How To Fix Windows 11 Indexing Is Paused (File Search Not Working)

1/24/23, 10:18 AM How to Fix Windows 11 Indexing is Paused (File Search Not Working)
How to Fix Windows 11 Indexing is Paused (File

Search Not Working)
By Kamil Anwar September 27, 2022 14 minutes read
Kamil is a certified Systems Analyst
Some Windows 11 are reporting that suddenly they’re noticing

that the file search function is no longer working. Upon
investigating, they’re realized that the Indexing feature is
paused. Most affected users are reporting that they didn’t
disable the indexing feature in the first place while others are
reporting that they can’t turn the feature back on.
Indexing is paused on Windows 11
After investigating this issue thoroughly, it turns out that there

are several underlying scenarios that are commonly known for
causing this issue. Here’s a list of culprits that you should be on
a lookout for:
https://appuals.com/windows-11-indexing-is-paused/#:~:text=Indexing is paused by local,re on battery-saving mode. 1/36

Indexing glitch – As it turns out, a lot of the search

indexing problems occurring on Windows 11 are actually
happening due to an OS-specific glitch that’s related to
how Windows does file management. The vast majority of
these issues can actually be fixed by running the Search
and Indexing troubleshooter and applying the
recommended fix.
Windows Search service is disabled – Under certain

circumstances, you can expect to deal with this issue in
instances where the main service dependency required by
the Indexing feature is actually disabled. In this case, you
can fix the issue by restarting the Windows Search service.
Corrupted indexing library – According to some users

that we’re also dealing with this issue, the problem can
also be caused by a corrupted indexing library. In this
case, the only viable solution is to rebuild the entire
indexing library from scratch. But keep in mind that
depending on your storage drive type, this process might
take several hours.
Bad Windows update (KB5004567) – As it turns out, this

problem can also be caused by a bad Windows update (if
you’re using Windows 11). The KB5004567 Windows
update is often singled out for causing this type of
problem. So far, the only viable solution to deal with this
issue is to simply uninstall the problematic update and
use the Hide MS Update tool to prevent it from installing
it again (at least until Windows releases a hotfix for this
issue).

Indexing is paused by local battery-saving policy –

According to some affected users, this issue is often
created by a local group policy called ‘Prevent indexing
when running on battery power. If this policy is enabled,
the indexing function will automatically be disabled while
you’re on battery-saving mode.
Outlook-induced glitch – If you have the standalone

Outlook app installed locally, there’s a chance it ends up
conflicting with the indexing feature as some Outlook
files are forbidden from being indexed. If you’re dealing
with this type of problem, the only viable solution is to
make some registry changes that will prevent your OS
from indexing Outlook files.
Corrupted files inside the TxR folder – The TxR folder is

prone to file accumulation. Always was, and it’s the same
on Windows 11. Over time, these files could start posing
problems to the indexing feature to the point where it
freezes the functionality entirely. In this case, you should
be able to fix the problem by clearing the TxR folder and
rebooting your PC.
System file corruption – In some cases, this issue will be

entirely related to some kind of system file corruption. In
this case, you should start by checking if the System
Restore doesn’t have a restore point that allows you to
return to a state in which the issue doesn’t occur. If this
doesn’t work, you can also try running DISM and SFC
scans and as a last resort, go for a repair install or clean
install procedure.
Now that we went over every potential reason why you can
expect to see your indexing feature disabled on Windows 11,

let’s go over every potential fix that should help you fix this
problem.
Run the Search and Indexing Troubleshooter

As it turns out, the indexing feature on Windows 11 is still sort
of unreliable and prone to break in a variety of different
circumstances. The good news is that Microsoft is actually
aware of most of these issues.
Even more, Microsoft has already made a bunch of automated

fixed available for this specific scenario in which the indexing
feature stops working. You can take advantage of these fixes by
running the Search and Indexing Windows Troubleshooter and
applying the recommended fix.
This method was confirmed to be effective by a lot of affected

users, the majority of them being on the latest Windows 11
release.
Follow the instructions below to run the Search and Indexing

Troubleshooter utility on your Windows 11 computer and
apply the recommended fix:

