How to Change Windows 11 Search Index Location
Changing the Windows 11 search index storage location lets you move where Windows keeps the information it uses to find your files quickly.
The search index is a special list Windows creates to make searching your computer much faster. It’s like a super-fast index for a book, so you don’t have to look through every page.
By default, Windows 11 saves this index in the 📂%ProgramData%\Microsoft\Search\Data folder on your main drive.
You might want to move this index if your main drive is getting full. You can move it to another internal drive, but not to a USB stick or network location.
Change the search index storage location by opening Settings, navigating to Privacy & security Search Advanced indexing options, clicking Advanced, then Select new, and choosing your desired internal drive. Alternatively, edit the DataDirectory value in Registry Editor at 🗝️HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Search.
Option 1Change Search Index Storage Location in Settings
- Open Settings. You can press the ⊞ Win+I on your keyboard.
Windows 11 Start menu with Settings gear icon highlighted. - On the left side, click or tap on Privacy & security. Then, on the right side, click or tap on Search.
Windows 11 Search bar with the 'Search' tile highlighted. - Look for Related settings and click or tap on Advanced indexing options.
Windows 11 advanced indexing options for file types. - In the Indexing Options window, click or tap the Advanced button.
Clicking the Advanced button in Windows 11 indexing options. - Go to the Index Settings tab. Under the Index location section, click or tap the Select new button.
- Choose a folder or drive (for example, D:) where you want to save the search index. Then, click or tap OK. The search index will be saved in a folder like
D:\Search\Data\. The default location isC:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Search\Data\.
- Click or tap OK.
- Click or tap Close.
- You can now close the Settings window.
- Restart the Windows Search service to make the changes take effect. You can find instructions on how to restart services in this guide:
Option 2Change Search Index Storage Location Using Registry Editor
- Open Registry Editor. You can type
regedit.exein the Windows search bar and press Enter. - In Registry Editor, go to the following location in the left pane:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Search - In the right pane, double-click on the value named DataDirectory.
- Enter the full path of the location where you want to store the index (for example,
D:). Add\Search\Data\to the end of this path. Then, click or tap OK. The default location is%ProgramData%\Microsoft\Search\Data\.
- Close Registry Editor.
- Restart the Windows Search service to apply the changes.
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Richard, a writer for Geek Rewind, is a tech enthusiast who loves breaking down complex IT topics into simple, easy-to-understand ideas. With years of hands-on experience in system administration and enterprise IT operations, he’s developed a knack for offering practical tips and solutions. Richard aims to make technology more accessible and actionable. He's deeply committed to the Geek Rewind community, always ready to answer questions and engage in discussions.
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