I have a new Windows 7 (64) build that seems to be having trouble indexing. When I search in Outlook 2010, I get "Search results may be incomplete because items are still being indexed". When I look at Indexing Options via Control Panel, it says “indexing speed is reduced due to user activity”, even when there is no user activity. If I start closing applications and processes to reduce the “user activity”, it changes the status to “Indexing Completed”. Then if I start Outlook again, it goes back to "Search results may be incomplete because items are still being indexed". When I look at CPU usage, it is near zero, so it would be nice in the indexer would kick it up and get the indexing finished so that I can search my emails. Why is the speed reduced? Is there no way to control it? Thanks, -Mark - Mark

Hi, Which method did you search for the E-mail in outlook? Windows 7 start menu\search box or Outlook search function? If you are using Windows 7 search box to index, I suggest to rebuild Windows 7 index for test: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Change-advanced-indexing-options Please note: it will take a bit long time to rebuild index. If you are using Outlook search function to index, I suggest to contact Outlook Forum for further help: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/outlook/threads The reason why we recommend posting appropriately is you will get the most qualified pool of respondents, and other partners who read the forums regularly can either share their knowledge or learn from your interaction with us. Thank you for your understanding. Regards, Leo Huang Please remember to click Mark as Answer on the post that helps you, and to click Unmark as Answer if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.

Leo, I do not believe that it matters which search method one uses since it is Windows that does the indexing. I was asking these specific questions: 1. Why does Windows always show, "indexing speed is reduced due to user activity"? For example, when I look at Indexing Options via Control Panel, it says “indexing speed is reduced due to user activity”, even when there is no user activity. 2. Why does the status change to “Indexing Completed” when I close Outlook, even though the indexing is not actually completed? For example, if I start closing applications and processes to reduce the “user activity”, it changes the status to “Indexing Completed”. Then if I start Outlook again, it goes back to "Search results may be incomplete because items are still being indexed". 3. How can I control the indexing process? For example, when I look at CPU usage, it is near zero, so it would be nice if the indexer would kick it up and get the indexing finished so that I can search my emails. -Mark - Mark

I have the same problem. Windows 7, 64bit, Outlook 2010 "Search results may be incomplete because items are still being indexed" Outlook reindex takes 2 days, still doesn't work. Seems this problem has been around for awhile and Microsoft hasn't bothered to figure it out yet. I have tried at least 6 different recommended solutions from web searches but to no avail. Be nice if Microsoft would take responsibility for their products. Many people have wasted hours because of this. bnmoore

All of the replies to this subject that I have seen to date seem to be attempts to deflect the question rather than answer it, so I am getting the sense that there simply is no way to control the indexing process...or even to monitor it in any meaningful way. FWIW, mine finally did finish indexing, but it never used more than a percent or two of CPU, so it took a very long time. -Mark- Mark

"MWSchneider" wrote in message news:2bb7cd9d-a0de-44ac-aed2-23c5cc26bec2... FWIW, mine finally did finish indexing, but it never used more than a percent or two of CPU, so it took a very long time. -Mark - Mark This is normal Indexing is a low-priority function under normal circumstances to avoid situations where it may either slow the PC down, or interfere with other processes. It is possible to force it to a higher priority, but not recommended. Indexing will also pause completely if there are sufficient calls on CPU cycles or disk (such as an AV scan, or doing a video recode). . Noel Paton | Nil Carborundum Illegitemi | CrashFixPC | The Three-toed Sloth

If there is a way to force it to a higher priority, I would like to know how. The reality is that if I can't search my email because the indexing has not completed, then indexing becomes my number-one priority at that particular point in time. -Mark- Mark

Open Task Manager look for the SearchProtocolHost entry, and right-click on it - change priority to Normal. DO NOT try and set it any higher, or it could totally lock your machine.Noel Paton | Nil Carborundum Illegitemi | CrashFixPC | The Three-toed Sloth

Okay Noel, I had already tried that, but it just didn't make much difference. The status still shows that the speed is reduced due to activity, and it still doesn’t use any appreciable amount of CPU. FWIW, I also set the priority higher than normal, but that didn’t have much effect either. - Mark

