Spotlight

Question

Spotlight

On my iMac running Big Sur, Spotlight is failing.

I've tried the standard fixes: A) Used Disk Utility to check my hard disk. B) In System Preferences > Spotlight > Privacy, I added relevant folders and then removed them, expecting this to initiate a new indexing of those volumes. Tried this twice over a period of two days with no improvements.

Oddly enough, the Finder's Search mechanism is failing as well. That is, Command F brings up the "Searching [Volume]" window, but various combinations of criteria—from the general to specific—fail to find key files I'm searching for. As an experiment, I found an Adobe file that both Spotlight and Finder's Search mechanism failed to find: I opened the file, closed it, and quit the application. Spotlight then found it immediately.

Can you suggest a way that I can make sure the OS is actually indexing the files so that Spotlight will function adequately? If files unused for a certain amount of time cease to be recognized, is there a way to bring them back "into the light"?

Would appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks!

iMac 27″, macOS 10.12

Posted on Oct 18, 2021 9:01 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Old Toad

Level 10

210,419 points

Oct 18, 2021 9:59 AM in response to Patrick Queen

Boot into Safe Mode according to Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support and test to see if the problem persists. Reboot normally and test again.

NOTE: Safe Mode boot can take up to 3 - 5 minutes as it's doing the following;

• Verifies your startup disk and attempts to repair directory issues, if needed

• Loads only required kernel extensions (prevents 3rd party kernel/extensions from loading)

• Prevents Startup Items and Login Items from opening automatically

• Disables user-installed fonts

• Deletes font caches, kernel cache, and other system cache files

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Answer 2

Barney-15E

Level 10

116,206 points

Oct 18, 2021 9:17 AM in response to Patrick Queen

It shouldn't be any different, but some have found the command line works when the GUI method doesn't.

This will erase and restart the index on the startup drive using an admin-capable account:

sudo mdutil -E /

If you just leave off the slash and drag an external drive into the Terminal Window, it will add the path to that volume.

You should see something like

sudo mdutil -E /Volumes/External

sudo will ask for your password with a prompt. You won't see anything when you type, just type your password and hit return.

Everything search related on macOS uses Spotlight metadata index.

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Answer 3

Oct 18, 2021 9:41 AM in response to Barney-15E

Thank you. I'll need to educate myself: I have no idea what phrases like "command line" and "GUI method" mean, but I'll find a beginner's guide to the Terminal app, bring myself up to speed so I don't obliterate my hard drive accidentally, and give your fix a try. I'll report back afterwards.

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Answer 4

Oct 18, 2021 10:21 AM in response to Old Toad

Thank you, Old Toad. I think the Safe Mode boot may have helped. After adding and removing key folders in the Spotlight Preferences privacy pain, I now see evidence of indexing in the Spotlight window, which shows an "Indexing" indication and an animated progress bar. Preliminary results appear encouraging as well. Thank you! I can put off educating myself about the scary Terminal app to some other day.

Thanks again!

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