Windows 7 - Index Locations - Add or Remove

**Brink**

How to Add or Remove Windows 7 Index Locations

Information

Windows 7 uses the index to perform very fast searches on your computer. This will show you how to add or remove folder locations to be included in the index search results.

Note

You will not be able to add removable locations to be included in the index. For example, USB flash drives or memory cards.

Warning

If you make the index too large by including the entire hard drive, or to many folders, then your searches will slow down and take longer for the search results to display. You will also find your hard drive running longer and more often in the background while the index updates itself for changes made to the included folder locations. For the best results, it is recommended that you only add folders that you search frequently to be included in the index.

Here's How:

1. Open the Control Panel (All Items view), and double click on the Indexing Options icon.

2. Click on the Modify button. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: You will notice a quick preview of included folder locations in the index here. These are the default locations.

3. If You Don't See All Locations on Your Computer in the List
A) Click on the Show all locations button. (See screenshot below)

B) If prompted by UAC, then either click on Yes or provide the Administrator password.

4. To Add Folder Location to be Included in Index Search Results
A) Continue to click on the arrows to the right of the check box to expand the folder tree until you reach the location of the folder you want to add, and select it. (See screenshot below)

B) Check the selected folder's box. (See screenshot above)

5. To Remove Folder Location from being Included in Index Search Results
A) Continue to click on the arrows to the right of the check box to expand the folder tree until you reach the location of the folder you want to remove, and select it. (See screenshot below step 4A)

B) Uncheck the selected folder's box. (See screenshot below step 4A)

6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until you have finished adding or removing folder locations to be included in the index.

7. When finished, click on OK. (See screenshot below step 4A)

8. Click on the Close button. (See screenshot below step 2)

Tip

You may need to rebuild the index afterwards to force an update of the index before your changes are reflected in search results.

That's it,
Shawn

Related Tutorials

**rsvr85** · 08-20-2009

If i were to add folders like system32/Windows etc. to the index would it be particularly detrimental to the speed/performance of Windows 7?

**Brink** · 08-20-2009

Hello Rsvr,

The more you add to the index the more it will search through when you do a search, so it will take longer to see the search results with the more you add. It's best to only have the areas you want to search in frequently included in the index for the best and faster search results. You can add them to see how much longer it takes. If it takes to long, then you can always remove them.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

deejay22 · 10-28-2009

The problem I have is that Show all locations is dimmed. Any idea why that may be?

Thanks

**Brink** · 10-28-2009

Hello Deejay, and welcome to Seven Forums.

If it's dimmed, then it is already showing you all locations. That's all.

deejay22 · 10-28-2009

Thanks but I can't be that stupid. There are no mapped network drives to choose from as I could do with Windows Search in xp, and there is no folder to choose separate files from. This can't be right.

**Brink** · 10-28-2009

Deejay,

LOL, no one thought that you were.

Are you logged in a standard account, administrator account, or the built-in administrator account?

If you are, then you might consider doing a repair install. You will not lose anything.

JaimeZX · 11-28-2010

My netbook only has a small SSHD for the OS. All of my files are saved on a big HDSD card in the built-in cardreader.

I know in the first post it says "you will not be able to index removable locations" but there must be a workaround. It's ridiculous that search never searches the only place I store files.

Help!

**Brink** · 11-28-2010

Hello Jaime,

You could use the settings in the tutorial below to do nonindexed searches for accurate search results instead.

Search - Have More Accurate Search Results

Hope this helps,
Shawn

JaimeZX · 12-03-2010

Quote: Originally Posted by Brink

You could use the settings in the tutorial below to do nonindexed searches for accurate search results instead.
Hope this helps,
Shawn

Shawn, thanks for looking at my post. My computer was already set to the same settings as in that post. It doesn't really help in that all of my programs and files are stored on a drive that I apparently can't index. So when I just hit the Win key and start typing, nothing ever comes up (well, nothing of use) because as I understand it, that only searches the index... What I really need is to be able to index this SD card somehow.

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