Spotlight won't stop indexing in Lion 10.7.3

I read several other posts and think I have a fix.

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Spotlight won't stop indexing mail

i have unchecked messages and chats in the spotlight search results but i still get these cluttering up my search efforts. any idea how to stop this or why it is happening?
thanks.

i have unchecked messages and chats in the spotlight search results but i still get these cluttering up my search efforts. any idea how to stop this or why it is happening?
thanks.

Spotlight does not stop indexing

I need help: Just started the brand new MacPro 2x 2.66. The long desired spotlight (I run osx 1.3.9 before) does not work. Spotlight never stop to index. It runs and runs. If I add the hard drive to privacy in the system preferences it stops, but as soon as I get it back it just continues to index. So I've never been able to use Spotlight. Another harddrive in the machine (one without just data, no system) is swiftly indexed. But as soon as I have the main HD open for indexing, Spotlight continues to index for ever.
The harddrive causing the prooblem has previously been used in another computer under 1.3.9
Any ideas for fixing this would be much appreciated.
MacPro 2x 2.66 Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Hello,
I'm seeing the same kind of problem. Here are the symptoms:
-Some or all data from a Mac previously running 10.3, is migrated to a Mac using 10.4. The Migration Assistant is used.
-Spotlight will continuously re-index, stop for a brief period, and repeat, either by itself, or when a search is attempted.
-Erasing the indices with mdutil -E, running fsck, fixing permissions and stopping/starting Spotlight doesn't resolve the problem.
-Excluding the migrated user directory will stop the madness. I.e., other users and shared directories like Applications, are searchable, and Spotlight will stop the continuous re-indexing.
-Recreating the user directory from scratch, and then copying in data from a backup, may once again start the madness.
The big question is, what, exactly, causes the indexing cycle?
The client affected by the problem is very disappointed, and had cause to wonder "how is this any better than Vista? I would have been better off with a Windows PC". I really need to resolve this, but I'm not sure of the best way to get Apple Tech involved with this bug.
Many Macs Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Spotlight doesn't stop indexing

Hi guys,
Every time I start my iMac (everything up to date, Mac OS X 10.8.2) Spotlight starts calculating the time it will take to complete the indexing. And it takes many, many hours until it actually starts indexing - today I waited 15 hours, then shut the indexing of, restarted the SystemUIServer and waited again maybe 6 hours of calculating the time. Now Spotlight actually startet the indexing; I had that one or two times but then shut my computer off since I had to go to bed, now I'll keep it on to see what happens. I'll post tomorrow what happened, but that Spotlight takes so long to start indexing is a problem that shouldn't be and that should be mentioned and fixed.
Greetings,
Jannis

Please read this whole message before doing anything. This procedure is a diagnostic test. It’s unlikely to solve your problem. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it. The purpose of this test is to determine whether your problem is caused by third-party system modifications that load automatically at startup or login. Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Boot in safe mode* and log in to the account with the problem. The instructions provided by Apple are as follows:
Shut down your computer, wait 30 seconds, and then hold down the shift key while pressing the power button.
When you see the gray Apple logo, release the shift key.
If you are prompted to log in, type your password, and then hold down the shift key again as you click Log in.
*Note: If FileVault is enabled under OS X 10.7 or later, or if a firmware password is set, or if the boot volume is a software RAID, you can’t boot in safe mode. Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal, and some things won’t work at all, including wireless networking on certain Macs. The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin. Test while in safe mode. Same problem? After testing, reboot as usual (i.e., not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of the test.

Time capsule not backing up - spotlight doesn't stop indexing!

I have asked Spotlight not to index the backup drive however it ignores this and continues to try and do so. However it continues to estimate index time without providing a time, and hence the backup never proceeds.
Rebooting hasn't helped, and I'm even pluggintg the MBP into the TC via ethernet.
Any ideas please?

I'm having the same problem. Added the time capsule to the privacy list but this doesn't appear to prevent indexing. Basically every time time machine backup kicks off it indexes the time capsule, which is of no value to me. I believe this is a recent issue, but I can't say for certain what changed. Recent software update? Anyway, did you ever get to the bottom of it? My backups do complete, however it slows down the process and of course i can't use spotlight while its "estimating/completing" index of time capsule.

Macbook Pro won't stop indexing!

Hey yall ive had my MBP for right around 15 months and lately it was beachballing alot so i installed Onyx. Then it started freezing and BB'ing even more with Firefox. So i completly uninstalled Onyx and firefox. That solved the problem for the most part. Then it kept on BB'ing some more when using safari. So i did the repair permissions thing and now my MBP has been indexing for like 2 days and hasnt made in progress. I just want my computer back to where it was quick and did BB every five minutes. What do i need to do?

I am in almost the same situation.
The only differences are that I had gone in and tried to repair my volume. I did this once and it seemed to solve the problem. Then the symptoms came back and I did it again, but the second time it couldn't repair. So I reformated and reinstalled Lion, brought my system back with a time machine transfer. However the symptoms are back again now.
I also did NOT uninstall Onyx or Firefox.
Someone please help us both.

