Download Indexer Diagnostics to fix Windows Search issues

Many users were disappointed when they saw that the January round of Patch Tuesday updates did not contain a fix for the File Search issues.

These issues were around for 3 months already, and they were preventing functionality of some very basic Windows features.

However, it seems that Microsoft has finally addressed this particular issue since it released an Indexer Diagnostics utility to help users troubleshoot and, in some cases, fix the issue.

How does the Indexer Diagnostics utility work?

While the existence of this utility is indeed good news, it is still in Beta testing. It works by detecting potential issues affecting the Search Indexer service.

It does so by making it possible to check if your files are indexed and what paths are indexed.

Regarding the file indexing process, Microsoft stated that:

Indexing is the process of looking at files, email messages, and other content on your PC and cataloging their information, such as the words and metadata in them[…]
When you search your PC after indexing, it looks at an index of terms to find results faster.

Additionally, it seems that advanced users such as system admins can also use the Indexer Diagnostics utility to track a device’s resource usage. It does this by collecting resource traces when the indexer uses too many resources from the app’s Performance tab.

The utility is available through the Microsoft App store and it is completely free. The decision to make it available this way stems from the desire to make the utility much more readily available.

Given how all you need to do to get a store app is downloaded and then launch it, this seemed like the perfect course of action.

• Download the Indexer Diagnostics utility

Do you think that a solution for the File Search issues has been a long time coming? Tell us what you think about the Indexer Diagnostics utility in the comment section below.