Fix Windows 11 Indexing Is Paused

Some users who recently installed Windows 11 are reporting that the file search function has suddenly stopped working. Upon investigation, they discover that the indexing feature is paused. Most affected users report that they didn't disable indexing in the first place, while others report that they can't re-enable it. If you want to learn how to fix the paused indexing issue in Windows 11 , keep reading this post.

What causes Windows 11 indexing to be paused?

After researching this issue thoroughly, it turns out that there are several underlying scenarios that are commonly known to cause this problem. Here is a list of culprits that you should be on the lookout for:

• Indexing failure: It turns out that many of the search indexing issues that occur in Windows 11 are actually due to a specific operating system flaw that is related to the way Windows manages files. The vast majority of these issues can be fixed by running the Search and Indexing troubleshooter and applying the recommended solution.
• Windows Search service is disabled: In certain circumstances, you can expect to deal with this problem in cases where the core service dependency required by the indexing feature is actually disabled. In this case, you can fix the problem by restarting the Windows Search service.
• Corrupted indexing library: According to some users, we are also dealing with this issue, the problem can also be caused by a corrupted indexing library. In this case, the only viable solution is to rebuild the entire indexing library from scratch. But keep in mind that depending on the type of drive storage, this process may take several hours.
• Bad Windows Update (KB5004567)- It turns out that this issue can also be caused by a bad Windows Update (if you're using Windows 11). Windows update KB5004567 is often highlighted for causing this kind of problem. So far, the only viable solution to deal with this issue is to simply uninstall the problematic update and use the Hide MS Update tool to prevent it from being reinstalled (at least until Windows releases a hotfix for this issue).
• Indexing is paused due to local battery saving policy: According to some affected users, this issue is often created by a local group policy called “Prevent indexing when running on battery”. If this policy is enabled, the indexing feature will be automatically disabled while in battery saver mode.
• Outlook induced errorIf you have the standalone Outlook application installed locally, there is a chance that it may end up conflicting with the indexing feature as some Outlook files are prohibited from being indexed. If you are dealing with this kind of issue, the only viable solution is to make some registry changes that will prevent your operating system from indexing the Outlook files.
• Corrupted files inside TxR folder: The TxR folder is prone to file buildup. It always was, and it's the same in Windows 11. With There, these files could start to present problems for the indexing function to the point where it freezes the functionality completely. In this case, you should be able to fix the problem by deleting the TxR folder and restarting your PC.
• System file corruption- In some cases, this problem will be entirely related to some kind of system file corruption. In this case, you should start by checking if System Restore doesn't have a restore point that would allow you to return to a state where the problem doesn't occur. If this doesn't work, you can also try running DISM and SFC scans and, as a last resort, perform a repair installation or a clean install procedure.

Methods to fix Windows 11 indexing is paused

Now that we’ve gone over all the possible reasons why you can expect to see your indexing feature disabled in Windows 11, let’s go over each possible solution that should help you fix this issue.

Run the Search and Indexing Troubleshooter

It turns out that the indexing feature in Windows 11 is still unreliable and prone to breaking under a variety of different circumstances. The good news is that Microsoft is actually aware of most of these issues.

Furthermore, Microsoft has already made available a bunch of automated fixes for this specific scenario where the indexing feature stops working. You can take advantage of these solutions by running the Windows Search and Indexing Troubleshooter and applying the recommended solution.

Many affected users confirmed that this method is effective, most of them using the latest version of Windows 11.

Follow the instructions below to run the Search and Indexing Troubleshooter utility on your Windows 11 computer and apply the recommended solution:

• Press Windows key + R to open a Run dialog box.
• Inside the text box Run, writes 'ms-settings:troubleshoot' and press Log in to open the tab A satisfactory solution problems in Windows 11.
• When the User Account Control (UAC) prompts you, click  Yes to grant administrator access.
• Once you are inside the tab Initial troubleshooting, click Other troubleshooters troubleshooting in the menu on the left.

• After you are inside the tab Other solvers of problems, scroll down to the section Others, then click the button Run associate with Search and indexing.

• In the next menu, select the symptoms you are noticing regarding the indexing feature. This will help the troubleshooter identify the problems more easily.

• Once you have checked all the correct boxes, click Next.
• When prompted to describe the problem, provide a brief description of the problem so that the troubleshooter can cross-reference it with any automated repair fixes that are already present.

Note: If you are prompted to provide administrator permissions, click Attempt to troubleshoot as administrator.

