'Search (7)' is taking up 200 MB of RAM in task manager; is this a normal application, and how can I disable it?

Hi,

Upon checking on this, The process named "Search (7)" in your task manager is likely associated with the Microsoft Edge browser's search functionality. It is a normal, non-malicious process, and the RAM usage you see is typical for modern applications. 

The number " (7)" indicates the number of subprocesses or threads running under that main application entry. Modern browsers like Edge and Chrome use multiple processes to isolate tasks like rendering, utilities, and crash handling for better stability and security, which often results in higher overall memory usage.

How to manage the process

You can end the task or prevent it from running in the background, but this may affect the speed of your computer's search features.

End the task manually

• In the Task Manager, you can right-click the "Search (7)" process and select "End task". This will close the process temporarily until it is needed again or you restart your computer. 

Prevent background running

• You can disable the application from running background processes when the browser is closed:
  • Open Microsoft Edge (or Google Chrome, if that is your primary browser).
  • Go to the browser's Settings.
  • Navigate to the System and performance section (or just System in Chrome).
  • Toggle off the option that says "Continue running background apps when Microsoft Edge is closed". 

Disabling this setting may make the browser slightly slower to open initially, but it will prevent the "Search (7)" process from consuming RAM when you are not actively using the browser. 

Hope that this information helps,

Kind regards,

I turned off "continue running..." in Edge and Chrome and the file reappears. Any other suggestions?

Windows Search indexes your files in the background. 200 MB is very little RAM.