Customize Windows XP Search Menu - Disable the Find Fast Indexer to Change Windows XP Search Settings

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The Find Fast Indexer, a utility that comes with Microsoft Office, may randomly slow down your system and hinder its responsiveness. It is designed to build an index that helps users find documents faster. However, to perform its function, it will take up system resources, which slows down the system. This tutorial will show you how to disable the Find Fast Indexer.

  1. Click on the Start button in the bottom-left of the desktop. Select Control Panel from the pop-up menu. (If you are using Windows XP Classic View, you may need to click Settings and then Control Panel).
  2. Double-click on the option labeled Find Fast in the Control Panel window. Look under the first section named Index for documents in and below and select the first item.
  3. Click the Index button located at the top of the window and select Delete Index on the dropdown menu that opens. This opens the Delete Index dialog box. Click OK.
  4. Click OK when prompted to indicate whether you want to delete the index.
  5. Repeat this process for any other existing indices.
  6. Once you have deleted all of the indices, click Close and Stop. Click OK to exit.

Disable Auto Start-up of the Find Fast Indexer

When Microsoft Office is installed, Find Fast Indexer is configured by default to start-up automatically. This enables Find Fast Indexer to run every time you boot-up your PC, automatically building indexes in the background as you work. Here’s how to disable its auto startup:

  1. Click on the Start button and then select Programs.
  2. Click on Startup in the dialog window that opens.
  3. Right-click on the Find Fast Indexer and then select Delete.

You have now disabled Find Fast Indexer.

How to Re-enable the Find Fast Indexer

You can re-enable the Find Fast Indexer by one of two methods:

  1. Run the Microsoft Office Setup program, and re-install the Find Fast Indexer.
  2. Add the shortcut back into the Startup folder. The default pathname for the shortcut program is C:Program Files/Microsoft Office/Office/FINDFAST.EXE.