Applies to: Exchange Server 2010 SP3, Exchange Server 2010 SP2

Topic Last Modified: 2011-04-15

By default, Exchange Search is enabled for all new mailbox databases and does not require additional configuration. However, if you want to stop Exchange Search from indexing mailbox content, you can disable it for individual mailbox databases or for an entire Mailbox server.

Caution:
Disabling Exchange Search impacts the functionality and performance of the full-text searches that are performed by your users using Outlook in online mode, Outlook Live, or on Windows Mobile devices.

The Discovery feature in Exchange 2010 also relies on Exchange Search. If you disable Exchange Search for a mailbox database or for a Mailbox server, Discovery won't return any messages from the database or server. For more information, see Understanding Multi-Mailbox Search.
Note:
You can enable or disable Exchange Search for servers or mailbox databases, but not for individual mailbox users.

What Do You Want to Do?

Disable or enable Exchange Search for a mailbox database

You need to be assigned permissions before you can perform this procedure. To see what permissions you need, see the “Exchange Search” entry in the Mailbox Permissions topic.

This command disables Exchange Search for a mailbox database named EXCH01:

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Set-MailboxDatabase "Mailbox Database (EXCH01)" -IndexEnabled $false

This command enables Exchange Search for a mailbox database named EXCH01:

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Set-MailboxDatabase "Mailbox Database (EXCH01)" -IndexEnabled $true

For detailed syntax and parameter information, see Set-MailboxDatabase.

Disable or enable Exchange Search for a Mailbox server

To disable or enable Exchange Search for a Mailbox server, you must disable and stop or enable and start the Microsoft Exchange Search Indexer service. You can use either the Services console or the Shell to do this.

You need to be assigned permissions before you can perform this procedure. To see what permissions you need, see the “Manage Exchange Search Indexer service on a Mailbox server” entry in the Mailbox Permissions topic.

Use the Services console

  1. Navigate to Start > Administrative Tools > Services.

  2. In the Services details pane, right-click the Microsoft Exchange Search Indexer service, and then select Properties.

  3. On the General tab, in the Startup type list, select Disabled to disable the service or Automatic to start it automatically.

    Note:
    The startup type impacts the service the next time an attempt is made to start it, either automatically after the server is restarted or by manually starting the service. In the next step, the service is stopped or started manually.
  4. Click Stop to stop the service or Start to start the service.

Use the Shell

The following examples stop and disable the Microsoft Exchange Search Indexer service.

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Stop-Service MSExchangeSearch
Set-Service MSExchangeSearch -StartupType Disabled

The following examples configure the Exchange Search Indexer service to start automatically and then start the service.

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Set-Service MSExchangeSearch -StartupType Automatic
Start-Service MSExchangeSearch