1. Press Windows key + R to open up a Run dialog box.
2. Inside the Run text box, type ‘ms-

settings:troubleshoot’ and press Enter to open up
the Troubleshooting tab on Windows 11.
Accessing the Troubleshooter tab
3. When you’re prompted by the User Account Control

(UAC), click Yes to grant admin access.
4. Once you’re inside the initial Troubleshoot tab, click

on Other Troubleshooters from the menu on the left.
Access the Other Troubleshooters tab

5. Once you’re inside the Other Troubleshooters tab, scroll all

the way down to the Other section, then click
the Run button associated with Search and Indexing.
Accessing the Search and Indexing troubleshooter

6. From the next menu, select the symptoms that you’re

noticing in relation to the indexing feature. This will help
the troubleshooter identify the issues more easily.
Troubleshooting Indexing Failure symptoms
7. Once you check all the right boxes, click on Next.
8. When asked to describe the issue, give a short description

of the problem so the troubleshooter can cross-reference
against the automated repair fixes already present.
Note: In case you get asked to provide admin permissions,
click on Try troubleshooting as an administrator.

9. If a viable repair strategy is found, click on Apply this

fix and wait for the utility to complete the job.
Applying the recommended fix
10. At the end of this procedure, reboot your PC and see if the
problem is fixed once the next startup is complete.
If the search indexing function still doesn’t work even after you
followed the instructions below, move down to the next
potential fix below.
Force-Start or Enable the Windows Search

service
If the method above was not effective in your case, another
potential cause of the issue is a scenario in which the main
service behind it (Windows Search) is disabled or stuck in a
limbo state.
This problem is typically indirectly caused by a 3rd party system

resource manager app that tries to improve the performance of
the system by disabling every non-critical OS service.
If you suspect this scenario might be applicable in your case,

you should be able to fix the issue entirely by accessing
the Services screen and ensuring that the Windows Search

service is enabled. If it’s already enabled, just restart it and you

should see how the indexing feature starts working again.
Here’s how to enable or restart the Windows Search Service:

1. Start by pressing Windows key + R to open up

a Run dialog box.
2. Inside the Run text box, type ‘services.msc’ and

press Enter to open up the Services screen.
Accessing the Services Screen
3. At the User Account Control, click Yes to grant

administrative privileges.
4. Inside the Services screen, move to the right-hand pane,

scroll down through the list of services and
locate Windows Search.

5. Once you locate Windows Search, right-click on it and

choose Properties from the context menu.
Accessing the Properties screen
6. Inside the Properties screen of Windows Search, select

the General tab from the ribbon menu at the top.

7. From the dedicated General tab, change the Startup

type to Automatic (Delayed Start) and click on Start if the
service is currently disabled.
Force start the service and change the startup type
Note: If the service is already running, click on Stop to

temporarily disable it and wait for a couple of seconds
before launching it again via the Start button.
8. Use the search functionality to see if the indexing problem

is now resolved.
If the same kind of problem is still occurring, move down to the

next potential fix below.

Rebuild the indexing library

As it turns out, this type of issue can also be caused by an
indexing glitch. This is typically reported to occur with Windows
11 PCs that are on the lower-end specification spectrum (barely
meeting the minimum specifications).
What typically happens is, a glitch facilitated by insufficient

processing memory forces the indexing feature to freeze. If this
scenario is applicable, you can also notice that the disk usage
stays at 100% (even during idle periods) as it tries to catch up.
In this case, the only way of fixing the issue is to rebuild the
indexing database from the Indexing Options menu.
Note: Keep in mind that depending on if you’re using a

traditional drive or an SSD, this process might take several
hours. So before following the instructions below, arm yourself
with patients and don’t interrupt the indexing library rebuilding
process until it’s finished.
Follow the instructions below to learn how to rebuild the

indexing library from the classic Control Panel feature:


a Run dialog box.
2. Next, type ‘control’ inside the text box, then press Enter to
open up the classic Control Panel interface.
Open the classic Control Panel interface
3. Inside the classic Control Panel interface, you can use the
search function (top-left corner) to search
for ‘indexing’ then click on Indexing Options from the
context menu that just appeared.
Access the Indexing Options menu

4. Inside the Indexing Options menu, select each folder

inside, click on the Advanced button.
Access the Advanced Options menu
5. Once the indexing feature has been disabled, reboot your

PC once again and see if the problem is fixed once the next
startup is complete.
6. If you are prompted to grant admin access, click on Yes at

the User Account Control (UAC).

