How to clear Windows Spotlight cache in Windows 11

Question

Windows Spotlight in Windows 11 stops working around every 6 months without warning. I thought a Windows update might fix this issue though it does not.

Answer 1

Hello,

Do you use a local account in Windows and do you use OneDrive? Then it's a known bug that affects a lot of users. I'm also affected since months. Several clean installs of Windows didn't help. Known workarounds do not work. User Danilo Bonamoneta discovered the problem is related to the use of a local account in Windows in combination with OneDrive and Windows Spotlight. I think he's right. He wrote in a post:

'I discovered that the problem is related to logging into OneDrive. If you delete your Microsoft account credentials from the Credential Manager, and also delete all the cache files in this path "%localappdata%\Microsoft\TokenBroker\Cache", Spotlight starts working again, but OneDrive, if it is still connected, will work for a few hours after which it will ask you to re-enter your credentials, creating the block again. The alternative is to enter the credentials into the Windows account, since the problem only occurs if the Windows user is a local account. Has Microsoft decided to block the functionality for those who do not use a Microsoft account in Windows? They have been pushing for a long time to prevent the use of local accounts.'