• If you come across a viable repair strategy, click Apply this solution and wait for the utility to complete the job.

• At the end of this procedure, restart your PC and see if the problem is resolved once the next startup is complete.

If the search indexing feature is still not working even after following the instructions below, move down to the next potential solution below.

Force start or enable Windows Search service

If the above method was not effective in your case, another possible cause of the problem is a scenario where the main service behind it (Windows Search) is disabled or stuck in a limbo state.

This issue is usually caused indirectly by a third-party system resource manager application that attempts to improve system performance by disabling all non-critical operating system services.

If you suspect this scenario might apply to you, you should be able to resolve the issue completely by accessing the Services screen and ensuring the Windows Search service is enabled. If it's already enabled, simply restart it, and you should see the indexing function begin working again.

This explains how to enable or restart the Windows Search service :

• Start by pressing Windows key + R to open a dialog box Run.
• Inside the text box Run, write 'services.msc' and press Log in to open the screen Services.
• On User account control, Click on Yes to grant administrative privileges.
• Inside the screen Services, go to the right panel, scroll down the list of services and locate the Windows Search.
• Once you locate the Windows Search, right click on it and select Properties in the context menu.
• Inside the screen Windows Search Properties, select the tab General from the ribbon menu at the top.
• From the tab General dedicated, changes the Start type a Automatic (Delayed Start) and click Start if the service is currently disabled.

Note: If the service is already running, click Stop to temporarily disable it and wait a few seconds before restarting it using the Start button.

• Use the search function to see if the indexing issue has been resolved.

If you continue to experience the same type of problem, please move down to the next possible solution below.

Rebuild the indexing library

It turns out that this type of issue can also be caused by an indexing failure. This is usually reported to occur with Windows 11 PCs that are on the low-end spec spectrum (barely meeting the minimum specs).

What usually happens is that a glitch facilitated by insufficient processing memory forces the indexing feature to freeze. If this scenario is applicable, you may also notice that disk usage remains at 100% (even during periods of inactivity) while it tries to catch up.

In this case, the only way to solve the problem is to rebuild the indexing database from the Indexing Options menu.

Note: Keep in mind that depending on whether you're using a traditional hard drive or an SSD , this process may take several hours. So, before following the instructions below, be patient and don't interrupt the indexing library rebuild process until it's finished.

Follow the instructions below to learn how to rebuild the indexing library from the classic Control Panel feature:

• Start by pressing Windows key + R to open a dialog box Run.
• Then write 'control' inside the text box, then press Log in to open the classic interface from the Control Panel.
• Inside the classic interface Control Panel, you can use the search function (top left corner) to search "indexing" and then click Indexing options in the context menu that just appeared.

• Inside the menu Indexing options, select each folder inside, click the button Advanced.

• Once the indexing feature has been disabled, restart your PC once again and see if the problem is resolved once the next startup is complete.
• If you are prompted to grant administrator access, click Yes at the User Account Control (UAC).
• Next, within the menu Advanced Options, click on the Indexing Settings tab at the top, then click the button Rebuild (available in  Troubleshooting).

• Please confirm the operation in the following message, then wait patiently until the operation is completed.

Note: Depending on your storage device, this process may take a few hours.

In case the indexing service still remains paused even after successfully rebuilding the indexing library, try the next potential solution below.

Remove and hide update KB5004567

If you've gotten this far without a solution, you should start investigating the possibility that a bad Windows update is actually causing this problem.

According to many of the affected users, Windows 5004567 update KB11 could be responsible for this indexing issue as it tends to freeze the functionality of the main service behind it.

If all else has failed to resolve the issue, the last thing you can try is to simply uninstall the bad update and see if print connectivity resumes.

But keep in mind that simply uninstalling update KB5004567 won't be enough; you'll also need to use a Microsoft tool to hide the update and ensure it doesn't reinstall (at least until MS releases an official fix).

Follow the instructions below to uninstall and hide the problematic Windows update KB5004567:

• Press Windows key + R to open a dialog box Run. Then write 'appwiz.cpl' inside the text box, then press Log in to open the menu  Programs and characteristics.

Note: If you see the User Account Control window, click Yes to grant administrator access.

• Inside the menu Programs and Features, click View installed updates in the side menu on the left.

• Now, inside the menu View installed updates, look for the update KB5004567. When you see it, right-click on it and select uninstall in the context menu.

