Indexes getting destroyed

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Somehow, the indexes on my Win7Pro, fairly up to date, are getting destroyed. SEARCH no longer turns up files I know are there, in fact SEARCH  in windows explorer turns up nothing no matter what you are searching for or where. Going into the index options and forcing a rebuild works for a while, then the indexes somehow get dysfunctional and search no longer works.  What could be destroying these indexes? I have tried system file check, a defrag (which you’d think would have to rebuild the indexes but doesn’t) and swept the system and no virus or malware seems present.  I don’t know what else to do.  Anyone out there that understands the ins and outs of the indexing system and why this might be happening? I surely appreciate some knowledgeable help.

Win7Pro, I5 CPU, 8Gb RAM, SSD boot drive, external 4Tb SSD storage

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In Explorer, in the left pane, highlight C: drive
On the View tab, OptionChange folder and search options.
On the Search tab, there are settings for indexing behavior.

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I found the ‘view’ tab  but no search settings when I highlighted the C: drive and tried right and left clicking on it. No search options or index items were seen.

 

Win7Pro, I5 CPU, 8Gb RAM, SSD boot drive, external 4Tb SSD storage

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You didn’t follow the instructions.
1. Highlight C: in the left pane of Explorer (first step – do this first)
2. On the View Tab of Explorer, on the right side. click on “Options” then “Change folder and search options.” This is in Explorer. (second step do this second)
3. When you click on “Change folder options,” a box pops up. Click on the “Search tab” of that box. There are settings for Search. (third step)

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Quick way to get to the Search Tab.

Press Windows + R to open the Run window, enter the following command control.exe folders and press enter.

This will open the File Explorer Options window with the General tab selected.

Select the Search tab and make whatever changes you want (the above image shows the “default” search settings.)

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Endora

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Caribconsult wrote:

SEARCH no longer turns up files I know are there

Use the free portable instant results Everything. No indexing needed.

2 users thanked author for this post.

Caribconsult, Endora

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Thanks for the tip. “Everything” works well. My indexing comes and goes and I’m lost as to what to change or remove…computer works well in all other aspects.

Win7Pro, I5 CPU, 8Gb RAM, SSD boot drive, external 4Tb SSD storage

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Do you also use CCleaner? If yes, then in CCleaner under Applications, clear the check box for MS Search. This is what fixed the issue for me on all of my Windows 7 computers.

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Endora

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I will try that. Although, I’ve been using CCleaner for years and haven’t run into this index/search issue before. But as I noted, the indexes seem to be remaining intact, and search is running. Thanks for the tip and the contribution of knowledge here.

Win7Pro, I5 CPU, 8Gb RAM, SSD boot drive, external 4Tb SSD storage

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LATEST UPDATE:  Indexes seem to be remaining in tact, not sure what has changed other than a good cleanout, defrag, system file check, s**tware scan, etc. But search now continues to work consistently. Thanks to everyone who contributed here.

Win7Pro, I5 CPU, 8Gb RAM, SSD boot drive, external 4Tb SSD storage

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LAST UPDATE: Indexes are still getting destroyed, search functions extremely erratically, and so I tried poster Alex’s suggestion above,  to use “Everything” as a search engine and it does work. I really don’t have the time or desire to dig deeper into what in the devil’s name happened to my installation…this used  to work impeccably and I haven’t installed anything new recently. A ‘repair’ install may be in order, or revert to a saved restore point. Again, thank you to all who contributed here.

Win7Pro, I5 CPU, 8Gb RAM, SSD boot drive, external 4Tb SSD storage

1 user thanked author for this post.

Endora

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