Process Information

Process File: Cidaemon.exe
Process Name: Microsoft Indexing Service

Author: Microsoft Corp.
Part Of: Microsoft Windows Operating System

Description:
Cidaemon.exe is an indexing service which catalogues files on your computer to enable for faster file searches.

Cidaemon.exe is Windows NT4/2000/XP task which is part of the Microsoft Index Server (NT4) or its replacement, the Microsoft Indexing Service (2000/XP).
The Indexing Service is a background process which catalogues files so that you can then do searches for any piece of text across your entire file system, or across a specific range of folders.
The Indexing Service works differently on server operating system than it works on desktop operating systems. On fileservers running Windows NT4/2000-server/XP-server, the Indexing Service, which needs to be set up, configured, and started, is used to construct library catalogues which end-users on the network can then search to find specific documents – in short, it is an Intranet tool.
On desktop operating systems (Windows 2000 Professional, Windows XP Home or Professional), the Indexing Service runs by default and simply catalogues in the background all files on your PC so that when you do a Search for Files or Folders, the results come back much faster as Windows 2000/XP gets its results from the catalogues (indexes) that were built by the Indexing Service rather than through trawling your entire disk for every search you make.


Recommendation for cidaemon.exe:
In most cases you should leave it alone on desktops; however, there are cases where CIDAEMON runs amok and consumes excessive amounts of memory and CPU and the PC slows down as a result – when that is the case, setting the Indexing Service as a disabled or manual start service in "Services" in the Control Panel (WinNT4) / Administrative Tools (Win2000/XP) should solve your problem. On fileservers, on the other hand, most problems are resolved with the most recent Support Packs, particularly on NT4 (SP6) and 2000 (SP3).

Summary account

System Process: Yes
Application: No
Background Process: Yes
Uses Network: No
Uses Internet: No