The External Drive Slowdown
The Windows Search Indexer is a background service that constantly scans your files to ensure that when you press the Start button and search for a document, the results appear instantly. However, if you plug in a massive 4TB external hard drive filled with thousands of backup files or photos, Windows 11 will aggressively attempt to index the entire drive. This heavy background processing can cause the external drive to run slowly, spin up loudly, and even prevent you from safely ejecting the drive because Windows is “currently using it.”
How to Exclude External Drives from the Indexer
You can dive into the Windows Search settings to explicitly tell the operating system to completely ignore your external drives, forcing it to only index your internal C: drive.
1. Click the Start button, type Indexing Options, and press Enter to open the classic control panel window.
2. Click the Modify button at the bottom of the window.
3. A new “Indexed Locations” window will appear. The top half shows all the drives currently connected to your PC.
4. Expand the tree by clicking the small arrows next to your external drive letters (e.g., D:, E:, or F:).
5. Untick the checkboxes next to any external drives you do not want Windows to scan.
6. Click OK to save your selection.
7. Click Close on the main Indexing Options window.
Searching Non-Indexed Drives
By removing the external drive from the index, you will immediately notice the drive runs quieter and can be ejected instantly. The only downside is that if you ever need to search for a specific file located on that external drive, you can no longer use the instant Start menu search. Instead, you must open File Explorer, navigate directly to the external drive, and use the search bar in the top right corner. The search will take slightly longer to complete, but your drive will remain fast and responsive the rest of the time.