(s) Displays
ASUS PA32UCX
Screen Resolution
3840x2160
Hard Drives
ADATA SP900
AVAGO MR9361-8i SCSI with 3x Exos X20
PSU
Corsair RM650X
Case
Fractal Design Define R5 Blackout Edition
Cooling
Noctua CPU and Case Fans
Keyboard
Unicomp Model M
Mouse
Logitech MX Master
Internet Speed
1Gb/s
Browser
MS Edge
Antivirus
Microsoft Defender
allan said:
I'd suggest disabling Window indexing & search and using Everything instead: voidtools
Click to expand...
It doesn't look like Everything can search Outlook pst files, which is a must for me.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 25H2i7-12700FCORSAIR Vengeance LPX - DDR4 - kit - 32 GB: 2...NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
OS
Windows 11 25H2
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
MSI
CPU
i7-12700F
Motherboard
MSI PRO B660-A DDR4
Memory
CORSAIR Vengeance LPX - DDR4 - kit - 32 GB: 2 x 16 GB
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
Sound Card
onboard
Monitor(s) Displays
ASUS PA32UCX
Screen Resolution
3840x2160
Hard Drives
ADATA SP900
AVAGO MR9361-8i SCSI with 3x Exos X20
PSU
Corsair RM650X
Case
Fractal Design Define R5 Blackout Edition
Cooling
Noctua CPU and Case Fans
Keyboard
Unicomp Model M
Mouse
Logitech MX Master
Internet Speed
1Gb/s
Browser
MS Edge
Antivirus
Microsoft Defender
I disable indexing and just use XYplorer for searching.
I like that I can search for contents in the file to find the file if I can not remember the exact file name but remember some of the words in the file.
I have paid lifetime but their is a free version.

Screenshot 2025-10-07 120804.webp
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 Pro
OS
Windows 11 Pro
jacobacci said:
It doesn't look like Everything can search Outlook pst files, which is a must for me.
Click to expand...
Set indexing to just index Outlook and use Everything for all searches except Outlook
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

W11
OS
W11
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
2 HP Desktops, 1 Dell Desktop, 2 Dell XPS Laptops, 1 HP Laptop
Keyboard
Logitech
Mouse
Logitech MX Master 4 & 3
Internet Speed
500 mps
Browser
Firefox
Antivirus
Bitdefender

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 Home x64 Version 25H2 Build 26200....
OS
Windows 11 Home x64 Version 25H2 Build 26200.8037
Thanks guys for all your tips. I will look at those 3rd party search engines. For the time being I have put together a "indexing deep reset" batch from several web sources and things seem back to normal for windows indexing. The batch needs to be run as admin.

Code: 
Sc config wsearch start=disabled
Net stop wsearch
REG ADD "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Search" /v SetupCompletedSuccessfully /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
del %PROGRAMDATA%\Microsoft\Search\Data\Applications\Windows\Windows.db
Sc config wsearch start=delayed-auto
Net start wsearch
pause

The batch removes Outlook from indexing locations, so at the end I need to add Outlook to the search locations. In Outlook set this in File / Options / Search and then Outlook reappears as an indexing location in indexing options.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 25H2i7-12700FCORSAIR Vengeance LPX - DDR4 - kit - 32 GB: 2...NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
OS
Windows 11 25H2
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
MSI
CPU
i7-12700F
Motherboard
MSI PRO B660-A DDR4
Memory
CORSAIR Vengeance LPX - DDR4 - kit - 32 GB: 2 x 16 GB
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
Sound Card
onboard
Monitor(s) Displays
ASUS PA32UCX
Screen Resolution
3840x2160
Hard Drives
ADATA SP900
AVAGO MR9361-8i SCSI with 3x Exos X20
PSU
Corsair RM650X
Case
Fractal Design Define R5 Blackout Edition
Cooling
Noctua CPU and Case Fans
Keyboard
Unicomp Model M
Mouse
Logitech MX Master
Internet Speed
1Gb/s
Browser
MS Edge
Antivirus
Microsoft Defender
I always recommend Everything as an alternative to the native Windows search to pretty much everyone. Results are instantaneous, it's lightweight, it works with all recent Windows versions, and it's free.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

W11
OS
W11
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
2 HP Desktops, 1 Dell Desktop, 2 Dell XPS Laptops, 1 HP Laptop
Keyboard
Logitech
Mouse
Logitech MX Master 4 & 3
Internet Speed
500 mps
Browser
Firefox
Antivirus
Bitdefender
jacobacci said:
Code: 
C:\Windows\System32>dism /Online /Enable-Feature /FeatureName:"SearchEngine-Client-Package"

Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool
Version: 10.0.26100.5074

Image Version: 10.0.26100.6584


Error: 0x800f080c

Feature name SearchEngine-Client-Package is unknown.
A Windows feature name was not recognized.
Use the /Get-Features option to find the name of the feature in the image and try the command again.

The DISM log file can be found at C:\WINDOWS\Logs\DISM\dism.log
Click to expand...
The issue seems to have been that I used the commands in a batch file. Using them in an elevated PowerShell7 box (without any quotes in the command) works reliably.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 25H2i7-12700FCORSAIR Vengeance LPX - DDR4 - kit - 32 GB: 2...NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
OS
Windows 11 25H2
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
MSI
CPU
i7-12700F
Motherboard
MSI PRO B660-A DDR4
Memory
CORSAIR Vengeance LPX - DDR4 - kit - 32 GB: 2 x 16 GB
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
Sound Card
onboard
Monitor(s) Displays
ASUS PA32UCX
Screen Resolution
3840x2160
Hard Drives
ADATA SP900
AVAGO MR9361-8i SCSI with 3x Exos X20
PSU
Corsair RM650X
Case
Fractal Design Define R5 Blackout Edition
Cooling
Noctua CPU and Case Fans
Keyboard
Unicomp Model M
Mouse
Logitech MX Master
Internet Speed
1Gb/s
Browser
MS Edge
Antivirus
Microsoft Defender
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