How to Fix Windows “Indexing Is Paused” Error

Indexing can help you find something quickly on your computer, like an email message or a document. With indexing, you can look for anything on your hard drive, from photos and documents to music and videos. But Windows 11 still has problems that Windows 10 had, and “Indexing is paused” is one of those problems. Users said that one day they noticed that File Explorer searches no longer found anything, even though they knew the files were there. This is very annoying because users have to look for files on their own.

Many people had to re-index their files, which usually takes a long time (depending on the size of the storage drive and how much it is filled). When people used Windows 11 and got the message “Indexing is paused,” they said they couldn’t turn the feature back on at all, which made the PC almost useless. Most of the time, it’s easy to fix the problem of search not working because indexing is paused. For example, many users were able to fix the problem by making sure the right services were set up.

Ways to Fix Windows “Indexing Is Paused” Error

Restart the Search Service

Since this error is directly related to the Search service in Windows 11, the first thing you should do is restart the service using the Windows Services utility. Windows Services is a built-in utility that lists all the services installed on your system along with their status and startup type. It may happen that a certain function stops working in Windows 11 because there is a problem with the corresponding service (it could be disabled or stuck). In such cases, the most effective solution is to restart the service. To do this, perform the following steps:

1. Press Win + R simultaneously to open Run.
2. Type services.msc in the text field of the Run dialog and press Enter.
3. Once you are in the Services window, locate Windows Search and right–click on it.
4. Select Properties from the context menu.
5. Expand the Startup Type drop-down menu and select Automatic (delayed startup).
6. Then click the Start button and click OK.
7. If the service is already running, click the Stop button and then restart the service.

Perform a System Restore

1. Press the Windows key.
2. In the search console, type restore.
3. When you see the Create a restore point option, click Open.
4. In the System Properties dialog box, click System Restore.
5. Select an automatic restore point provided by Windows, or if you have previously created restore points manually, you can select those as well.
6. Click Next and follow the further instructions on the screen to perform System Restore.

Run the Search and Indexing Troubleshooter

Microsoft builds a number of troubleshooting tools into every version of Windows that can be useful in situations like this. If you use Windows and sometimes have problems with your system, you probably already know about the SFC and DISM utilities. Windows also comes with its own set of troubleshooters, such as one for audio, one for Windows updates, one for the network, one for power, one for indexing, one for keyboard problems, and so on. If the Search service is working properly, you can try to fix the problem by running the Search and Indexing troubleshooter. Reports say that Microsoft is already aware of the indexing problems that Windows 11 users are having and has already made automated fixes that you can use with the troubleshooter.

1. Press the Win + I keys simultaneously to open the Windows settings.
2. Select System in the left pane and click Troubleshoot on the right.
3. Select Other troubleshooting.
4. In the next window, scroll down to the Other section and click the Run button associated with Search and Index.
5. Then, in the dialog box that appears, select the problems you have and click Next.
6. The troubleshooter will then start searching for possible problems. If problems are found, you have the option to apply the recommended solution or skip it.
7. Select Apply this solution.

Rebuild Search Index

1. Launch the Control Panel and type Indexing in the search menu.
2. Click Indexing Options in the search results.
3. In the following dialog, click the Advanced button at the bottom.
4. In the Advanced Options dialog box, click the Create New button.
5. Click OK. Windows will now start rebuilding the indexing.

Force Outlook to Use Built-in Search

1. Press Win + R to open the Run dialog box.
2. Type regedit in the text box of the dialog and press Enter.
3. In the Registry Editor, navigate to the following location.
4. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREPoliciesMicrosoftWindows
5. Right-click the Windows key and select New > Key from the context menu.
6. Name this key as Windows Search. Then double–click on it.
7. Now right-click an empty area in the right pane and choose New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
8. Rename this value to PreventIndexingOutlook.
9. Double-click PreventIndexingOutlook and enter 1 under Value data.
10. Click OK and then close the registry editor.
11. Then restart your PC. After restarting, start Outlook and check if you can use the search function without any problems.

RUN SFC AND DISM SCAN

1. Press the Windows + X key combination to bring up the Quick Link menu and select the Windows Terminal (Admin) option from the list.
2. Paste the below command and press Enter.

Tweak the Registry

1. Press the Windows + R keys to open Run.
2. Type regedit and select “OK”.
3. Click “Yes” to grant administrator rights and continue.
4. Paste the following address into the navigation bar:
5. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREPoliciesMicrosoftWindows.
6. Press “Windows Search” on the left and then double-click “PreventIndexingOutlook” on the right.
7. If you don’t have “Windows Search”, you can create it by right-clicking on “Windows -> Edit -> New -> Key“. Name it accordingly and then create the “PreventIndexingOutlook” value by right-clicking on an empty field in the menu on the right and selecting “New -> DWORD Value (32-bit)”.
8. After creation, double-click it to change the “Base” to “Hexadecimal” and the “Value Data” to “1”, and then click “OK“.
9. Restart the computer.

What is Indexing

In Windows, indexing is the process of saving information about files, such as their content, metadata, dates, etc., so that when a user searches for something, the operating system can “look up” the information. When you use the Search Box, Cortana, or the Start Menu to do a search, Windows pulls similar results from the data that has been catalogued (indexed) and shows them to you. If some information hasn’t been indexed, it won’t show up in search results.

Your computer is always indexing, unless you stop it or put it on hold. This is because files and folders that need to be catalogued are always changing. When you install Windows for the first time, it takes a while for the PC to organize the first data. After that, the data is only indexed if it has changed.

Final Words

We hope like our article on How to Fix Windows “Indexing Is Paused” Error. Search Indexing is an important part of the Windows 11/10 OS. It makes sure that users can find files and folders when they try to find them. Without indexing, Windows search will be much slower because files will have to be looked for in real time, and the process will have to be done over and over again for each search. In Windows Settings, you may sometimes see the message “Indexing has been temporarily paused.” If you do and want to know what happened, this post can help.