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Can I 'disable' Spotlight but keep Finder search function?

I eventually got hacked off by Spotlight slowing my system down while it does its indexing thing. So I added all discs to the privacy list. That fixes up the spotlight issue but also disables the search function in Finder.


Is there anyway I can fix this and, if not, is there anyway to schedule Spotlight indexing so that it only happens when I am not using the machine (say overnight)?


Hope someone can help.


Cheers....Scotty

iMac, OS X Mountain Lion

Posted on Mar 19, 2013 12:34 AM

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1 reply

Mar 19, 2013 4:32 AM in response to Scotty M

Finder's find function requres the Spotlight index. Spotlight index shouldn't slow down your computer - once the entire drive (or drives) have been indexed updating new and modified files takes no time at all. I suspect your index was damaged or that the Spotlight worker went rogue.


Try this: before going to bed, set your computer to not sleep and in Spotlight preferences set it to index your computer's boot drive. Even a very full large drive should complete indexing by the time you get up. See what happens.

Can I 'disable' Spotlight but keep Finder search function?

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