How to fix Microsoft Windows Search Indexer stopped working and was closed

Posted on February 17, 2008 at 6:18 am

Make sure to read other posts from the Fix Windows Errors series!

How to fix Internet Explorer has encountered a problem and needs to close
How to fix runonce.msn.com runonce2.aspx error in IE7
How to fix Microsoft Windows Search Indexer stopped working and was closed
How to fix access is denied, file may be in use, or sharing violation errors in Windows
How to fix "there no active mixer devices available" error message in Windows
How to fix svchost.exe errors and problems with high CPU usage

Since I perform technical support for my entire family being the computer guy, I sometimes run into strange issues that I decide to write about on my blog. Of course with Windows, it seems you never really run out of strange issues to deal with! There’s always some crazy and cryptic error popping up that makes you scratch your head.

One such issue is with Windows Vista and it relates to the

“Microsoft Windows Search Indexer stopped working and was closed”

“Windows could not start the windows search service on the local computer error 1067″

error. This is quite an unusual problem, but if it happens to you, it’s a pain in the ass! Anything that you try to open, or move, or copy will start giving you this error. It’s usually also associated with slow computer performance and crashing of the entire computer.

There are a couple of things you can try out to fix this annoying as heck problem in Vista:

Rebuild Windows Vista’s Search Index

This method is quick and easy, but may not work if you are having serious issues. Still it’s worth a shot before going to the other steps where you have to delete stuff.

First, type Indexing Options in the Start Menu’s search box in Vista. Click on the Advanced tab and then click Rebuild.

You can also try clicking on Restore Defaults if Rebuild does not work. If for some strange reason you are not able to select anything on this page, you can rebuild the searcher index manually by editing the following registry key:

HKLM/Software/Microsoft/Windows Search/SetupCompletedSuccessfully

to zero and then restarting the machine. However, if you can avoid registry key modifications that’s best! Also, make sure to create a restore point before making any registry edits.

Delete the Windows Search Index Program Folder

If the above method did not work, you can try to delete all of the files associated with search indexing in Vista by deleting everything inside these folders:

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Search\Data\Applications\Windows

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Search\Data\Temp

If you do not see these folders, you need to turn on viewing for hidden folders by going to Windows Explorer or My Computer and then choosing Tools, Folder Options. Go to the View tab and scroll down till you see “Show hidden files and folders“. You should now be able to see the ProgramData folder.

Again, make a backup of the files in the directories before deleting them just in case, but they really are not that important. If you get an Access is Denied message when trying to delete the files, you will first need to stop the Window Search Index service by going to Control Panel, then Administrative Tools, and then clicking on Services.

The service should be called Windows Search or Windows Searcher. Double click on the service and click Stop.

After you delete the files, restart the computer and the index will be rebuilt and hopefully your error will be gone!

Hope that helps someone with a very annoying error! Remember the search index service is not critical, so you’re not going to mess up your computer by disabling the service or deleting it’s files.

[tags]windows search service, windows search indexer, disable window search indexer, windows search indexer stopped working[/tags]

» Filed Under Computer Tips

Comments

24 Responses to “How to fix Microsoft Windows Search Indexer stopped working and was closed”

Maya said on : February 23rd, 2008 at 11:26 pm

Hi there,

first let me conpliment you, your site, it is easy read and easy understood. unlike other techsites.

a small problem:
my machine keeps haunting me with “Microsoft Windows Search Indexer stopped working and was closed”.

your first suggested solution didn’t work as i see nothing on the indexing setting screen.
i have to go to the second option – dealing with the registry key, but…. where is it? how do i go there?

thank you,
Maya

lara said on : February 29th, 2008 at 11:12 am

hello,i have checked like u said 1st step but there is nothing in serch indexer.so i tried to second step but i m not able to find that files for serch indexer program…
If i delete all tht files, it may not cause problems to system? please give me suggestion how to deal with this trouble

thanks…
lara..

Ace said on : March 4th, 2008 at 5:17 am

Thank u sooooooo much for all the help, Bill Gates’s got a point in regretting the releas of Vista too soooooon!

I’m sure it will work nice and smooth in like…..
5 years!!!

Anyway thx again!!!

