22

I am using Windows 10 Pro (1709).

A few times in last weeks I have noticed that search from start menu wont find any files. Simply rebuilding the index did not fix this. Looking deeper into indexing settings I found that there was strange looking path being included in the index, one that I had not put there.

The included path looks like this:

csc://{S-1-5-21-773843817-2136397924-2028731201-1001}/

Mouse over this path bring up text saying that this path is not available and cannot be indexed.

Start of the path looks like protocol definition but I could find information about any csc protocol. The second part is SID of my user account. (I am only user on this computer and it is not connected to domain.)

Removing that path from indexing targets and rebulding the index has fixed this problem so far but I would like know

1) What is this path

2) Why does it get added to search indexing on its own

3) How can I prevent this from happening again and breaking my search

Madoc Comadrin
  • 1,147
  • 4
  • 13
  • 24

1 Answers1

18

CSC stands for "Client Side Cache" which is used to hold Offline Files. These are local copies of files that exist on SMB shares like mapped network drives. By default, Windows indexes the CSC so that you can quickly find any network files that you've opened recently. The CSC index can become corrupt and put a full bork on indexing.

Solution:

  1. Open registry editor (regedit.exe)
  2. Goto HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Csc\Parameters
  3. Add a new DWORD called FormatDatabase and set its value to 1
  4. Reboot

  5. Open Manage Offline Files

    • In Control Panel > Sync Center > Manage Offline Files

  6. Disable Offline Files

  7. Reboot

  8. Open Indexing Options

    • In Control Panel

  9. Click Modify

  10. Remove all "csc://" entries and anything else you don't need an index of
  11. Click Advanced
  12. Delete and rebuild index with the Rebuild button
HackSlash
  • 4,554
  • 3
  • 20
  • 38
  • 1
    Registry path mentioned does not exist in Windows 10. How was this answer accepted? Should be: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\CscService\Parameters – Jimmy D Jul 27 '19 at 12:46
  • Usually, If the path doesn't exist then you need to create it. I have both paths on my current computer. They contain entries that I did not create. Have you tried your method to fix this exact problem? – HackSlash Jul 31 '19 at 15:10
  • My path is seen here: https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/24346edb-80ed-49a7-b7b5-aecebff7b725/how-to-delete-the-offline-file-cache-or-reset-the-offline-file-cache-in-windows-10?forum=win10itpronetworking and here: http://www.networknet.nl/apps/wp/archives/1093 – HackSlash Jul 31 '19 at 15:18
  • How is step 5, "Open Manage Offline Files" performed? Is there a program to 'Manage Offline Files'? Any hint on how to start it when start menu search is not working? – avl_sweden Feb 05 '20 at 15:43
  • 1
    @avl_sweden I added some notes about getting to Offline Files, it's in the Control Panel under Sync Center. – HackSlash Feb 05 '20 at 16:13
  • in my copy of win 10 20H2 the path is: `HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\CscService\Parameters` I think the path is still wrong in the reply maybe. – Brian Thomas Mar 03 '21 at 19:19
  • The first part, about adding the key to format database, was all it took for me. I want the `csc:/ /` in there, since i use a network drive alot. I also have a `dp://` entry that i left. Since there was a discrepancy between the answer here, and the path i saw, i put DWORD value in both keys (`CscService/Parameters`, `CSC/Parameters`). Make sure you run regedit as admin. FIle explorer browsing (before reindexing, after reboot) is working 100% better now. It was that database... – Brian Thomas Mar 03 '21 at 19:30
  • Hindsight says the key here is correct. I did not have a `parameters` key at all, in `CSC`, but the format database dword value i had put in there, its gone. Theres also a new key in there `CachingEnabled`. I think thats why explorer was so slow. (The `CscService/Parameters/` FormatDatabase dword is still there, so apparently it didnt use that one, which im removing now. – Brian Thomas Mar 03 '21 at 19:35
  • I have multiple file-server drives (I, J, S, etc.) but only need to index J and want to exclude the others for indexing performance reasons. Do each of the csc entries correspond to a particular file-server and, if so, how do I determine which is which? – pstraton May 26 '21 at 15:21
  • @pstraton this is about a corrupt CSC. Just remove them all. They will be rebuilt if needed by the OS. – HackSlash May 26 '21 at 15:56
  • @HackSlach: but if each corresponds to a different filer-server drive, I don't want them all to be re-enabled (rebuilt), just the one that corresponds to the J drive. Any way to selectively control that? – pstraton May 26 '21 at 16:15
  • The CSC is relative to the user because it relates to the files YOU opened recently. If your CSC is borked then you need to clear it out. All of it. You cannot selectively clear out part of it. Lookup your SID for your user account and match that to the CSC entries. – HackSlash May 26 '21 at 16:17
  • @HackSlash: Got it. Thanks! – pstraton May 26 '21 at 16:18