7. Next, inside the Advanced Options menu, click on

the Indexing Settings tab at the top, then click on
the Rebuild button (under Troubleshooting).
Rebuilding the indexing library
8. Confirm the operation at the next prompt, then wait

patiently until the operation is complete.
Note: Depending on your storage device, this process
might take a few hours.
In case the indexing service still remains paused even after you
successfully rebuilt the indexing library, try the next potential fix
below.
Remove and Hide the KB5004567 Update

If you’ve come this far without a solution, you should start
investigating the possibility that a bad Windows Update is
actually causing this issue.
According to a lot of affected users, the KB5004567 Windows

11 update might be responsible for this indexing issue as it
tends to freeze up the functionality of the main service behind
it.
If everything else so far hasn’t allowed you to fix the problem,

the final thing that you can try is to simply uninstall the bad
update and see if the printing connectivity resumes.
But be advised that just uninstalling

the KB5004567 update won’t be enough – you’ll also need to
use a Microsoft tool to hide the update and make sure it
doesn’t install again (at least until MS releases an official fix)
Follow the instructions below to uninstall and hide the

problematic KB5004567 Windows Update:


Next, type ‘appwiz.cpl’ inside the text box, then
press Enter to open up the Programs and Features menu.
Open up the Programs and Features menu
Note: If you see the User Account Control window,

click Yes to grant admin access.
2. Inside the Programs and Features menu, click on View
installed updates from the side menu on the left.
View Installed Updates

3. Inside the View installed updates menu, look for the

KB5004567 update. When you see it, right-click on it and
choose Uninstall from the context menu.
Uninstalling the Windows Updates
4. From the context menu that just appeared,

click Uninstall once again and wait until the operation is
complete.
5. Once the update is successfully uninstalled, download

the Windows Show/Hide Update Troubleshooter from
this official download page.
6. Next, extract the contents of the wushowhide archive to an
easy-to-access location.
7. As soon as the contents have been extracted, right-click
on wshowhide.diagcab, then choose Run as
administrator from the context menu that just appeared.

8. At the first window of the Show or hide updates

Troubleshooter, click on the Advanced hyperlink, then
check the box associated with Apply Repairs
Automatically then click on the Next button.
Hide the updates
9. Wait until the initial scan is complete, then click on Hide

Updates from the list of presented options.
Hiding the updates
10. From the list of updates, check the box associated with
the KB5004567 update, then press Next once again and
wait until the update is hidden.
11. Finally, reboot your PC and attempt to connect to your
printer server – you should have no issues doing so.
Note: Once you get word that the issue has finally been
fixed, you can use this utility again to unhide the update.
To do so, click on Show Hidden update instead and
select KB5004567.
If the problem is still not fixed, move down to the next

potential fix below.

Disable the ‘Prevent indexing when running on

battery power’ policy
If you’re experiencing this issue on a laptop only when your PC
is on battery power, chances are you’re experiencing this issue
due to a Local Group policy that is forcing the indexing to
pause every time a power source is disconnected.
This is actually not a glitch but a feature meant to conserve

battery power. However, if you want to override this behavior,
you can use the Local Group Policy Editor to ensure that the
“Prevent indexing when running on battery power to
conserve energy” local policy is disabled at all times.
PRO TIP: If the issue is with your computer or a

laptop/notebook you should try using Restoro Repair which
can scan the repositories and replace corrupt and missing
files. This works in most cases, where the issue is originated
due to a system corruption. You can download Restoro
by Clicking Here
Note: Keep in mind that certain Windows versions won’t have
the Local Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) installed. Only Pro
and Enterprise versions of Windows 11 have this tool. If you
have the Home, N, or Education versions, follow these steps to
install the gpedit.msc utility on your Windows installation.
Follow the steps below to disable the ‘Prevent indexing when

running on battery power’ policy using Local Group Policy
Editor:

1. Press Windows key + R to open up a Run dialog box. Next,

type ‘gpedit.msc’ inside the text box and press Ctrl + Shift
+ Enter to open up Local Group Policy Editor with admin
access.
Open up the gpedit.msc utility
2. At the User Account Control, click Yes to grant admin

access.
3. Once you’re inside the Local Group Policy Editor, use the
menu on the left to click on Computer Configuration.

