Windows Indexing service

Clarifications

I have never seen an advantage to using it. Just more stuff running in the background as far as I am concerned. It can be eliminated by disabling "Index Service" under services.

Contents and properties of files on local and remote computers; provides rapid access to files through flexible querying language.

WinKey+r --> services.msc --> and serch for "indexing service" right click it, properties, and set it to manual if you don't want it running... you dont really need it... but it can help when your PC doesnt have alot of Pics, music, and other mis. files... I always turn mine off, if that helps.

The 'supposed' advantage is that when your computer is part of a network, the Windows Indexing system will build a database of what files are available locally on your machine and across the network on all the other computers also. The intended benefits of this action is that accessing remote files should be that much quicker because the system doesn't have to go looking for where the files are located. The file indexing on your own machine is also made available to all the other machines and vice versa, therefore presumably speeding up the entire network.

However the network would have to be considerable AND frequently sharing data for the incessant indexing to be justified. In the majority of home and domestic circumstances - the indexing is an utter waste of time and processor time.

To turn it off navigate to:

Start > Run > type in [u]services.msc[.u] > scroll down the right hand list until you find 'Indexing Service'. Double click on it and, in the Startup Type box, select 'Disabled' > click on 'Apply' > click 'OK'.

Job done - no more disk thrashing while the system indexes your files. :)

I figured it was just another way for windows to be "helpful"