Remove Obsolete Network Locations from Explorer Search

This guide explains how to identify and remove obsolete network locations and disconnected network shares from the Windows File Explorer search scope using the Registry Editor (Regedit). Clearing these dead paths resolves Explorer hanging, eliminates slow search indexing, and removes lingering network references that no longer exist on your local network.

Step 1: Open the Registry Editor

  1. Press Windows Key + R to open the Run dialog.
  2. Type regedit and press Enter.
  3. Click Yes if prompted by User Account Control (UAC).

Step 2: Clear Cached Network Mount Points

Obsolete network shares frequently remain cached under the user’s mount points, causing Explorer to attempt connecting to them during searches.

  1. In the Registry Editor, navigate to the following path:

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MountPoints2

  2. Expand the MountPoints2 key.

  3. Look for subkeys starting with ## followed by a server or share name (for example, ##ServerName#ShareName).

  4. Right-click the obsolete network key and select Delete.

Step 3: Remove Network Search History and Scopes

Explorer stores past search queries and target locations in the search dropdown history.

  1. Navigate to:

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\WordWheelQuery

  2. In the right pane, locate the binary values representing old search queries targeting network paths.

  3. Select and delete the specific obsolete values, or delete all entries except MRUListEx to completely reset Explorer’s search scope history.

Step 4: Remove Stale Network Drive History

If the network location was previously mapped as a drive:

  1. Navigate to:

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Map Network Drive MRU

  2. In the right pane, delete the string values (such as a, b, c) containing the obsolete UNC network paths.

  3. Double-click the MRUList entry and remove the letters corresponding to the deleted entries.

Step 5: Clean System-Wide Search Index Scopes (Optional)

If the obsolete location was indexed by Windows Search:

  1. Navigate to:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Search\CrawlScopeManager\Projects\SystemIndex\SearchRoots

  2. Expand SearchRoots and inspect the numbered subkeys.

  3. Check the URL data value inside each numbered key.

  4. If a key points to the obsolete network location (e.g., csc:// or file:///\\server\share), right-click that numbered key and select Delete.

Step 6: Restart Windows Explorer

  1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
  2. Under the Processes tab, find Windows Explorer.
  3. Right-click it and select Restart.