Disable Indexing Service and Use a Better Substitute

Source:

In order to search through a hard drive faster, XP keeps a record of all files on the hard drive.

It sounds useful, but if you use Windows' search tool infrequently, the indexing service just constantly runs in the background without being taken advantage of and used.

Indexing can slow down actions as simple as opening or closing files. To disable this service, go to Start > Run and type services.msc. Double click "Indexing Services" and set the startup type to "Disabled".

If you want to search, there is a freeware program called Locate that can index 400GB of data in under 2 minutes and can perform instant searches.

File > Update Databases re-indexes all your drives, in case you miss where the indexing option is located. You should only re-index before a search. This way, system resources are used only when you actually need to perform a search.

In addition, you can use Task Scheduler (a.k.a. Scheduled Tasks) to run the shortcut named "Updtdb32" in place of using the "Update Database" option manually within the program.

For example, have the task run daily at a time you are not usually at your computer, such as early in the morning.

So, all the files that had been added, moved and changed from the previous day can be indexed. If you have this re-indexing task done daily, it only takes a few seconds each time it is done.

You can get to the task scheduler by going to Start > Run. Type %systemroot%Tasks, and hit enter. Double click on "Add Scheduled Task" and the wizard will help take you through the process of setting up a scheduled task.

Make sure you hit "Browse" when asked for what application you want to be run. Navigate to the folder where you have the "Updtdb32" shortcut. Other than that, creating the scheduled task should be fairly self-explanatory, thanks to the wizard.

You can also download the tool here.