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FolderRisk: Caution

Search C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Search

Data folder of the Windows Search service (WSearch): the index (Windows.edb), gatherer logs and temporary indexing files.

Updated on By AltF4 Formation

What it’s for

Windows Search (the WSearch service) stores its index and indexing working files here, under Data\Applications\Windows. Look here when search is slow, when the disk fills up for no obvious reason, or when SearchIndexer.exe is using CPU.

What it contains

  • Data\Applications\Windows\Windows.edb: the index database (see its entry).
  • In the same folder, the gatherer (GatherLogs) and index project (Projects) subfolders.
  • Data\Temp, for the engine’s working files.
  • The location is the DataDirectory value under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Search; the Indexing Options “Index location” setting moves it.

Risks and best practices

  • To start from a clean index, use Rebuild in Indexing Options (Advanced): Windows rebuilds the index without touching your files.
  • Deleting files here by hand while the service runs can leave an inconsistent index. Stop WSearch first.
  • On a file server, the Windows Search service is an optional feature: the folder only exists once it is installed. Put the index on a volume other than the system one if large shares are indexed.

Useful commands

Fenêtre de terminal
# Service state and index location
Get-Service WSearch
(Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Search').DataDirectory


# Folder size
(Get-ChildItem 'C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Search' -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Measure-Object Length -Sum).Sum / 1GB


# Restart the service (as administrator)
Restart-Service WSearch

Folder contents

Files 1

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