Spotlight will not index my main hard drive. Tried a lot of things

Question

Spotlight will not index my main hard drive. Tried a lot of things

Problem

Spotlight isn’t finding many files despite settings allowing all file types. I tried some Terminal commands from Reddit, but now the Spotlight index seems completely wiped. The computer is otherwise running fine, with no recent updates or new programs.

Stats

I'm on Sonoma 14.2.1

M1 MacBook Pro

Work programs set up on my Mac and I rather not wipe the drive

529GB of free space on harddrive

Tried already

What I've tried:

Making the drive unsearchable than searchable, where Spotlight should re-index as described here: Rebuild the Spotlight index on your Mac - Apple Support
Various terminal commands recommended on the internet like: sudo mdutil -E /

And other commands that erased the Spotlight index file on my Mac (I'm told).

And finally I tried to re-install the OS, but the only option after restarting the Mac and holding the power button is Ventura, and selecting it says "This drive cannot be downgraded."

So I've tried: Apple's way, Reddit's way, and OS re-install.

Is there anything missing? I could put Sonoma on a USB, wipe my Mac and do a new install, but I really rather not.

Any ideas?

MacBook Pro 16″

Posted on Sep 9, 2024 10:51 PM

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Answer 1

AlWeir

Level 5

5,383 points

Sep 10, 2024 3:09 PM in response to SkyThomasGidge

Open the Terminal in the Utilities' folder. Copy each line then paste it at the Terminal's prompt and press RETURN. You will be prompted to enter your admin password. It will not echo back to the Terminal window. Press RETURN again. You should only be asked when you run the first command.

sudo mdutil -a -i off

sudo rm -rf /.Spotlight*

sudo mdutil -a -i on

sudo mdutil -E

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