Wsearch repeatedly found disabled on startup. (W10 Pro x64, v1709)

Windows 10 Pro x64, version 1709, OS build 16299.248).

I've been finding on startup recently that the Windows Search service (wsearch) has been disabled, with the result that search indexing options are disabled, and maybe other functions are also affected, but I haven't noticed any other symptoms.

This is despite having set the service to Automatic Delayed Start in the previous session - which is the permanent status on a laptop running the same OS version, and where this problem doesn't exist - and successfully starting the service. Once wsearch is running again, indexing resumes until shutdown.

I'm aware that Cortana and Search are closely related, but I don't know if this could be a factor with this problem.

Can anyone offer advice on why this is happening?

It appears that a task is running at some time, discreetly disabling the service, so that it doesn't run at next startup. I cannot imagine any reason why this should happen, so I haven't a clue where to look for the explanation, and devise a fix.

Thanks for your suggestions. I'm gratified that I seem to be thinking along the right lines.

However, after posting the problem, I started reflecting on what might be doing this - disabling wsearch - and I think I may have found it.

I use Auslogics Boostspeed (v10) on a daily schedule to try and keep my system tidy and free of unnecessary baggage. In the 'Scheduler' section of v10, you can choose which elements of Windows you want to be maintained routinely, and which to leave alone. Unfortunately, this feature doesn't seem to be available if you trigger a cleanup manually - it then does a somewhat brutal 'clean sweep'.

In the 'Computer Speed' section of the Scheduler, there is a check-box, to control whether or not to fix 'Windows Speed Issues'. I remembered at one time coming across a recommendation to speed up Windows by disabling Search Indexing, and I wondered if this is what it was doing, so I have unchecked this part. Clearly, wsearch uses CPU and disk resources intensively when it is running, but it does seem to throttle itself back (by adjusting task CPU priority?) when user activity is high.

Result! This morning after starting up, unlike of late, wsearch has been set running automatically, and its status is still set to 'Automatic (delayed start). I'm hoping I may have found why wsearch was getting disabled.

It wouldn't much surprise me if you responded (from your evident degree of experience with these matters) that using tools like Boostspeed can sometimes do more harm than good, and I can easily see that that may be true - they're powerful tools. It's getting them to do what you want, rather than what you don't want, that is the trick. Trouble is, you may not know what they're doing until a problem emerges.

Softly,softly, catchee monkey, I hope.