4. Next, go to Administrative Templates, then click

on Windows Components.
Accessing the Windows components key
5. Next, move over to the right-hand section of the screen

and double-click on Search.
6. Next, from the list of available policies, double-click

on Prevent indexing when running on battery power to
conserve energy.
Accessing the “Prevent indexing when running on battery power to conserve

energy” policy

7. From the dedicated menu of the “Prevent indexing when

running on battery power to conserve energy” policy, set
the policy to Disabled, then click on Apply.
Disable the “Prevent indexing when running on battery power to conserve

energy” policy
8. Once this policy is disabled, reboot your PC and see if the

indexing issue is fixed.
In case the same type of problem is still occurring, move down

to the next potential fix below.
Prevent the indexing of Outlook files (if

applicable)
As it turns out, this specific issue is often encountered in
situations where there’s a local installation of Outlook
interfering with the indexing feature.
The issue appears due to the fact that Outlook data has some
core files that are explicitly programmed to avoid being
indexed. Apparently, this is an issue on Windows 11 that can

ultimately freeze the indexing feature (even if it appears as
enabled.
If you find yourself in this scenario and you have a local

Outlook installation installed, you’ll only be able to fix this
problem by making a series of Registry changes via Registry
Editor that will ultimately prevent your OS to try and index the
Outlook files.
Follow the instructions below for specific steps on how to do

this:


Then, type “regedit” and press Enter to open up a Run
dialog box.
Open up Regedit
2. At the UAC (User Account Control), click Yes to grant

administrative privileges.
3. Inside Registry Editor, navigate to the following location

using the left-hand menu:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\
Note: If you want to speed up this process, you can also

paste the entire path in the navigation bar at the top.

4. Inside the Windows key, see if you have a sub-key

called Windows Search. If you have it, double-click on it. If
you don’t have it, right-click on the Windows key and
choose Edit > New > Key and name it Windows Search.
Accessing the Windows Search menu

5. Once you’re inside the Windows Search menu, move over

to the right-hand menu and see if you have a value
named PreventIndexingOutlook.
PreventIndexingOutlook key
Note: If you don’t have this value present inside the

Windows Search key, right-click on an empty space inside
the right-hand pane and choose Edit > New > Dword
Value (32- bit) and name it PreventIndexingOutlook.
6. Once you manage to locate or create this value, simply
double-click on it and set its Base to Hexadecimal and
its Value data to 1.
7. After you manage to create and save this value, restart

your PC and see if the problem is resolved once the next
startup is complete.
In case you’re still dealing with the same kind of issue, move
down to the next potential fix below.
Clear the TxR folder

As it turns out, some users that have found that their indexing
feature stopped working abruptly on Windows 11 have
managed to get the issue by clearing the TxR folder.

Note: The TxR folder is prone to become riddled with boot-

related data & leftover files that might end up freezing the
indexing feature on your Windows 11 computer.
Clearing the TxR folder will not produce any unintended

consequences to your Windows installation as it mostly
contains logs and other types of data collected by your
motherboard.
Follow the instructions below to clear the TxR folder:
1. Open file explorer and make sure that hidden files are
visible. To do this, open the View tab from the ribbon
menu at the top, then click on Hidden Items.
Enabling Hidden items
2. Once you’ve ensured that hidden files and folders are

visible, use File Explorer to navigate to the following
location:
"C:\Windows\System32\config\TxR"
3. Once you’re inside the TxR folder, select everything inside

and delete it.
4. Reboot your PC and see if the indexing feature starts

working again.
If the problem is still not resolved on Windows 11, move to the

next method below.

