MacOS X stores the index of any hard drive attached to your Apple computer in a directory called “.Spotlight-V100″. If you find that Spotlight is missing some files upon its search, it may be time to re-index your hard drive. The following steps are provided as a guide but should be followed at your own risk. This guide involves diving into the “guts” of the system and performing some commands in the Terminal.
Enabling root
The first step in re-indexing your hard drive is to enable the ‘root’ user on your computer. To do so:
- Launch the “Directory Utility” application from the “Utilities” folder in your “Applications” folder
- Ensure the “Directory Utility” is “un-locked” by clicking (if needed) on the image of the lock
- Enter your password
- Click on ‘Edit’ and select ‘Enable Root User’
- Enter a new password for ‘root’ do not forget this password and verify
- Close “Directory Utility”
Entering Terminal
Next, open the “Terminal” application from the “Utilities” folder located inside the “Applications” folder and enter the following commands:
YourName$ su (followed by return key)
The system will prompt you for your root password
Password:
Enter your root password and hit ‘enter’
sh-3.2#
You are now logged in as the root user.
Note: executing commands as root can cause extensive damage to your system. The author nor West LA Computer Services assume any responsibility for any damage caused by following this guide.
If you’re still following along, enter the following command:
sh-3.2# rm -r /.Spotlight-V100/ (followed by return key)
The system quietly returns:
sh-3.2#
And now type:
sh-3.2# exit (followed by return key)
And Terminal will return:
exit
YourName$
Enter:
YourName$ exit (followed by return key)
And the system responds with:
logout [Process completed]
Now quit the application.
Wrapping Up
If Spotlight does not start immediately indexing your drive, you may need to restart your computer.