Enjoying Windows Indexing Service,
But Not Sacrificing Performance

Contributed by Jay Schroyer

Nothing is worse than knowing you have a file on your computer that you need, but you can’t for the life of you remember where you saved it. You can’t remember what you called it, but you can remember the perfect paragraph you wrote in the center of it almost verbatim. If only you could find it. You’ve tried the Windows search option numerous times, but to no avail. Is this file lost forever? Not if you know how to activate the Windows Indexing Service.

Windows Indexing Service, or WIS for our purposes here, is a standard feature on Windows 2000 and XP that you need to activate if you would like to enable one of the most powerful computer search programs available. Like a library card catalogue for your computer, when activated, WIS will read through your entire hard drive and catalogue every available file to make searching and locating lost or forgotten files a snap. Part of what makes it so powerful is that it not only catalogues the files themselves, but also the file properties. So if you have an idea of the date the program it was created in, or its creator, it makes the lost file that much easier to find.

As with any convenience, there is a downside to activating WIS. WIS uses a fairly large amount of disk space and can eat away at the available processing speed of your computer. If you’re cataloguing 300 megabytes of info, WIS will use up approximately 90 megabytes of storage space and 30% of your processes. Like any resource-hogging machine, there are ways to fine-tune WIS so that you can still enjoy the pros, but not experience so much of the cons. The following will walk you through how to activate WIS and how to control its greedy appetite.

Enabling WIS is a very simple task for Windows 2000. Start with, ah; you guessed it, the “Start” button. Choose “Settings” and then “Control Panel.” Double-click on “Administrative Tools” to reveal a list of options. You will want to choose “Computer Management.” This launches a split window that features a collapsible and expandable file tree. Choose “Services and Applications” and you’ll see another menu appear in the right side of the window. Double-click on “Indexing Service” and you’re off. Your disk drive will sound like it’s going into overdrive, but this is just WIS reading all of your files and recording the contents and properties into its memory to create an extensive catalogue. You will not need to turn WIS on or off whenever you start or shut down your computer. It keeps a constant watch over your files and automatically updates any changes that you make to the catalogued files.

So now you’ve got WIS running. How do you fine-tune it to prevent a loss of operating speed? Go back to the “Start” button and proceed in this order: “Settings,” “Control Panel,” “Administrative Tools,” “Computer Management,” then click the expand branch plus sign in front of “Services and Applications.” Right-click with the mouse on the “Indexing Service” graphic and choose “All Tasks” then “Tune Performance.” This option will allow you to control how often WIS updates and how fast it performs when it does update which will limit the use of computer resources all at one time. You can’t rob Peter to pay Paul without expecting some recourse, so don’t be surprised if WIS is now slower to respond or utilize. But with these changes, you should be able to use the full force of WIS without slowing your computer down too much.

For many, this information is a lot to swallow. To learn more about how search programs work you can access a basic computer tutorial that will explain to you how search engines work and even compare the differences and similarities with WIS. Or, if you’re more interested in learning about other ways of speeding up your machine and other various help tips for Windows XP, check the owner’s manual or the Microsoft web site.

A convenience for others is sometimes a hindrance for you. Another great thing about WIS is that if you give it a try and decide that it just takes up too much memory and processor speed, you can deactivate it, returning your computer back to the previous bliss you once enjoyed. If the regular search option for Windows doesn’t suit you, you can also try a desktop indexing and search program from Google that is free for download. You’ll find that the more you learn about your computer, the more pleasant your computing experience will become and that most of the tools you need are lying dormant on your computer.

Windows and Microsoft are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries.

About the Author:
Jay Schroyer has worked in the client and customer service end of business for over five years in retail, advertising, and printing. He holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in English writing and communication.

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