Ace said on : March 4th, 2008 at 5:19 am

Show hidden files!!! Thats the secret! The trouble files/folders are hidden!!!

Richard Fugiel said on : May 6th, 2008 at 8:33 pm

If I am using XP and I have Microsoft Windows Search Indexer issues, what would I delete (seems different than folder for Vista).

Thanks.

Rick Fugiel

Peter said on : May 9th, 2008 at 12:43 pm

Thank you so much for your help! I tried the second solution and it worked like a charm!

James said on : May 13th, 2008 at 6:28 pm

Hi. I’ve been searching a number of forums for a solution to this “search indexer” problem and have tried all of your solutions above with no success.

Do you have any other suggestions?

Jason said on : June 9th, 2008 at 3:17 pm

The correct folders are
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\Search\Data\Applications\Windows

and

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\Search\Data\Temp

Yad said on : September 1st, 2008 at 1:40 pm

I deleted the directory,
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Search\Data\Applications\Windows

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Search\Data\Temp
But as it turns out my computer did not rebuild the folders or the files and the problem still persists. Please suggest me a solution.

Jake said on : September 14th, 2008 at 2:27 am

Quote”Yad”

“I deleted the directory,
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Search\Data\Applications\Windows

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Search\Data\Temp
But as it turns out my computer did not rebuild the folders or the files and the problem still persists. Please suggest me a solution.”

This issue has also occured for me,after deleting the mentioned Files and having done a full restart twice.The files just won’t rebuild adding on,i can’t access Indexing Options which leaves manually rebuilding the files out of the question.I guess editing the registry key is the last option,could someone give a detailed description on how to?Much appreciated.

And yes ive tried a system restore,to no avail.

Mike said on : September 17th, 2008 at 9:56 am

Thanks for your help on this! Your tips worked like a charm!

Pri said on : October 10th, 2008 at 1:38 pm

Hey!

Thanks for your site!It was really helpful for me…although the message error was gone my computer still has a low performance. Do you know anything about that?Like other errors associated with the microsoft windows search error?

Thanks!

maria said on : October 13th, 2008 at 3:31 am

thank you soo much!! it worked just like you said and now my computer is back to normal.. or as much as a pc can be i’m a mac girl at home, but work requires a pc…

Mr T said on : October 15th, 2008 at 10:35 am

Hi

thank you so much for this! omg the error was so damn annoying lol, im so glad i got the chance to REMOVE IT after all!!! i couldnt find a better solution on the net compared to urs

bullseye!

Ruth said on : December 14th, 2008 at 4:49 am

Thanks a million. It was a real bother and I am glad to be rid of it. The second option worked for me.

Thanks again! Super information! I do appreciate it.

Hector said on : January 8th, 2009 at 4:45 pm

Thanks.

The Registry worked for me

Syril said on : January 16th, 2009 at 10:44 am

The very first option worked for me – all I did was have to click on Rebuild, then rebooted. No more issues – thank you! I agree with the earlier comments that you have laid out the issue/solution quite well! Thanks.

Tim said on : January 31st, 2009 at 12:41 pm

Does this method work with Windows XP, or just Vista?

Raed said on : February 23rd, 2009 at 9:25 pm

Thanks a lot, that was very helpful

Sandee said on : March 21st, 2009 at 4:53 pm

I am running windows xp and am also having trouble with search indexer stopping and multiple pop ups informing me of this. What is the fix for windows xp…please help!

jerry said on : April 16th, 2009 at 3:41 pm

Yeah! Hell yea! This has been driving me nuts. Every time I started Outlook I would get “Microsoft Windows Search Indexer stopped working and was closed”.
The first method worked for me.

Thank You!

Julian said on : June 29th, 2009 at 7:27 pm

In the article you write “If for some strange reason you are not able to select anything on this page”

The strange reason is that the Indexer Service is currently stopped (which isn’t surprising, given the nature of the error message).

Follow the instructions given further down to find the Windows Search service in the Control Panel and START it up again. The options will reappear (at least until it crashes out again!)

Eric said on : August 29th, 2009 at 1:39 pm

Thanks for explaining how to accomplish each possible fix in detail! I found a few sites offering similar solutions but they didn’t explain things so that us non-techies could figure it out.