How to index multiple virtual drives for Windows Indexing?

Question

How can I have one search index for the local drive as well as the various google drives and onedrives virtually available to the OS?

Answer 1

Hi! For it to appear, you’ll need to change how the disk is configured on your PC. Open Disk Management, switch to the Disk view (not the Volumes view), then locate the disk you want to add to the index. Right-click the disk then Properties finally Policies tab, and change the removal policy/performance setting to Better performance. After that, the drive should be available for indexing.

Answer 2

Even though other drive letters (G:, I:, L:) are available in File Explorer they do not show up here to choose from. (same list after choosing 'Show all locations' - I am administrator for the laptop)

Answer 3

To index multiple virtual drives, such as Google Drive and OneDrive, alongside your local drive in Windows Indexing, you will need to ensure that these drives are properly set up and accessible through the Windows operating system. Here are the steps you can follow:

1. Ensure Drives are Mounted: Make sure that your virtual drives (like Google Drive and OneDrive) are properly mounted and accessible in Windows Explorer. They should appear as folders or drives in your file system.
2. Add Locations to Indexing Options:
   • Open the Control Panel and navigate to Indexing Options.
   • Click on Modify to select the locations you want to include in the index.
   • Ensure that your local drive and the folders for Google Drive and OneDrive are checked. This will allow Windows to index the contents of these locations.
3. Rebuild the Index: After adding the desired locations, you may want to rebuild the index to ensure that all files are indexed correctly. In the Indexing Options window, click on Advanced, and under the Index Settings tab, select Rebuild.
4. Verify Indexing Status: You can check the indexing status in the Indexing Options window to see if the files from your virtual drives are being indexed correctly.

By following these steps, you should be able to create a unified search index that includes both your local drive and the contents of your virtual drives.

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References:

• Windows Search overview
• Indexing process in Windows Search