Outlook indexing issue

Question

Hi guys,

when I search for a certain email that was sent not too long ago, my outlook shows "no results". It also displays messages like "search could not be complete, because items are still being indexed" or "77000 emails left to index, click here to speed up index".

How do I resolve this issue? How do I fix my search engine so that my outlook can function normally again? I tried rebuilding the indexing, but now it only shows emails up to 2021 and some emails from yesterday when I search something - it is like a few years worth of emails are missing from my search engine function. Please can someone assist me with resolving this issue?

***Moved from Outlook / Windows / Classic Outlook for Windows / For business ***

Answer 1

Hi Michelle,

Thank you for reaching out and sharing your concern in this community. As per the information shared, Outlook indexing issue as we are community moderators, we can't see what exactly is happening in your inbox so to assist you better, may I ask you to confirm the following details:

• Is your account a Microsoft business account?
• If you are using Microsoft business account how much space is used and do you Online archive enabled. The archiving will help free up space in your primary mailbox
• Which outlook versions are you currently using? To check this:

Open your Outlook from the affected account, Navigate to File then Office Account

Share a screenshot like as shown below

I noticed you have tried other troubleshooting steps may I know if you tried the steps below:

• Navigate to C:\Users\
• Restart Outlook in Safe Mode:

Press Win + R, type outlook.exe /safe, and press Enter. If search works here, an add-in is conflicting. Disable add-ins via File > Options > Add-ins > Go… and re-enable them one by one

• Create a New Profile:

Go to Control Panel > Mail > Show Profiles > Add. Set the new profile as default and reconfigure your email account.

• Repair or Reinstall Office

Go to Control Panel > Programs > Uninstall a Program.

Select Microsoft Office, click Change, then choose Online Repair

• Update Office and Windows

Open Outlook > File > Office Account > Update Options > Update Now.

Update Windows via Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update

• Check Indexing Status and Include Outlook Data Files

Close Outlook.

Go to Control Panel > Indexing Options.

Click Modify and ensure your Outlook data files (PST/OST) are checked under "Selected locations". If files are stored in a non-default location (e.g., external drive), add that folder to the index

• Repair Outlook Data Files : Repair Outlook Data Files (.pst and .ost) - Microsoft Support

Locate the Inbox Repair Tool (scanpst.exe):

Typical path: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\OfficeXX.

Run it, select your PST file, and click Start to scan and repair. Repeat for all PST files. For OST files (Exchange accounts), delete the OST file; Outlook will recreate it

• Run troubleshooters in Get Help, please refer to attached link: Running troubleshooters in Get Help - Microsoft Support

Your response will help us analyze the issue more effectively and provide a customized solution.  

Please note that our initial response might not resolve the issue right away. However, with your cooperation and more detailed information, we can work together to find a solution.

Sincerely

Albert |Community Moderator

Answer 2

Hi Albert, thank you for the assistance with this matter. I see that you gave me more that 1 solution - I will try them and revert back should they not work.

We have a microsoft Family account with 5 users on it. Does this affect anything?

I tried troubleshooting, but it did not give me any results - so we can rule that out.

Thank you for helping me with this matter.

Answer 3

Dear MichelleXN

Welcome to Microsoft Community.

Based on your description, I see that you are having issues with your 365 Outlook Classic subscription not displaying full information when searching for emails.

Also, in the case that you indicated that you have added and shared your 365 product with 5 users in Fimily, this behavior basically does not cause problems with your indexing.

I see that you have been provided with some options in previous replies, have you tried to implement any of these options? Did you try to implement them? Did they work for you?

First of all, I would like to explain to you that due to the privacy restriction received by Microsoft, the community staff does not have the authority and tools to view and modify your information, we can only judge and try to provide solutions through your text description.

If the above solutions cannot solve your problem, perhaps you can refer to the following process to confirm whether it is helpful to you:

Check indexing status and complete indexing

-Open Outlook, click the search box at the top, and then in the Outlook ribbon, select “Search Tools” > “Indexing Status”.

-Check the number of “Items to be Indexed”. If it shows 77,000 emails, it is possible that there are too many emails and the indexing has been building, so you will need to wait for the indexing to complete (which can take hours to days, depending on the volume of emails).

-If the indexing progress is stalled, try to “recreate” the index, you will need to enable it via Control Panel - Indexing Options - Advanced - Recreate, and wait patiently after it finishes.

Adjust account synchronization settings

-In Outlook click on “File” > “Account Settings” > “Account Settings”.

-Select your account and click “Change”.

-Drag the “Download Email Past” slider to “All” to ensure that all emails are cached locally.

-Restart Outlook.

Include the “Deleted Messages” folder

-Click File > Options > Search.

-In “All Items”, check “Include deleted messages in each data file”.

-Restart Outlook.

Disable Windows Search (temporary solution)

-Press Win + R and type regedit to open the registry editor.

-Navigate to the path:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Search. 

-Create a new DWORD value named PreventIndexingOutlook and set the value to 1.

-Restart Outlook, at which point the Outlook internal search will be used.

Disclaimer: Generally, modifying registry subkeys or work group is intended for advanced users, administrators, and IT Professionals. It can help fix some problems, **however, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For further protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs.**For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click How to back up and restore the registry in Windows - Microsoft Support to view the article.  

Finally, if this issue still cannot be resolved, I hereby recommend that you help by contacting Microsoft Support and having a support person intervene on your behalf to help you deal with this issue:

1. Click the link.–Contact - Microsoft Support
2. In the box under “We're here to help,” enter Outlook, click Get Directions, and then click Contact Customer Service. (You must be logged into your Microsoft account. If not, follow step )
3. In this section, you need to sign in to your personal Microsoft account.

Note: You can only sign in with your personal MSA, when you sign in with your company account, it will not display correctly. If you are unable to connect to this account, you can use another account or create a new account to manage it.

4. Under “Products and Services”, select “Other Products”, select “Outlook”, and then click Confirm.
5. You can select “Chat with a Support Specialist in a Web Browser” and go to the chat window.

Note: Please contact us during local business hours on weekdays, CHAT is not available 24 hours a day.

Feel free to text back if you need further help.

Best wishes

Chris.S-MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist