Indexing / Windows Search not finding data

Question

Hello,
I am having problems with Windows Search on Windows Server 2022. We are running an Active Directory & Domain Controller on this Server. A few weeks ago I discovered that Windows isn't able to find document contents as it should do. I then looked up the Indexing function which told me that it has indexed 163 items. But the paths I configured have aproximatly 400.000 documents in it. Rebuilding the index didn't help. Because of this i started Search and Indexing Troubleshooting, which told me that there is a problem with "Incorrect permissions on Windows Search directories", that is not fixed yet.

After that I looked up the permissions of the selected drives, but couldn't find any issues. To me it looks as if the system would have all permissions to access all data needed. Rebuilding the index several times didn't help. Can anyone tell me what permissions are needed on which files?
Sorry for bad english, greetings from germany.

Answer 1

Hello,

Check if the "kanzlei" folder is indeed where your 400,000 documents are stored. If not, add the correct folder path to be indexed. Ensure no subfolders or file types within the "kanzlei" folder are excluded from indexing. Check the 'Advanced Options' in Indexing Options for any exclusions set at the folder or file extension level.

Ensure that the user account under which the Windows Search service runs (usually Local Service or Network Service) has read permissions for all the files and folders within the indexed locations. Right-click the folder, select Properties > Security > Advanced, then check the permissions for these service accounts. They should have at least 'Read & Execute', 'List Folder Contents', and 'Read' permissions.

Also try to reset the permissions on the Windows Search directories. The default location is %SystemDrive%\ProgramData\Microsoft\Search\Data. Grant 'Full Control' to the SYSTEM, Administrators, and the relevant service account (as mentioned above).

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Answer 2

This helped us:

From: https://www.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments/vyobq3/indexing_problem_windows_server_2022/?rdt=49097

From Windows Server 2019 on, Microsoft made changes to the 'Windows Search' service. This also affects Windows Server 2022 of course.

'Per user search index' is enabled per default. This is why you don't see any locations under "Indexing Options > Modify > Show all locations" as an administrator.

You can disable it and restore the older method of indexing with:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Search DWORD EnablePerUserCatalog 0

Restart 'Windows Search' service or the entire VM after that. Now you should see all locations. (like multiple 'Outlook' and/or 'OneNote' entries) Also the item count of indexed items should rise significantly.

Under 'Indexing Options > Advanced' you can set the location of the index and rebuild it, if you need to.

This worked on our Windows Server 2022 RDS VM with ~90 user profiles / "Outlooks/.ost".

Found at e.g.: https://www.ajni.it/2021/04/fix-search-indexing-on-rds-server-2019-and-probably-2016/

https://borncity.com/win/2020/03/19/collateral-damages-changed-windows-search-in-server-2019/

Answer 3

I faced an issue with mobile testing while deploying custom apps. On Android I usually test apps in a secure environment first. I recently documented some mod app behavior here https://stumbleguymod.com/ might be helpful if you're testing Android builds.