How To Customize Windows 10 Search And Indexing (2020)

Step By Step Instructions

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Lesson Summary:

This lesson can be found within my book 27 Amazing Windows 10 Performance Boosting Tips: A Complete Visual Guide For Beginners, Intermediates & Experts. The goal of this lesson is to teach the user How To Customize Windows 10 Search And Indexing in 2020, This lesson is performed using a complete visual guide. First, we will assess the primary skill one user will obtain through the lesson. Second, a brief risk analysis of how the lesson can impact system performance and security. Finally, we conclude with learning why this particular lesson is important.

Skills Obtained In This Lesson:

Risk Analysis Of This Lesson:

Why Learning How To Customize Windows 10 Search And Indexing (2020) Is Important:

Does Windows Ship With Optimal Search Indexing Settings?

The Microsoft Windows operating system does not ship with the most optimal search indexing settings. Unfortunately, right out of the box, they only index the user’s folder, start menu, Internet Explorer, and an uncommonly used boot folder. The reason this is quite disappointing is that the search functionality is one of the best features of the Windows operating system. To start so limited is, to be frank, a disservice to most users who use the operating system. This injustice is why optimizing Windows 10 search performance is extremely critical. 

If you are like me, the first place you go when looking for files is with the search bar. Failing to find the files you’re looking for can be extremely frustrating. Thankfully, Windows gives us complete control over what gets indexed by our search. For example, I’m merely going to index the entire C drive. Indexing the entire C drive isn’t likely the best decision for most users. Many of you already know what folders you would like included in your search. In my case, I don’t have a whole lot of extra files on the virtual machine I am utilizing here. 

Why Not Index The Entire Windows C Drive?

The reason indexing the entire C drive is not the best idea is because the more files indexed, the longer it takes for search results. So the ideal solution is finding the perfect balance between file locations and the number of files in those locations. The ideal setup optimizing Windows 10 search performance is to manually go in and select the individual folders to use in the search index. The narrower one can search, the better. This way, Windows is not managing tens of thousands of files every time a request is made.  

Another reason to avoid index in the entire C drive is that users also probably wouldn’t want system files commingled with their standard files. While this tip may not come across as a Windows optimization technique, it’s important to remember that I pair user experience with speed. In other words, I am willing to make the computer work harder if it dramatically improves the Windows user experience.  

Optimizing user experience is why computers exist. If the computer is not customized how to do the heavy lifting specific to you, then how can it possibly help you? Windows ships with the most commonly beneficial features and settings. Only the user can tweak those features in settings to maximize their benefit.