"MWSchneider" wrote in message news:09aabe73-fa73-49bb-8f7e-35efd2df6f15... Okay Noel, I had already tried that, but it just didn't make much difference. The status still shows that the speed is reduced due to activity, and it still doesnt use any appreciable amount of CPU. FWIW, I also set the priority higher than normal, but that didnt have much effect either. - Mark In that case, Im out of ideas, sorry. You could try posting in the Office forums, since your problem seems to relate more to Office than Windows. I see that there are a few unanswered- similar problems in the Office Answers forums, so Id try the MSDN ones first. Noel Paton | Nil Carborundum Illegitemi | CrashFixPC | The Three-toed Sloth

Thanks for trying Noel. Since it is the Windows interface dysfunction that I was seeking to understand/solve, this still seems like the best place for my question. Hopefully someone who has some personal experience with the problem will be able to contribute additional info. -Mark- Mark

Hi Mark, I have run into this problem a number of times and have had numerous systems show similar results. One of the first things I try to do is find out where the block appears to be. Can you check windows indexing options and identify which items are being indexed? Are there any pst files being indexed? I generally remove all items except one and leave system running until indexing is complete. I usually leave only outlook as my starting point and I leave outlook running while it indexes. Note, if you have pst files connected to outlook, they can be part of the problem if they are corrupted in any way. Walter http://www.wncden.com/blog/index.php/2010/05/02/weeds-in-our-computers?blog=6

Thanks for the thoughts Walter. I started out just wanting to understand what I was seeing in the interface and how to control the indexing process. I have gotten a lot of replies, but nothing about the inconsistencies that I noticed in the interface, and nothing about how to control the thing. At this point I can only assume that the interface is broken, that MS has no plans to fix it, and that it cannot be controlled. Within a day of my original post Windows had finally completed the indexing process, even if it did not work the way I wanted it to, so I guess I might as well just give up and live with it. -Mark - Mark

I've come accross an even better solution (or 2nd solution) http://danielsmedegaardbuus.dk/2008-02-13/forcing-the-windows-search-indexer-to-index-while-youre-working/

I've come accross an even better solution (or 2nd solution) http://danielsmedegaardbuus.dk/2008-02-13/forcing-the-windows-search-indexer-to-index-while-youre-working/ I have trouble thinking of a registry hack as an answer to a flawed (or missing) user interface, because the common man is not going to be able to use that method. But I'll definately keep that idea in my pocket, so thanks very much. - Mark

There is no need to just live with it. Here is how you can make search indexing run at full speed: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Search\Gathering Manager DisableBackoff = 1 I found the answer here: http://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/613825-can-i-force-search-indexing-to-high-priority/

"hansede" wrote in message news:cf09ad60-1ae3-4d24-85b0-92b428540616... There is no need to just live with it. Here is how you can make search indexing run at full speed: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Search\Gathering Manager DisableBackoff = 1 I found the answer here: http://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/613825-can-i-force-search-indexing-to-high-priority/ That is likely to significantly slow the PC while in normal use it should only be used if re-indexing is required and should be undone as soon as possible, to allow normal operation. Noel Paton | Nil Carborundum Illegitemi | CrashFixPC | The Three-toed Sloth

hansede, thanks for the info. It's not exactly what I wanted (what I wanted was a setting that is easily user configurable), but it sure would have come in handy when I was waiting around for days for the indexing to finish. Noel, "slow" is a relative concept. If you can't search your email for several days, that is slow. But I have not given up on teh idea that Microsoft needs to provide reporting and control of the indexing process. And they need to make the controls and reporting that already exist work properly. - Mark

"MWSchneider" wrote in message news:2088b2de-934a-41d9-9523-138c938c194c... hansede, thanks for the info. It's not exactly what I wanted (what I wanted was a setting that is easily user configurable), but it sure would have come in handy when I was waiting around for days for the indexing to finish. Noel, "slow" is a relative concept. If you can't search your email for several days, that is slow. But I have not given up on teh idea that Microsoft needs to provide reporting and control of the indexing process. And they need to make the controls and reporting that already exist work properly. - Mark Heh! having just been through exactly that process I know the frustrations! it took around 36 hours to finish indexing my 100,000 or so email/newsgroup posts on to of the 300,000 other files it was already indexing, after I had to reset the Index the other day. What I think most people dont realise about the Indexing speed is that the mere act of opening the Options window is enough to trip it into low speed mode and it takes around two minutes of inaction before the speed picks up again. I think its possible to reduce the delay but havent tried it myself - and if so that would be a better option than increasing priority on the process. I agree about the control and reporting being pretty awful! Noel Paton | Nil Carborundum Illegitemi | CrashFixPC | The Three-toed Sloth