Improve outlook indexing building speed

Question

while the outlook indexing is running how to improve the speed of indexing. It has been running for hours how to help complete it faster?

Answer 1

Hi Gopi Balakrishnan

Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A forum.

Normally, the number of items will determine how long it will take to fully complete this process. The larger the number of files, the longer it will take. I have found some suggestions that might help.

You can reduce indexing locations in Control Panel > Indexing Options > Modify > untick all except Outlook.

Check if there is any message like Indexing speed is reduced due to user activity. If yes, consider turn off some using applications to improve performance.

If you have large PST file, you can compact them in File > Account Settings > Data Files > Settings > Choose compact now.

Enabled Exchange Cached mode and set the slider to all right to download all emails to your local. That would help with indexing process.

Please try and let me know if it works for you.

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Answer 2

To improve the speed of Outlook indexing, you can take the following actions:

1. Reduce the Amount of Indexed Content: If you have a large amount of content, consider indexing less. You can do this by changing the synchronization window in Outlook to a shorter time interval, which will reduce the amount of mail cached locally.
2. Modify Indexing Options: Open the Indexing Options in the Control Panel and select Modify to deselect locations that you do not need to index. This can help speed up the indexing process by limiting the number of items being indexed.
3. Rebuild the Index: If the index is still slow, you can try rebuilding it. In the Indexing Options, go to Advanced and select Rebuild. This will create a new index and may resolve any issues causing slow performance.
4. Leave the Computer Unattended: If possible, leave your computer unattended for a few hours to allow the indexing process to complete without interruption from user activity.
5. Check for Resource Usage: Ensure that your computer is not overloaded with other tasks. High CPU or disk usage from other applications can slow down the indexing process. You can check this in the Task Manager and close unnecessary applications.

By following these steps, you should be able to help improve the speed of the Outlook indexing process.

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References:

• Troubleshoot Windows Search performance
• Windows.edb is larger than expected when a PST file is indexed