did you disable windows search on your w7 or w8/8.1?

Discussion in 'other software & services' started by mantra, Feb 25, 2014.

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  1. mantra

    mantra Registered Member

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    Hi

    did you disable windows search on your w7 or windows 8 and 8.1?


    thanks
     
  2. zapjb

    zapjb Registered Member

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    No I don't know why I'd do that.
     
  3. mantra

    mantra Registered Member

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    in the black viper is advised to turn off
    but i don't know if it's enough turn it off via feature or serives
     
  4. Austerity

    Austerity Registered Member

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    On a fresh install I always disable indexing and uninstall Windows search. I've never used it since I have used Windows. A savvy user has no need for search IMHO. Not sure as to the purported speed gains, if any.
     
  5. Minimalist

    Minimalist Registered Member

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    I usually leave Search feature enabled but disable Windows Search service. This way I can still use this feature but there is no indexing happening all the time. I like to use search to find mails in Outlook. It's the fastest way to search whan I have to search amid hundreds of mails.

    hqsec
     
  6. Kirk Reynolds

    Kirk Reynolds Registered Member

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    Yes, I always have since Vista. I just disable the service. I think if you turn if off in "turn Windows feature on and off", it disables search altogether, I think. It's been a while since I did it that way. There are rare (very rare) times when I use it, and just disabling the service allows me to still search without the service or index running.
     
  7. xxJackxx

    xxJackxx Registered Member

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    Don't know why I would either. You can't pin everything to the taskbar. o_O
     
  8. Austerity

    Austerity Registered Member

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    On the contrary, I have Google and file Explorer in quick launch and that is it. Nothing on desktop. All icons hidden from lower right tray. A few items pinned to a super slimmed down start menu. That's it.
     
  9. whitedragon551

    whitedragon551 Registered Member

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    Disabled here. SSD negates the need for indexing.
     
  10. Dermot7

    Dermot7 Registered Member

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    As shown here for W7 SP1. I have it disabled like this myself, just to have as few as are only necessary running, and have seen no problems brought about by following BlackViper's "safe" recommendations.
    Uncheck Windows Search:
    1)Head to Start
    2)Select Control Panel
    3)Select Programs
    4)Select Programs and Features
    5)Select Turn Windows Features on or off
    http://www.blackviper.com/service-c...dows-7-service-pack-1-service-configurations/
     
  11. DoctorPC

    DoctorPC Banned

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    Absolutely.

    Disable Windows Search, Windows Indexing, Superfetch, and File Browser.(USNJRNL) People have gone to jail, or had terrible divorces because they neglected to turn off $UsnJrnl(file browser) as it keeps a cache of directory/file changes. True way to disable $UsnJrnl is with a registry edit, google it. Also go to your drive list, right click your main drive, uncheck 'allow this drive to be indexed' click apply, then when an error comes up, hit Ignore All. It will run through disabling/removing indexes. USN disable/enable keys here;
    http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/7706-file-history-enable-disable-windows-8-a.html

    If you want to learn some really good privacy tips spend some time on some Forensic forums, or subscribe to Forensic newsletters/blogs/emails. You can pretty much find a way to avoid any forensic evidence on yourself in a few weeks of passive observation. You can also spend a couple hundo and take a Forensics course or two at the local college, and learn much more. The implied intent of the course is you are doing this to snoop, or catch crooks, when in reality you are doing it to become more private. There are many things to watch for in this field, such as 'implied consent', and other things you can learn to empower yourself.

    Good basic paper to get started;
    http://digital.library.louisville.edu/utils/getfile/collection/etd/id/620/filename/621.pdf

    I keep a USB stick of ready to click registry keys for PC's I handle, comes in very handy to rapidly lock a machine down, and to dramatically improve privacy/security.
     
    Last edited: Feb 25, 2014
  12. siljaline

    siljaline Registered Member

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    Disable at a Browser level but not at a services level.
     

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  13. zapjb

    zapjb Registered Member

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    Well this topic inspired me to turn off Windows Search in W7 Pro N x64.

    I'm trying Agent Ransack as a search replacement.
     
  14. siljaline

    siljaline Registered Member

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  15. Osaban

    Osaban Registered Member

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    I agree, when I search a USB hard drive with 500 GB of data, results come in within seconds, that's what computers are mainly for.
     
  16. DoctorPC

    DoctorPC Banned

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    I just searched a 1 terrabyte drive,and found what I wanted in a couple of seconds. I'm sure if indexed, it would have shaved a second or two off. But really, how many people use search all that much, and in light of that, what's another second? I'd rather have more privacy/security than an additional second shaved off a feature I rarely use.
     
  17. Pinga

    Pinga Registered Member

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  18. mattdocs12345

    mattdocs12345 Registered Member

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    Do you mean the service or the windows component? I disabled the service but I haven't uninstalled the windows search component in add remove windows programs section. So I can still enter basic searches which makes life so much easier when you want to access msconfig, services, etc...
     
  19. TairikuOkami

    TairikuOkami Registered Member

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    Always disabled. I never ever used search in Windows, I am not sure, what I should be searching for anyway. :rolleyes:
     
  20. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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  21. SirDrexl

    SirDrexl Registered Member

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    There are lots of things - text files, PDFs, eBooks, videos, pictures, music, etc. I try to be somewhat organized, but sometimes I forget where I placed something - especially if I haven't yet moved it from a general downloads folder to somewhere permanent.

    If you're extremely well-organized, or you're the type that doesn't really keep anything local it may be different.
     
  22. Krysis

    Krysis Registered Member

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    I haven't disabled Windows Search on 7 or 8 – but I never use it.
    Like Pinga, I use Everything – an excellent search tool.
     
  23. mantra

    mantra Registered Member

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    hi
    why do ssd negate the need for index?

    but do i lose some feature disabling the service?
     
  24. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    I haven't looked at it very closely but when I disabled Win8 Indexing my Win8 Media Server stopped working and I couldn't stream videos to the TV.
     
  25. DoctorPC

    DoctorPC Banned

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    SSD is so fast, direct search works totally fine. Indexing just speeds up searches. Even reasonably good 7200RPM drives with good caches, it's about 1-2 seconds longer for a search with indexing off. Indexing is a huge privacy risk. Given the risks associated with Windows OS's, and potential liabilities, or entrapment, it's wise to disable logging, indexing, and journaling as much as possible.
     
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