

If this index becomes corrupted, Search doesn't work. So, instead of performing a real-time search through files on the file system, the search performs a query to the internal database, which allows showing results immediately. There is a designated list of indexed locations in Windows, plus Libraries which are always indexed. It runs as a service that indexes file names, contents and properties of file system items and stores them in a special database. It is not new to Windows 10, but Windows 10 uses the same indexer-powered search like its predecessors although it uses a different algorithm and a different database.


As you may already know, search results in Windows are instant because they are powered by the Windows Search indexer.
