Indexing fails to start ('can't find file specified...')

[keNeff]

In control panel, I can't change any settings for indexing because 'Indexing
is not Running'. In Services, I select Start for the Windows Search and it
proceeds in starting partway but ends with the message '...Can't find the
file specified'.

WinVista Business; upgrade from winXp Pro
(around 21Mar changed the location of index (off c)

The following are suggestive but I cant interpret further:
(21Mar various logs
Details:
The content index server cannot update or access information because of a
database error. Stop and restart the search service. If the problem
persists, reset and recrawl the content index. In some cases it may be
necessary to delete and recreate the content index. (0x8004117f)
Log Name: Application
Source: Microsoft-Windows-Search
Date: 3/21/2007 1:30:42 PM
Event ID: 3038
Task Category: Gatherer
Level: Error
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Computer:
()
Description:
The gatherer is unable to read the registry DocIdMapFile.

Context: Application, SystemIndex Catalog

Details:
The system cannot find the file specified. (0x80070002)
()

Log Name: Application
Source: Microsoft-Windows-Search
Date: 3/21/2007 1:30:44 PM
Event ID: 3028
Task Category: Gatherer
Level: Error
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Description:
The gatherer object cannot be initialized.

Context: Windows Application, SystemIndex Catalog

Details:
The registry value cannot be read because the configuration is invalid.
Recreate the content index configuration by removing the content index.
(0x80040d03)

 

[Dave Wood [MS]]

Have you moved the location of the index to somewhere that is now
inaccesible, or that maybe got deleted? That seems to what these errors are
pointing to. If so, can you restore this location?

Also what is the reg key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows
Search\SetupCompletedSuccessfully set to? If it is set to 1, you can try
setting it to 0 and rebooting and seeing if that causes the system to
recover.

Dave Wood

 

[R. C. White, MVP]

Hi, Dave.

Indexing WAS working for me after I installed Vista Ultimate x64 (for the
last time?) in December. But it was filling up Drive C:! Something like 12
GB and still growing. So in January, I created a new 30 GB Drive T: (I've
got plenty of hard drive space.) and tried to move the Index file to there,
using Indexing Options. In a day or two, Drive T: had 8 GB of Index - and
Drive C: STILL had 12 GB. When Indexing Options finally completed, it said
it had indexed just over 1 million files. (Mostly old .eml and .nws
archives.) But Search was working well - and FAST! ;<)

I never did figure out why all or some of the Index was still on C:. To
free that space, I tried simply deleting the index data files on both T: and
C:, resigning myself to a week or so of rebuilding the entire index from
scratch onto T:. After deleting the index, though, the Indexing process did
not start again. After trying everything I could think of the Services and
in Indexing Options, I tried tweaking the Registry (including the
SetupCompletedSuccessfully key). That didn't work, either.

Now, Indexing Options tells me simply that "Indexing is not running", and
the Modify and Advanced buttons are greyed out, leaving Close as my only
option. The SetupCompletedSuccessfully key value is now 0; I rebooted and
it is still 0.

Now, of course, I can't recall all of the changes that I made. But the
bottom line is that I can't get the Indexing Service started again. Is a
complete reinstallation of Vista required?

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP
(Running Windows Mail in Vista Ultimate x64)