• From the context menu that just appeared, click on uninstall once again and wait until the operation is completed.
• Once the update has been successfully uninstalled, download the Troubleshooter. Windows Update Problems Show/Hide from this page of official download.
• Next, extract the contents of the file wushowhide in an easily accessible location.
• As soon as the content has been extracted, right click on wshowhide.diagcab, then select Run as administrator in the context menu that just appeared.
• In the first window of Show or hide updates Troubleshooter of problems, click on the hyperlink Advanced, then check the box associated with Apply repairs automatically  and then click the button Next.

• Wait until the initial scan is complete, then click Hide updates from the list of options presented. Hide updates
• In the list of updates, check the box associated with the update KB500456then press Next once again and wait until the update is hidden.
• Finally, restart your PC and try connecting to your print server – you should have no problems doing so.

Note: Once you've confirmed the problem is resolved, you can use this utility again to display the update. To do so, click Show Hidden Update and select KB5004567.

If the issue is still not resolved, move down to the next potential solution below.

Disable the 'Prevent indexing when running on battery' policy

If you are experiencing this issue on a laptop only when your PC is running on battery power, you are likely experiencing this issue due to a local group policy that forces indexing to pause whenever a power source is disconnected.

This isn't actually a technical issue, but rather a feature designed to conserve battery power. However, if you wish to override this behavior, you can use the Local Group Policy Editor to ensure that the local policy " Prevent indexing when running on battery to conserve power" is disabled at all times.

Note: Keep in mind that certain versions of Windows will not have the Local Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) installed . Only the Pro and Enterprise versions of Windows 11 have this tool.

Follow the steps below to disable the 'Prevent indexing when running on battery' policy using the Local Group Policy Editor:

• Press Windows key + R for Open a Run dialog box. Then type 'gpedit.msc' inside the text box and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to open the Local Group Policy Editor with administrator access.
• On User Account Control, click  Yes to grant administrator access.
• Once you're inside the Local Group Policy Editor, Use the menu on the left to click on Computer configuration.
• Then go to Administrative templates, then click Windows Components.
• Go to the right section of the screen and double-click Search.
• Next, from the list of available policies, double-click Avoid indexing when running on battery to conserve power.

• From the dedicated policy menu «Avoid indexing when running on battery power to conserve power", set the policy in Disabled, then click To apply.

• Once this policy is disabled, restart your PC and see if the indexing issue is resolved.

If the same type of problem continues to occur, move down to the next potential solution below.

Prevent Outlook files from being indexed (if applicable)

It turns out that this specific issue is often encountered in situations where there is a local installation of Outlook that interferes with the indexing feature.

The problem appears due to the fact that Outlook data has some core files that are explicitly programmed to avoid being indexed. Apparently, this is an issue in Windows 11 that can ultimately freeze the indexing feature (even if it appears as enabled).

If you find yourself in this scenario and you have a local installation of Outlook installed, you will only be able to fix this problem by making a series of changes to the Registry via Registry Editor that will ultimately prevent your operating system from attempting to index Outlook files.

Please follow the instructions below for specific steps on how to do this:

• Press Windows key + R to open a Run dialog box. Then, type » regedit »And press Log in to open a Run dialog box.
• On UAC (User Account Control), Click on Yes to grant administrative privileges.
• Within the Registry Editor, navigate to the following location using the menu on the left.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\

Note : If you want to speed up this process, you can also paste the full path into the navigation bar at the top.

• Inside the Windows key, see if you have a subkey called Windows Search. If you have it, double-click on it. If you don't have it, right-click on the Windows key and choose Edit > New > Key and name it Windows Search.

• Once you are inside the Windows search menu, move to the right menu and see if you have a value called PreventIndexingOutlook.

Note: If you do not have this value present within the Windows search key, right-click on an empty space within the right pane and select Edit > New > Dword (32-bit) Value and name it PreventIndexingOutlook.

• Once you manage to locate or create this value, simply double click on it and set its Base en hexadecimal and your valuable information en 1.
• After you manage to create and save this value, restart your PC and see if the problem is resolved once the next startup is complete.

In case you are still dealing with the same type of issue, move down to the next potential solution below.

Delete the TxR folder

It turns out that some users who discovered that their indexing function abruptly stopped working in Windows 11 were able to fix the problem by deleting the TxR folder.

Note: The TxR folder may become filled with boot -related data and leftover files that could freeze the indexing function on your Windows 11 computer.

Deleting the TxR folder will not cause any unwanted consequences to your Windows installation, as it mainly contains logs and other types of data collected by the motherboard.

