Save CPU and RAM: Disable the Indexing Service on Windows XP
If there is one bloated and unnecessary service that you should immediately disable, it's definitely the Indexing Service built into Windows XP. The idea behind it is that you can search for files more quickly if it is enabled…. but you are using Google Desktop for that, right?
The indexing service seems to eat up a lot of CPU on every machine I've used, especially when you have the amount of files that I've got. Let's disable it.
- Navigate to the Services console via Administrative Tools.
- Double-click on the Indexing Service and change the startup type to disabled.
- Hit the stop button if it is started, which is likely, and then hit OK.
Yet another unnecessary service stopped!
The Geek is the founder of How-To Geek and a geek enthusiast. When he's not coming up with great how-to articles, he's probably writing at his personal blog. This article was written on 09/26/06 and tagged with: Windows, Customizing: Tips & Tweaks
I'm a new XP user and I've encountered a new feature that I really find annoying.
When searching the Internet with Google (or any other search engine), all of my previous search words or terms appear automatically in a drop-down box below the main search field. Since this happens regardless of the search engine I use, I'm assuming this is a new feature of XP.
For example, if I type the letter "F" I might get a list of previously searched words such as Frankenstein, French fries, Fritos, Flying Tigers, etc.
I can delete these words easy enough, but HOW TO I PREVENT THEM FROM BEING RECORDED AND SAVED? I don't want a giant drop-down menu filled with previous searches!
Thanks!
Option 1: Install mcafee siteadvisor. It's know for disabling your autocomplete feature for some reason. Whether you use ie or firefox. http://www.siteadvisor.com/download/ff.html
Option 2: I would presume you're using ie7, Goto - internet options/content, then go into the settings for 'autocomplete' & uncheck 'forms'.
Ok, so my computer is running so slowly that it takes about 2 minutes for internet explorer to load. i used the CTRL, ALT, Delete function and saw that every program i use is using up more than half of my CPU each (EX: internet explorer is using from 40-60% of my CPU right now when it should be using from 0-2 if not less.. I was wondering how to make it so programs on my PC use way less CPU than they already are. My computer is the slowest running computer i have ever been on and i believe it is because of the CPU usage. Is there any way to make my programs run faster and use up less CPU?
Thanks!
I simply trimmed Vista's indexing, so I only notice it when I search, partly because it only keeps track of the Start menu folder, shortcuts folder, and my documents - but my music and video files are on another partition.
Whenever I search the program files folder, I notice how much slower it is, because I don't index this big folder.
My knowledge of Windows is just about average so I have no idea what you mean by "Navigate to the Services console via Administrative Tools." Can someone give me a more n00b-friendly description? Cheers.
Why do you need a more friendly description? Making changes from these forums that you don't easily understand means you'll end up with other symptoms and problems you can't fix, leading to bigger headaches and end up doing a full reinstall and stick with original settings.
Vista isn't slowed down noticeably by indexing, but you can easily notice the benefits whenever you try to find anything. It only uses CPU when you're not using CPU.
This isn't the same as with XP…
In windows xp open control panel then Navigate to the Services console via Administrative Tools then you can disable some unwanted programs to SPEED UP your pc
I'm just curious about indexing. I use Ubuntu, and love the fact that I can touch a couple of keys and instantly find and launch or open any software/files/emails simply by typing a few characters. I have amazing desktop eyecandy that XP couldn't get close to, and I never noticed any RAM or CPU power being eaten up by the indexing (perhaps because it works partly by 'watching' directories rather than fresh building the index and working hard.
Isn't indexing a good function? or does XP (even though it is more than 5 years old running on hardware developed in later years - rather than being an OS written for the hardware it's running on) use up so much of your system resources that you should perhaps consider finding a better operating system?