What is SearchIndexer.exe and Why Is It Running? You’re no doubt reading this article because you’re wondering what that SearchIndexer.exe process is all about, and why it’s chewing up a lot of RAM or CPU. Here’s the explanation you’re looking for, and how to deal with it. So What Is This Process? SearchIndexer.exe is the Windows service that handles indexing of your files for Windows Search, which fuels the file search engine built into Windows that powers everything from the Start Menu search box to Windows Explorer, and even the Libraries feature. You can see this for yourself by simply right-clicking on the process name in the Task Manager list, and then choosing Go to Service(s) from the menu. This will take you to the Services tab, where you can clearly see the Windows Search item selected in the list. If you take a look at the file properties, you can clearly see that this particular executable is the Indexer component for Windows Search—though the ...