Use the System Restore

If the indexing problem only started occurring after a recent
firmware or OS change (installed Windows Update or driver),
you might be able to fix it by using a previous System
Restore point.
Note: System Restore is a built-in Windows utility that allows

users to revert their machine to a previous state.
If you have a previous System Restore point that was created

before the update responsible for the problem was installed,
you should be able to resolve the error by selecting a snapshot
that’s dated before the apparition of the issue.
Here’s a quick guide on how to use the System Restore utility

to revert your operating system back to a healthy state:


a Run dialog box. Next, type “rstrui” and press Enter to
open the System Restore wizard.
Open the System Restore utilty
2. Click Next at the initial System Restore screen.
3. Once you get to the next screen, tick the box associated
with Show more restore points.
4. From the next menu, choose a restore point that is dated

prior to the apparition of the indexing inconsistency and
click the Next button again.
Show more restore points

5. Once you manage to find a good restore point, select it

and click on Finish.
6. Confirm by clicking Yes to kickstart the restoring process.

Note: During this process, your computer will restart and
the older machine state will be restored.
Once your Windows 11 PC boots back up, see if the indexing

issue is fixed. If the same problem is still occurring, move down
to the next potential fix below.
Deploy DISM and SFC scans

Another possible reason that might cause the indexing feature
to break is some type of system file Corruption. Most
commonly, some type of file inconsistency ends up affecting
your operating system’s ability to process and index new files.
If this scenario is applicable, you should be able to fix the issue

by running a couple of system utilities capable of dealing with
corrupted system files.
When it comes to doing this, both DISM (Deployment Image

Servicing and Management) and SFC (System File
Checker) are equipped to heal your corrupted system files.
Note: If your DISM utility doesn’t work throws an error, try this
fix.
DISM relies heavily on WU (Windows Update) to download

healthy files that will be used to replace corrupted instances,
while SFC uses a locally cached archive to swap bad files with
healthy ones.
The best course of action is to run both utilities in quick

succession in order to improve your chances of dealing with
the system corruption issue.
Here’s a quick guide on running both DISM and SFC utilities

from an elevated CMD prompt:


a Run dialog box. Next, type ‘cmd’ inside the text box, then
press Crl + Shift + Enter to open up a Command Prompt
with admin privileges.
Open up the CMD utility
Note: At the UAC (User Account Control) prompt,

click Yes to grant administrative privileges
2. Inside the elevated CMD prompt, type or paste the

following commands in order and hit Enter after each one
to initiate a DISM scan & repair procedure:
Dism.exe /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth

Dism.exe /online /cleanup-image /scanhealth
Note: DISM uses a sub-component of Windows Update to

download healthy copies that will later be used to replace
corrupted instances. It’s important to ensure that you are
connected to a reliable network before initiating these
commands. The first command (scanhealth) will make the
utility analyze your files, while the
second (restorehealth) will proceed to replace corrupted
files with healthy equivalents.
3. Once the operation is finished, close the elevated CMD

window and restart your computer.

4. After the DISM scan is finished, follow step 1 all over again
to open up another elevated Command Prompt.
5. Once you’re back inside a CMD window, type the following
command to initiate an SFC scan:
sfc /scannow
Note: This procedure might end up taking several hours if

you’re using an HDD instead of an SSD. Do not interrupt
the scan before it’s finished to avoid creating further
logical errors.
6. After the scan is finished, restart your computer once again

and see if the indexing problem is fixed.
If you’re still dealing with the same problem as you’re noticing

that your system is still not indexing new files, try the final fix
below.
Clean install or Repair install Windows

If you’ve come this far without a result, there are two
procedures that will most likely get the issue resolved:

Clean install – This method will wipe all the other content
on your Windows installation drive. On top of removing all
the data related to your operating system, you will also
lose any personal files & personal preferences settings
(photos, images, music, applications, user preferences, etc.)
Repair install – This method will essentially reinstall the

same build over the existing operating system installation.
This approach is way less destructive since it will allow you
to preserve all your personal files, user settings, and any
installed application. However, you will need to use
compatible Windows 11 installation media.
Regardless of which way you end up choosing, we’ve got you

covered. If you want to keep your personal files and limit the
damage as much as possible, go for a repair install. In case you
want to start fresh, and you don’t care about losing personal
data, go for a clean install.
TIP: If none of the Methods have resolved the issue for you,
we recommend using Restoro Repair Tool which can scan the
repositories to replace corrupt and missing files. This works in
most cases, where the issue is originated due to a system
corruption. Restoro will also optimize your system for
maximum performance. You can download Restoro
by Clicking Here