Follow the instructions below to delete the TxR folder:

• Open File Explorer and make sure that hidden files are visible. To do this, open the tab View from the ribbon menu at the top, then click Hidden elements.

• Once you have made sure that hidden files and folders are visible, use File Explorer to navigate to the following location:

«C:\Windows\System32\config\TxR»

• Once you are inside the TxR folder, select everything inside and delete it.
• Restart your PC and see if the indexing feature starts working again.

If the issue is still not resolved on Windows 11, please move to the next method below.

Use system restore

If the indexing problem only started occurring after a recent firmware or operating system change ( Windows Update or installed driver), you may be able to fix it by using a restore point from a previous system.

Note: System Restore is a built-in Windows utility that allows users to revert their machine to a previous state.

If you have a system restore point from the previous version that was created before the update responsible for the problem was installed, you should be able to resolve the error by selecting a snapshot from before the problem occurred.

Here's a quick guide on how to use the System Restore utility to revert your operating system to a healthy state:

• Start by pressing Windows key + R to open a dialog box Run. Then type » rstruct »And press Log in to open the System Restore Wizard.
• Click on Next on the initial System Restore screen.
• Once you get to the next screen, check the box associated with Show more restoration points.
• In the next menu, select a restore point that is older than the indexing inconsistency and click the button. Next again.

• Once you manage to find a good restore point, select it and click Finalize.
• Confirm by clicking Yes to start the restore process.

Note: During this process, your computer will restart and the machine's previous state will be restored.

When your Windows 11 PC restarts, see if the indexing issue is fixed. If the same problem still occurs, move down to the next possible solution below.

Implement DISM and SFC scans

Another possible reason the indexing function might break is some kind of system file corruption. Most commonly, some type of file inconsistency ends up affecting your operating system's ability to process and index new files.

If this scenario is applicable, you should be able to fix the problem by running a couple of system utilities capable of handling corrupted system files.

When it comes to doing this, both DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management) and SFC (System File Checker) are equipped to repair damaged system files.

DISM relies heavily on WU (Windows Update) to download healthy files that will be used to replace corrupted instances, while SFC uses a locally cached file to swap bad files for healthy files.

The best course of action is to run both utilities in quick succession to improve your chances of dealing with the system corruption problem.

Here's a quick guide on how to run the DISM and SFC utilities from an elevated CMD prompt:

• Start by pressing Windows key + R to open a dialog box Run. Then write 'cmd' inside the text box, then press Crl + Shift + Enter to open a symbol of the system with administrator privileges.

Note: In the User Account Control (UAC) prompt , click Yes to grant administrative privileges.

• Inside the elevated CMD prompt, type or paste the following commands in order and press Log in after each to start a DISM scan and repair procedure:

Dism.exe /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth

Dism.exe / online / cleanup-image / scanhealth

Note: DISM uses a subcomponent of Windows Update to download healthy copies that will then be used to replace corrupted instances. It is important to ensure you are connected to a reliable network before running these commands. The first command (scanhealth) will cause the utility to scan the files, while the second (restorehealth) will replace the corrupted files with healthy equivalents.

• Once the operation is complete, close the elevated CMD window and restart your computer.
• When the DISM scan is complete, follow step 1 again to open another elevated command prompt.
• Now, when you are back inside a CMD window, type the following command to initiate an SFC scan:

sfc / scan now

Note: This procedure may take several hours if you are using an HDD instead of an SSD. Do not interrupt the scan before it finishes to avoid creating more logical errors.

• Once the scan is complete, restart your computer once again and see if the indexing issue is fixed.

If you are still dealing with the same issue and notice that your system is still not indexing new files, try the final solution below.

Clean install or repair installation of Windows

If you have gotten this far without getting a result, there are two procedures that will most likely solve the problem:

• Clean installation- This method will erase all other content on the Windows installation drive. In addition to deleting all data related to your operating system, you will also lose your personal files and personal preference settings (photos, pictures, music, apps, user preferences, etc.)
• Repair facility- This method will essentially reinstall the same build over your existing OS installation. This approach is much less destructive as it will allow you to retain all personal files, user settings, and any installed applications. However, you will need to use Windows-compatible installation media. Windows 11.

Regardless of which way you end up choosing, we've got you covered. If you want to preserve personal files and limit the damage as much as possible, perform a repair installation. In case you want to start fresh and don't mind losing personal data, perform a clean installation.