How to enable and disable search. Indexing in Windows 10 and 11 search on Windows is powerful, but it doesn't have to slow down your system. Let's walk through how to enable and disable search indexing in Windows 10 and 11 using multiple methods. Before we begin, be sure to subscribe to Ninja One's IT Video Hub and our YouTube channel for more tech content like this. If you're using Windows 10 or 11 and want to fine tune your system's performance, managing search indexing can make a real difference. Indexing is what lets windows search your files quickly. It creates a database of file details, names, paths, and even metadata, so the system doesn't need to scan your drives from scratch every time. Disabling search indexing temporarily. Let's start with how to pause indexing. If you're noticing a slowdown, open your settings app on Windows 11. Navigate to privacy and security Searching Windows on Windows 10, go to search searching windows. Scroll down and click on advanced indexing options. Then select pause. Keep in mind this only stops indexing temporarily, usually for about 15 minutes, permanently disabling indexing via services. For a more permanent approach, press win plus R type services dot msc and hit enter. Scroll to window search, right click it and select Stop to keep it disabled. After a reboot, go to properties and set startup type to disabled. This will affect search from the start menu task bar, and even apps like Outlook. So be aware of the trade-offs enabling indexing to turn indexing back on. Revisit the services manager. Set the startup type to automatic delayed start. Then click start Advanced configuration tips. You can also customize what gets indexed return to advanced indexing options. Click modify to choose folders that are indexed. Click advanced. Then go to the file types tab to limit by extension. You can even change where the index is stored or reset it to resolve issues or inaccurate results. For more information, check out our official blog post on how to enable and disable search indexing and Windows linked in the description below.