Why won't it stop indexing

Everything is indexing...spotlight is indexing...then my usb drive-with all my DISSERTATION work is indexing...my seagate backup took what felt like the time it took the **** moon to form to just process...Why is this fresh **** upon me? I am not tech savy-I can't "command" the indexing to stop. I am literally being driven insane by this.

You are indeed. It did it a few days ago. But the odd part seems to be that it is repeating itself. Or, rather, won't stop? It hasn't done a full on "indexing all night long" session, it just does it long enough (say, 45 minutes) to make me want to punch my own face inside out, as it prevents me for doing the one tiny thing I need to be doing-searching for files...Then it ceases its madness for a while, or so I believe, until I realize it has shifted to needlessly indexing my USB drive! It's like nanobots out to repair things in no need of repair!
If I just leave it alone, if I don't won't on my computer (the mere suggestion is madness!)... and just step away from it, just become one with my frustration and grade student papers or something, will it just index itself into pure bliss and stop the madness eventually?
Thank you for the reply and direction which moves me away from self-harm.

Just used Migration Assistant but spotlight won't index files on new iMac computer.

I just used Migration Assistant to move files from my old 2008 Mac Pro to a new 2013 iMac 27" both Intel based. Files and applications all moved over fine and I can access them in Finder but Spotlight won't index the files. Should I be reindexing something or do I need to do somethign for spotlight to recognize the new filez I migrated?
Thanks!

You can force a Spotlight index, just let it run and your migration should be just fine. Instructions are in:
Spotlight: How to re-index folders or volumes located at: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2409

Spotlight won't index iPhoto 7 files

It seems spotlight won't index the iPhoto Library for iPhoto 7 (iLife '08) automatically.
I manually issued the following command in Terminal and it worked. But will it work automatically when I add more pics?
mdimport -f "/Users/ibrian/Pictures/iPhoto Library"

Step one to ascertain whether the .Spotlight-V100 folder exists.
$ ls -al / | grep .Spotlight-V100
If so, then remove it, and restart:
$ sudo rm -R /.Spotlight-V100
That should restart indexing. If not, then try the mdutil commands again.
If that doesn't do the trick, create a new admin user account, log into it, and try there.

Spotlight wont stop indexing

My Spotlight wont stop indexing. It says (and has always said) there is about 2000 hrs left until it has finished indexing... hence I cant use. Any idea of how I can fix this? THANKS!

Launch the Terminal app in /Applications/Utilities/, copy & paste this command into the window that pops up, and hit the return key:
*sudo mdutil -E /*
When the Password: prompt pops up, enter your admin password, carefully, since nothing shows up on the screen, and hit the return key. When the prompt returns, quit the Terminal app.
The command +causes the local store for the boot volume to be erased. The store will be rebuilt.+ The store is what contains the index and supporting items.

Spotlight stopped indexing?!

I have recently upgraded firefox 3 (but just drag and drop and replacing the old one) and also Skype to the most update to date version. However, spotlight can not find these... I use bootcamp and parallels for windows XP system and the spotlight will only show the windows version of the software!!!
Help! Is there a way to force spotlight to index everything? I have checked everything in the preference panel. Is my spotlight somehow corrupted? If so, is there a way to fix it?
Thank you in advance for all your help!

Hello everyone! I am having the same problem with my Spotlight not indexing anymore. In fact, when I use Spotlight, putting in a term that I KNOW a file exists for, it returns the error "nothing found." I used the following tip found on the site to manually turn on indexing (or so it said) but still no indexing. Does anyone have any ideas on what I can do? It's really becoming a pain not having spotlight work. Thanks to everyone!! P DUB
(Here is the solution I tried that didn't seem to work--at least not for me---I will say this however:
AFTER I completed these steps, I did get a message in TERMINAL that said "indexing enabled." which was encouraging---but spotlight has still not indexed!! Again, any ideas??
This tip is useful, but a way too complicated way to do this. A better and simpler solution is as follows:
1. Login in to your server as an administrator.
2. Open the Terminal application (in your /Applications/Utilities folder)
3. Type the following exactly as written in to the Terminal:
sudo rm /.metadataneverindex
It will ask you for your password. I have never seen this file, so you may get a "file not found" error - in which case move on to step 4 anyway.
4. Type the following in to the Terminal:
sudo mdutil -i on / 
5. Spotlight in the right corner of your server login should indicate it is indexing, and before long will start working.
I don't believe editing of hostconfig is required at all, and you don't need to do all this stuff with making invisible files visible since you are already in the Terminal anyway.)
THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR YOUR HELP!! P DUB OKC

Hard drive sounds-- won't stop running

We have a brand new 24" aluminum Intel-equipped iMac with the only upgrade being 2 gig of RAM. After being on for a while and after a few programs have launched, the hard drive starts clicking continuously, like it is continually trying to access the same area without success. It won't stop until we shut it down. While it is doing this, all programs launch fine and everything seems to work.
We have four other Macs (all a little older than this) and we never hear the hard drive on these. Perhaps they are doing the same thing and we just don't hear them? Our iMac is on most of the day, and I just worry it's not going to last long continuously making that hard drive clicking.
Any ideas? Thanks.

