---
title: "How easily you can activate the Windows Search"
url: https://lookeen.com/blog/how-easily-you-can-activate-the-windows-search
lang: en
description: "Having problems with your Windows Search? This could be because you need to activate your Windows Search first. We will show you how."
author: "Ben Golling"
published: 2016-01-23T09:30:40+00:00
modified: 2026-11-11T06:22:22+00:00
---

# How easily you can activate the Windows Search

Sometimes, after a fresh installation of Windows, the default Windows search no longer works. Or you have disabled it yourself and no longer know where to activate the Windows search. There are various reasons why the Windows search no longer functions properly. But don’t worry, in just a few steps you can activate the Windows search.

## The Windows Search Process

[Having trouble finding files with the Windows search function? Make searching easier!](https://lookeen.com/desktop-search)

To activate Windows Search, you need to find the associated process, Windows Search, in Windows Features. Windows Search indexes the data on your hard drive. You can configure exactly which data is included in the index in the “**Indexing Options**” in the Control Panel. But first, you must activate Windows Search:

1.  Click on “**Start**” in the taskbar. Here you must click the “**Control Panel**” link. (Of course, you can also open “Control Panel” from your desktop if you have enabled the desktop shortcut via “Control Panel” – “Personalization” – “Change desktop icons”.)

![Joana Simoes](https://lookeen.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Joana-Simoes-200x200.jpg)

2.  Now click the “**Programs and Features**” link.

![Hong Kong Skyline](https://lookeen.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/hkskyline-300x200.jpg)

3.  A new window will open, where you must click “**Turn Windows features on or off**” on the left side.

![Black and white forest](https://lookeen.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Forest-Peter.jpg)

4.  A new window titled “**Windows Features**” will appear. Scroll down until you find the entry “**Windows Search**”. Click the small square to the left of the entry to activate Windows Search.

![Minneapolis Skyline](https://lookeen.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Minneapolis-Eric.jpg)

5.  Confirm your selection with “**OK**” and restart your computer as soon as you are prompted to do so.

## Adding Files to the Index

If the check box for Windows Search is already selected, or if you were able to activate Windows Search but are not getting any results, this may be due to faulty indexing. To change Windows indexing, you need to go back to the Control Panel.

1.  Open “**Control Panel**” as described above.

2.  Click the “**Indexing Options**” link.

3.  In the “**Indexing Options**” window, you must click “**Change…**”.

![Cory Schmidt headshot](https://lookeen.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Cory-Schmidt-200x200.jpg)

4.  A new window titled “**Indexed Locations**” will open. Here you can see which locations are indexed by Windows. It becomes clear that even if Windows Search is activated, not all files are indexed.

![Typewriter](https://lookeen.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Joana-Simoes-Typewriter.jpg)

Here you can add those locations to the index that you need to access frequently. But be aware: depending on the amount of data, the index could become quite large. Another option is to re-index. However, since this process can take a very long time, you should perform “**Delete Index and Rebuild**” preferably overnight.

1.  To do this, return to Indexing Options and click “**Advanced**” instead of “Change…”.

2.  Under “**Index Settings**” and “**Troubleshooting**”, you will find the corresponding option.

![Eric Ebert headshot](https://lookeen.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Eric-Ebert-200x200.jpg)

## A Faster Search Solution

If you are still not satisfied with the performance of Windows Search, a professional search solution like Lookeen could solve your problem. Because Lookeen finds emails, PDFs, Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, and many other file types at record speed. Microsoft Outlook is searched just as thoroughly as Microsoft Exchange Server, hard drives, or file servers. In addition, Lookeen features a user-friendly interface. This not only results in a significantly more effective search; thanks to real-time indexing, your index is always up to date, even during your search query.