6 Ways to Fix Slow Search on Windows 11

Pankil is a Civil Engineer turned freelance writer. Since his arrival at Guiding Tech in 2021, he delves into the world of how-tos, and troubleshooting guides for Android, iOS, and Windows. Besides his new-found love for mechanical keyboards, he’s a disciplined footfall fan and loves international travel with his wife.

Fix 1: Restart the Windows Search Service

The Windows Searchservice is a small programthat provides search results for files, mail, and other important content. If this service encounters a problem, the search tool may not function properly. Here’s what you can do to fix it.

Step 1:Press theWindows key + Rto launch the Run command, typeservices.msc, and pressEnter.

Step 2:In the Services window, scroll down to locateWindows Search. Right-click on it and selectRestart.

Fix 2: Restart Windows Explorer

Windows Explorer is a process that provides a graphical interface for the Start menu, Taskbar, and File Explorer. If this process malfunctions, the search tool may take longer than expected to fetch results. In most cases,restarting Windows Explorerwill help you fix it.

Step 1:PressCtrl + Shift + Escon your keyboard to launch the Task Manager.

Step 2:In the Processes tab, locate and right-click onWindows Explorerand selectRestart.

Several users on aMicrosoft Community postreported resolving the slow Windows search problem in Windows 11 by excluding Office files stored online from their searches. You can also try it.

Step 1:Press theWindows key + Sto open the search menu. Typefile explorer optionsin the box and hitEnter.

Step 2:Under the General tab, uncheck theShow files from Office.combox. Then, hitApply, followed byOK.

Fix 4: Disable Web Search in the Start Menu

The Windows Search tool allows you to scour the web directly from the Taskbar, in addition to your apps, files, and other documents. However, this feature can also slow down your PC or sometimes cause Windows to crash. Hence, trydisabling web search in the Start Menuto see if that improves the situation.

Step 1:Press theWindows key + Rto launch the Run dialog box. Typeregeditin the box and pressEnter.

Step 2:Copy and paste the following path into the address bar to navigate to the Windows key:

Step 3:Right-click on theWindows registrykey, pickNew, and selectKey. Name itExplorer.

Step 4:Right-click onExplorer, selectNew, and chooseDWORD (32-bit) Value. Name itDisableSearchBoxSuggestions.

Step 5:Double-click on the newly created DWORD, change the value data to1, and hitOK.

Restart your PC to see if the search tool can fetch results faster.

Fix 5: Modify Indexing Options

Indexing your PC’s contents allows Windows to locate your files faster. However, if you don’t frequently search for files and folders in a particular drive, excluding them from the indexing list can speed up the process.

Step 1:Press theWindows key + Ito launch the Settings app. Select thePrivacy & securitytab from the left column and pickSearching Windows.

Step 2:Scroll down to click onAdvanced indexing options.

Step 3:ClickModify.

Step 4:In the Indexing Locations window, uncheck the folders or drives you want to exclude and hitOK.

Fix 6: Rebuild the Windows Search Index

Lastly, if the search on Windows is still slow, there might be anissue with the search index libraryon your PC. Try rebuilding the index from scratch. Depending on the number of files being indexed, this process may take a few hours to complete.

Step 1:Press theWindows key + Sto open the search menu, typeindexing options, and pressEnter.

Step 2:ClickAdvanced.

Step 3:Hit theRebuildbutton under Troubleshooting.

Wait for Windows to complete the indexing process. Again, this may take a while, but you can continue using your PC.

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Last updated on 03 July, 2024

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