I would start by opening up Applications/Utilities/Activity Monitor and see if you can narrow down what process is running. It could be any number of things from Spotlight indexing, Time Machine, cron tasks, or some other application checking for updates. Change the pull down menu to show all processes and click on the CPU tab to sort the processes by CPU usage.
http://ftp.georgetek.com/George/Activity_Monitor.png
Usually if a drive is clicking because of bad blocks your system will become very slow accessing data. You can test the drive to see if it is indeed failing.
1. Open up Applications/Utilities/Disk Utility select your hard drive on the left then look at the details at the bottom of the window and see if the SMART status is Verified. Next click on Verify Disk under the First Aid tab.
2. If you have Apple Care install TechTool Deluxe from the disk that comes with your Apple Care box. Launch TechTool then under options select Surface Scan and Run the test. If you think your drive might be failing then I highly recommend that you backup all of your data before running this test.
George

CS6 3d Rendering Won't Stop

I applied the Extrude / Revolve to text and once it rendered the text Illustrator keeps rendering it, that is, it won't stop.
There are two objects, one with a single word and the second object has 4 lines of one word on each line (peoples first/last names)
If I click Stop numerous times I can "catch" the function and get it to stop but if I change anything it starts the function all over. CS4 did not do this.
Restarting application has no effect.
I running Mountain Lion on a Mac Pro 2012 vintage, 16Gb Ram.

Ugraded RAM and fixed the complexity of the 3D to eliminate paths that were interferring with each other. All better now.

Keynote won't stop saving??

I'm in the process of making a large presentation for my class, but I think I accidentely pressed a couple buttons in sequence or something. My keynote won't stop saving every 2 seconds and it is making my keynote unresponsive and taking me a while to just type out a sentence. It saves everytime I click on something and every time I type like 3 letters. I have quit out of it and come back into it for it only to do the same thing. How do I fix this??

PLEASE, help us! It's the same for me!
I'm making a large medical presentation with my MacBookPro i7/8GB/500GB mid 2010 Lion last version, iWork uptodate and... my keynote won't stop SAVING AND SAVING every time I press a key!
Keynote is the most important piece of software for PROFESSIONAL presentations, a flag for Apple vs. PCs, is it possible a bug like this...
...Auto Save
Work without worry (!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Forget about manual saving and forge ahead with confidence. Auto Save in OS X Lion automatically saves your work, while you work, during pauses and every five minutes. And Lion saves changes in the background so you're never interrupted with progress bars.

My cooling fan won't stop kicking in on Mac Pro

Suddenly in the last week or so my cooling fan started kicking in while over the past 2+ years it has only run once or twice - now it won't stop!
I thought that it may have been due to an increase in RAM from 7G to 24G (3, 8G matched sticks) but after un-installing the 24G it was still running frequently, though not as much.
I have performed (in order) both a PRAM and SMC reset. I have also repaired all discs, reset permissions and dumped render files (I primarily use my Mac for video editing in FCP X).
I am fearing now that this may in fact be due to recent updates to Lion (10.7.3) or FCP X (10.0.3)
In an attempt to get FCP X to run better (there are many bugs in the latest update as evidenced by numerous posts in that discussion area) I also contacted NVIDIA for updates to my graphics card and was told by them that it is not compatible with Lion. I now have a Radeon card on order from the Apple store.
Any other advice?? This fan is not only an annoyance for me but as I also record voice-overs for my clients I simply cannot have it running all the time.

> I am fearing now that this may in fact be due to recent updates to Lion (10.7.3) or FCP X (10.0.3)
Only if the RAM is "defective" or "boarderline" would a new OS trigger an issue. But then someone else jumped to same conclusion when they upgraded to Lion recently and had been running Snow Leopard for awhile.
Every new OS brings some changes and some RAM will fail and fall to the wayside but the only way to know is trial and error; to get the vendor to replace and test.
Sometimes the RAM has been loosely seated. Sometimes the OS seems to be potential culprit (doesn't happen with clean install).
A USB or Firewire cable can be enough, too, even if just plugged and not attached to a powered on device.
You can even try two 8GB DIMMs and leave one out and see if process of elimination is of any value, or even boot wtih just a single DIMM. You don't need to have two or more.
But I would not mix 8GB with others, sounds like you had 3 x 2GB + 1GB, or 3 x 1GB + 4GB which would look and sound to be more iffy than your new set.
Btw, where did you get new set?

Spotlight won't stop indexing in Lion 10.7.3

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