C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Search\Data\Applications\Windows\Windows.edb is the main search index file. After a fresh reindex of around 750,000 entries it is less than 1GB. Over the next few days it grows to 2GB, 4GB, 5GB,  now 8GB. When I first noticed the problem it was 48GB and still growing! Each time it grows, it cripples the computer for some minutes with 100% saturated disk activity.

System is a new i7, new Windows 8, lots of memory, disk, SSD etc.

This was supposed to be fixed in

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/b9d897be-7cee-48bf-b06f-27bca627d3ee/bug-windowsedb-exploding

Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 update rollup: May 2013

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2836988/en-us

This update package also fixes the issues that are documented in the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

2838018    The Windows.ebd file grows very large in Windows 8 or Windows Server 2012

I have that update and I still have the problem.

This looks like a Windows bug, gents. Any suggestions?

Recreate the index again. The update doesn't fix a large file, you must rebuild the index to make sure it is fixed.

Hi,

Andre is right, we need to rebuild the Index after installing this update:

1.        Move the mouse pointer to the lower-left corner of the screen until you see the Start tile appear.
2.        Right-click the Start tile and select Control Panel.
3.        Select Small icons or Large icons on the View by menu in the upper-right corner of the Control Panel window.
4.        Click Indexing Options.
5.        Click the Advanced button at the bottom of the Indexing Options window. This displays a new window titled Advanced Options.
6.        Click the Index Settings tab if it isnt selected already.
7.        Click the Rebuild button to delete and rebuild the file index.
8.        Click OK to confirm.

Please make sure that the update is installed successfully in View installed updates under Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Programs and Features.

Keep post.

Thanks Andre, Kate. I should have made it clearer, I have taken all those steps. The sequence is:

1. Last week: computer running badly, windows.edb = 48GB.

2. Research, found Andre's post (the 'caffeine' guy)

3. Search for May update (2836988), confirm that it installed correctly.

4. Saturday: Delete and rebuild index.

5. Index complete at ~750,000 entries, windows.edb < 1GB.

6. Over the next 4 days, windows.edb grows to 8GB. Mostly grows each time I open Outlook.

7. Today: index complete, 1078574 entries indexed, windows.edb = 11GB.

So is it fixed or not? Either (a) I still have the problem or (b) it takes several days to rebuild the index completely and this is just part of the process. Should I just wait, or should I rebuild the index again?

I have no idea if 1078574 entries create such a large file. Monitor this a few days and look if it grows again.

Doesn't anyone besides me think that indexing the contents of your hard drive and storing it on... your hard drive is kind of a stupid idea?

Virtually everything works if you just kill indexing entirely (not trivial, but easily doable).  If you really want faster access to things, get faster storage (e.g., SSD).  Problem solved!

 

Thanks Andre, Kate. I should have made it clearer, I have taken all those steps. The sequence is:

1. Last week: computer running badly, windows.edb = 48GB.

2. Research, found Andre's post (the 'caffeine' guy)

3. Search for May update (2836988), confirm that it installed correctly.

4. Saturday: Delete and rebuild index.

5. Index complete at ~750,000 entries, windows.edb < 1GB.

6. Over the next 4 days, windows.edb grows to 8GB. Mostly grows each time I open Outlook.

7. Today: index complete, 1078574 entries indexed, windows.edb = 11GB.

So is it fixed or not? Either (a) I still have the problem or (b) it takes several days to rebuild the index completely and this is just part of the process. Should I just wait, or should I rebuild the index again?

Hi,

Sometimes, third part programs will keep writing files in system files.

I suggest we rebuilt the index again and test the issue in Clean boot Mode for serveral days to see whats going on:

How to perform a clean boot to troubleshoot a problem in Windows 8, Windows 7, or Windows Vista

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135   

If the issue doesnt appear, you can determine which one can be the cause by using dichotomy in MSconfig. Checking on half of Non-Microsoft service and restart, determining which half of the services cause the issue and repeating to check half of the problematic half services.

Let me know if there is any update on your issue. 

No. Indexing is a universal way to find stuff fast, and indexes are stored on disk. Parts of an index might be cached, but if you want to find one file or email in a million in just a second or two, an index is vital and once built, it needs to be kept.

As it happens, I particularly dislike people who answer a serious question with a silly suggestion to do something totally different. I already know how to switch off indexing and I also know why I want indexing and why I want it to work right. If you don't know anything useful about answering that question, perhaps you should look for someone else to annoy.

I'm not keen to run Windows on clean boot for days unless I really have to. It's pretty intrusive. And I really don't think that's the problem. Perhaps it used to be, but not now.

