Windows 11 indexer uses 100% CPU after switching OneDrive account and folder paths

Environment

Windows 11 Pro 22H2 laptop with 16 GB RAM, multiple user profiles, OneDrive (consumer) signed in to a new account and user moved Documents and Desktop folders into OneDrive. Problem seen in primary user account after changing OneDrive target path and enabling Files On‑Demand.

Symptoms

Windows Search Indexer (SearchIndexer.exe) consumes near 100% CPU consistently for hours, causing fan spin-up and UI sluggishness. Indexing progress in Settings > Search > Searching Windows shows 'Indexing: 0 items remaining' but CPU stays high. High disk I/O on NTFS, and explorer.exe shows occasional 'Not responding' when opening large folder trees.

Observations

Event Viewer (Application) contains repeated entries from Microsoft-Windows-Search indicating 'Indexer reset' and 'Document changed during indexing' for files under C:\Users<user>\OneDrive; Process Monitor capture shows many CreateFile/QueryDirectory operations on the new OneDrive path and frequent re‑open of the same files. OneDrive sync client reports 'Files On‑Demand' enabled and shows placeholders. The problem reduces when OneDrive sync client is paused.

Already attempted

Signed out and back into OneDrive; ran 'Rebuild' in Indexing Options (Control Panel); excluded OneDrive folder from indexing temporarily — CPU dropped briefly then resumed when re‑added; reset SearchIndexer by stopping the Windows Search service and deleting the database at %ProgramData%\Microsoft\Search\Data\Applications\Windows then restarting — temporary relief for ~30 minutes. Disabled Office file iFilters and persistence no longer helped long‑term.

Question

What logs and tracing should I collect to determine whether SearchIndexer is stuck on Files On‑Demand placeholders, OneDrive notification events (change journals), or a search filter causing infinite reindexing loops? What reversible configuration will safely restore stable CPU usage while preserving search for local files?

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AI DIAGNOSTICS

Incident analysis

Updated 1w ago• Trouble ID

Most likely causes

OneDrive Files On‑Demand placeholders generating repeated change notifications that keep the indexer continually re-scanning 85%

A bug or race in the OneDrive client emitting spurious file system events while doing background health checks 80%

Search database corruption combined with frequent metadata churn in OneDrive folder 40%

Summary

High CPU with repeated indexing activity around OneDrive paths plus OneDrive sync paused alleviating the issue point to a feedback loop between the OneDrive file change notifications/placeholders and Windows Search. Files On‑Demand can cause rapid metadata changes as placeholders are rehydrated or probed by indexers. Corrupt search database, problematic file-type filter, or uncontrolled update events from the OneDrive client can keep the indexer busy indefinitely.

Suggested Fixes

Diagnostic step 1

Temporarily pause OneDrive sync and confirm CPU returns to normal to validate correlation — reversible via the OneDrive UI

Diagnostic step 2

Exclude OneDrive paths from Windows Search (Indexing Options) and observe CPU for several hours; if stable, re-enable and allow a full rebuild during low‑use hours

Diagnostic step 3

Collect ETW traces for SearchIndexer and OneDrive with Windows Performance Recorder (short 2–5 minute captures) to spot repeated file change events and stack traces for hot threads before escalating