The search function in the Start menu is so handy that we cannot live without it. When the search function suddenly does not find any files that you know are actually on your PC, there is usually a problem with indexing. Microsoft has recently released a diagnostic tool to solve this problem.
Diagnostic tool
Windows uses indexing to get to the right content on your PC faster. This is a process where the system searches and catalogs the files, emails and content. When you search after everything has been indexed, the system will look in the database of terms to get the correct results faster. Indexer Diagnostics is a free tool from Microsoft that can help you understand and troubleshoot the indexing process. This is a beta release; so it is possible that there are still some loose ends. You download the tool from the Microsoft Store, start it and give it administrator access.
Does indexing work?
Click through the various tabs in the left pane to view information about the indexing service. below Service Status you can track how many items have been indexed and how many files have been indexed in the last hour, 24 hours, and week. It is comforting when you reach the bottom right Windows Search service status the announcement Running see.
Reset
If the search engine doesn’t work, use the tab Search is not working. In that case you work in steps. You start with the button Restart, to restart the Windows search service. If the index is in bad shape, you better rebuild it with the button Reset. That will take a few minutes.
If the search skips a certain file, click the button Is my file indexed? Then browse to the file you want Windows to find spontaneously and click on Verify. Windows will then tell you if the file is found in the search index and if not, why the search indexer ignores it. For example, it is possible that this file is excluded from indexing. In What is being indexed? you can see the paths to the content that is excluded from indexing and you can adjust that here too. Or you can adjust this with the program Indexing options that is in the system.
