Windows XP keeps a record of all files on the hard disk. Now when you do a file search, the results come up that much faster. If you’re like me, you don’t use this enough to warrant indexing. The downside to indexing is normal file commands like open & close tend to run much slower.

Now the information window tells us that this service “Indexes contents and properties of files on local and remote computers; provides rapid access to files through flexible querying language.“

Does this sound like something you could live without? I know I could.

Here’s a quick way to do away with indexing. Click START, the RUN, and type in services.msc , & hit enter.

Scroll down to “Indexing Service“. Double-click it. When the window pops-up, change the Startup type to “Manual” or “Disable”. While you’re at it, why not just “Stop” the service? Click the “Stop” button. Wait for the service to stop then click “OK”.

Don’t be fooled into thinking your system will be noticeably faster, but it is just one of many ways to get the most from your XP system!