SP3 file indexing ARG!!

[Jo]

This is driving me nuts! I don't know if it's just SP3 in general or if it's
this useless file indexing thing or what, but my computer runs MUCH slower,
it sometimes hangs when a program is trying to read a directory, and often
the thumbnails it shows are only a fraction of the regular thumbnail size and
I have to click refresh to get the fill size. This is supposed to be an
improvement how???

When I looked in Windows Help to see if I could shut it off, it tells me
there should be a "Fast Find" or something in the control panel. Not! I did
find "Indexing Options" but it only gives me options, not the ability to shut
that feature down. I tried to unclick everything I could find, hoping that
would do the trick, but when I tried to access a file from FrontPage, FP went
into a loop taking up 99% of the CPU and I had to crash the thing to get out
of the tailspin (an example of how it hangs my machine -- and I was luck I
didn't have to crash the whole computer to get it to stop). This is insane.

Can someone please tell me how I can get rid of this thing? Is there
anything in SP3 worth keeping, or should I just try to roll it back to SP2?
Is that even an option at this point??

Thanks for the help.

 

[JS]

You can "Stop" the Indexing service:
Start/Run and then enter: services.msc
Scroll down the list of service and click to highlight the Indexing Service
Right click and select 'Properties' and set the 'Start type' to: Manual.

Front Page:
It's been a while since I've used Front Page
but if doesn't mess up anything you have developed try
uninstalling and reinstalling Front Page and any updates.

And yes there is an option in Add/Remove to uninstall SP3.

JS
http://www.pagestart.com

 

[Jo]

Thanks JS. However, when I looked it up, it was already set to Manual. ?? And
yet, when I mouse-over the little search icon in the system tray, it tells me
"indexing speed is reduced due to user activity." (Only Microsoft could
complain because its user is interfering with its computing time!) So if this
indexing is supposed to be "stopped" (its status in the properties window)
and only activated when I tell it to (which I don't ...not that I'm aware of
anyway), then why is it telling me it's indexing? And sometimes the icon
glows and is apparently indexing. Do you have any idea why it seems to be so
all over the place? Thx.

 

[Doug W.]

You can also set it to "disable". That should "fix" it.
-

 

[Jo]

Thanks Doug, I'll give that a try and see if it helps.

 

[JS]

Was the service running, if so then something started it.
Do as Doug mentioned and set it to "Disabled".
You can reboot at this point as see if the problem goes away.

JS

 

[John John (MVP)]

It was set to Manual but was it started? You can disable the service if
you want. I think the problem is with Office Find Fast, it is probably
starting the Indexing Service, you have to go in the Office setup
options and remove Find Fast.

OFFXP: Hard Disk Runs Continuously After You Install Office XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/282106/EN-US/

John

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

Is Windows Search v4.0 installed?

How to remove Windows XP Service Pack 3 from your computer:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/950249

WinXP SP3 - Read all prerequisites for a successful installation
http://msmvps.com/blogs/harrywaldro...requisites-for-a-successful-installation.aspx

Free unlimited installation and compatibility support is available for
Windows XP, but only for Service Pack 3 (SP3), until 14 Apr-09. Chat and
e-mail support is available only in the United States and Canada. Go to
http://support.microsoft.com/oas/default.aspx?gprid=1173 | select "Windows
XP" then select "Windows XP Service Pack 3"

 

[Jo]

Thanks for the referral John, but unfortunately that article seems to be
misleading or not always accurate. It says to select Add/Remove programs and
another window is supposed to come up letting you selectively add or remove
program features. The problem was that this didn't come up and I wound up
inadvertently uninstalling my whole Office package and having to reinstall it
again. Not exactly the way I wanted to spend my Sunday afternoon.

In any case, when I checked Office before that, to turn off the indexing in
Office as the article says, it already showed as disabled. Maybe that was
because I had disabled it in Windows Services last night, I don't know. I
still see the icon in the system tray (which was added since SP3 was
installed) and it still says "indexing speed is reduced due to user
activity," suggesting that it at least *thinks* it's still indexing.

Anyway, I guess I'll just see what happens and try to live with it if I can.
I appreciate you trying to help, though.