Windows.edb is an index database of Windows Search service, which provides faster search of data in the file system due to indexing of files, e-mails in PST files and other content. Obviously, the more files there are in the system, the larger is Windows.edb. In some cases, it can grow to tens or even hundreds of GB, taking up all the free space on the system disk.
This file is hidden and by default stored in the folder C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Search\Data\Applications\Windows\.
Note. This file can be found in all modern client and server Microsoft OSs: from Windows 7/Vista/Server 2008 to Windows 10/Server 2016.
For example, in my case the size of Windows.edb is more than 15.5 GB (i. e. over 15% on my 100 GB SSD drive).
In some time (as a rule, it takes quite a long time), the system will finish data re-indexing, and the size of the EDB file will be reduced.
Tip. To perform the defragmentation, there should be sufficient free space on the hard drive, since a copy of the EDB file will be created.
Esentutl displays the defragmentation progress on the screen.
In my case, after the defragmentation the size of the EDB file reduced by 30%.
If there is too little free space on your disk, you can safely delete Windows.edb. To do it, stop Windows Search and delete the file.
After you restart Windows Search, it will start system re-indexation and recreate the Windows.edb file (in the process of full reindexing, system performance may decrease).
In some cases, when the size of Windows.edb file is constantly growing, it is better to move the index database of Windows Search to another volume. Thus, the extreme growth of the database won’t result in stopping the system when the system space is exhausted. As a rule, you should do it on RDS servers, where users actively work with files, personal folders and other indexed content.
To change the file location, open Control Panel\Indexing Options\Advanced\ Index location->New Location and specify the path to the new location of Windows.edb file.
To solve the problem of the constant growth of Windows.edb file in Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012, a special fix was issued that was included in the update package of May, 2013 – KB 2836988. It is recommended to download and install it for these Windows versions.
This issue is not only related to Win8 and 2012.
It also happened with Win 10. very terrible.
This is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for your help!