Over the last few days I've realised that this index building and growth behaviour only happens when Outlook starts or is running. Starting Outlook and collecting mail does not trigger it, but as soon as I start sorting incoming mail, the search indexer process lurches into action. If I move a single email to a folder, the search indexer runs for up to 5 minutes, using about 50% of IO capacity, sometimes longer. That seems excessive.

Other points to note: I have previously disabled the Outlook Indexer Add-In (I forget when); I have about 6 PST files but only the two open in Outlook are indexed (about 10gb) ; no other Add-Ins worth noting.

Maybe the original (Windows) issue really has been fixed, and now I'm seeing just an Outlook-specific indexing problem. It certainly isn't as bad as it was with a 48gb file locking up every hour or two.

Maybe I should reindex and run Outlook in safe mode. Maybe I should re-enable the Outlook Add-In.

So many choices, so little information to go on.

No. Indexing is a universal way to find stuff fast, and indexes are stored on disk. Parts of an index might be cached, but if you want to find one file or email in a million in just a second or two, an index is vital and once built, it needs to be kept.

As it happens, I particularly dislike people who answer a serious question with a silly suggestion to do something totally different. I already know how to switch off indexing and I also know why I want indexing and why I want it to work right. If you don't know anything useful about answering that question, perhaps you should look for someone else to annoy.

Nice.  I'll respond with this:  Perhaps you should consider listening to people who know more than you do.

Not only do I know how it works, but I've actually tested Windows with indexing both on and off.  Surprisingly, given decent disk performance it actually wasn't much if any faster at most things, and indexing introduced unacceptable unreliability.  Let's not forget why we are in this thread!

The theory doesn't match the reality.

I actually can and do find an eMail in many gigabytes of .pst files in just a few seconds - reliably, without this ridiculous and badly implemented indexing.

But hey, if you like doing things the Microsoft way, where inexact results are the norm, go for it.  Just don't suggest that good advice is bad - other people reading this thread might get something out of it even if you're incapable.

  

xkcd 386

LOL, even the Microsoft folks consider simply avoiding the use of their ridiculous indexing and Windows Search abomination "the answer".  :)

You should ask yourself, "how does Noel have time to help people on the internet?"  Maybe it's because his Windows setup just works and he isn't wasting his time fighting with bogus features that can't be made to be useful.

The hardest thing of all is to find a black cat in a dark room, especially if there is no cat.
Confucius

 

Hey,

i have this issue also on Windows8.1, the named fix is just for Windows8.

Is there any fix for Windows 8.1?
Regards

My index eventually stabilised at 14GB. I think you may have to delete and rebuild the index, perhaps more than once, before it eventually settles down. The fix will likely already be in 8.1.

For me the issue seems not fixed in 8.1, i have the behavouir every two days... Size of the EDB grows up to 41 GBs, including high Search-Index-RAM-Usage and Disk-I/O.

I also have this problem. I am not sure in my case whether it has to do with Outlook, or a dynamic disc I have created. My ebd file is stable when indexing system disk (as default) and also a 130 GB storage disc. The 500GB dynamic disc (three logical partitions on a singe disk, historic issue) seemed to trigger exponential ebd growth, and before that, Outlook. Has MS a solution yet?

I have the same problem with the Index file on my Surface Pro running Windows 8.1: When I rebuild the index, the index file is approx. 1 GB - and grows day after day until my hard disk is full. The only solution that I have right now, is to re-build the index file, and do a reboot which removed the old Windows.EDB and frees the disk space.

Seems that there is no fix so far, as I regularly install all patches.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Best,

Sigi

PS: Just deleted the index yesterday, so I have another 3-4 weeks

The only solution that I have right now, is to re-build the index file, and do a reboot which removed the old Windows.EDB and frees the disk space.

Really? What can't you do if you turn off indexing entirely?

The Surface Pro has SSD storage, right?  How much slower are searches on an SSD without indexing?

If there are applications that absolutely require this BS indexing feature, then you could seek alternatives that don't need it.

I wouldn't advise this if I weren't living the dream myself.

 

I use a mix of discs and not all are SSD. Indexing has helped me greatly in the past, and I would expect this still to be the case. There seems to be no water tight fix for this, and I find this a depressing mar on an otherwise great operating system. Thanks for the intelligent comments.

Same here. Windows 8.1 Pro and all available Windows Updates till February 2015, and teh problem is still there!. 60GB index, SSD full. What is the fix?

The fix is to not try to use indexing in the first place.  It's not buying you much since you have SSD storage which is already highly responsive.

-Noel