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1/24/23, 10:18 AM How to Fix Windows 11 Indexing is Paused (File Search Not Working)

How to Fix Windows 11 Indexing is Paused (File

Kamil is a certified Systems Analyst

Some Windows 11 are reporting that suddenly they’re noticing

Indexing is paused on Windows 11

After investigating this issue thoroughly, it turns out that there

https://appuals.com/windows-11-indexing-is-paused/#:~:text=Indexing is paused by local,re on battery-saving mode. 1/36

Indexing glitch – As it turns out, a lot of the search

Windows Search service is disabled – Under certain

Corrupted indexing library – According to some users

Bad Windows update (KB5004567) – As it turns out, this

https://appuals.com/windows-11-indexing-is-paused/#:~:text=Indexing is paused by local,re on battery-saving mode. 2/36

Indexing is paused by local battery-saving policy –

Outlook-induced glitch – If you have the standalone

Corrupted files inside the TxR folder – The TxR folder is

System file corruption – In some cases, this issue will be

https://appuals.com/windows-11-indexing-is-paused/#:~:text=Indexing is paused by local,re on battery-saving mode. 3/36

Run the Search and Indexing Troubleshooter

Even more, Microsoft has already made a bunch of automated

This method was confirmed to be effective by a lot of affected

Follow the instructions below to run the Search and Indexing

https://appuals.com/windows-11-indexing-is-paused/#:~:text=Indexing is paused by local,re on battery-saving mode. 4/36

1. Press Windows key + R to open up a Run dialog box.

2. Inside the Run text box, type ‘ms-

Accessing the Troubleshooter tab

3. When you’re prompted by the User Account Control

4. Once you’re inside the initial Troubleshoot tab, click

Access the Other Troubleshooters tab

https://appuals.com/windows-11-indexing-is-paused/#:~:text=Indexing is paused by local,re on battery-saving mode. 5/36

5. Once you’re inside the Other Troubleshooters tab, scroll all

Accessing the Search and Indexing troubleshooter

https://appuals.com/windows-11-indexing-is-paused/#:~:text=Indexing is paused by local,re on battery-saving mode. 6/36

6. From the next menu, select the symptoms that you’re

Troubleshooting Indexing Failure symptoms

7. Once you check all the right boxes, click on Next.

8. When asked to describe the issue, give a short description

https://appuals.com/windows-11-indexing-is-paused/#:~:text=Indexing is paused by local,re on battery-saving mode. 7/36

9. If a viable repair strategy is found, click on Apply this

Applying the recommended fix

Force-Start or Enable the Windows Search

This problem is typically indirectly caused by a 3rd party system

If you suspect this scenario might be applicable in your case,

https://appuals.com/windows-11-indexing-is-paused/#:~:text=Indexing is paused by local,re on battery-saving mode. 8/36

service is enabled. If it’s already enabled, just restart it and you

Here’s how to enable or restart the Windows Search Service:

https://appuals.com/windows-11-indexing-is-paused/#:~:text=Indexing is paused by local,re on battery-saving mode. 9/36

1. Start by pressing Windows key + R to open up

2. Inside the Run text box, type ‘services.msc’ and

Accessing the Services Screen

3. At the User Account Control, click Yes to grant

4. Inside the Services screen, move to the right-hand pane,

https://appuals.com/windows-11-indexing-is-paused/#:~:text=Indexing is paused by local,re on battery-saving mode. 10/36

5. Once you locate Windows Search, right-click on it and

Accessing the Properties screen

6. Inside the Properties screen of Windows Search, select

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7. From the dedicated General tab, change the Startup

Force start the service and change the startup type

Note: If the service is already running, click on Stop to

8. Use the search functionality to see if the indexing problem

If the same kind of problem is still occurring, move down to the

https://appuals.com/windows-11-indexing-is-paused/#:~:text=Indexing is paused by local,re on battery-saving mode. 12/36

Rebuild the indexing library