Fix for Failed to retrieve blob from URI error in SharePoint 2013 search

I had a standalone SharePoint 2013 server in which I had search service configured. However when I try to crawl the contents the crawl took way too much time and majority of the documents didn’t get crawled. Examining the search crawl log showed strange error message Failed to retrieve blob from URI\\sp2013\gthrsvc_3819458f-2197-4849-a04a-e97e4ead9873-crawl-0\\3c\0x23c.aspx.

I tried methods like

·         Recreating the search service application with a different App Pool

·         Resetting the index and doing a crawl again

·         Giving admin rights to the search service account

But nothing solved the issue. After trying several options I turned to MS forum and got help from Raphel of RioLinx. The issue happens because of insufficient rights for the account to the physical crawl content folder and below are the steps to give permission

1.     Right-click on the C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office Servers\15.0\Data\Office Server\Applications\3819458f-2197-4849-a04a-e97e4ead9873-crawl-0\gthrsvc folder

2.     Select Shared with --> Advance sharing

3.     In the Sharing tab, select "Advanced Sharing"

4.     Check "Share this folder"

5.     In the Share name text box, enter gthrsvc_3819458f-2197-4849-a04a-e97e4ead9873-crawl-0

6.     Select the Permissions button and add WSS_ADMIN_WPG with Full Control

Note: Replace 3819458f-2197-4849-a04a-e97e4ead9873 with the id that is available on your server

After performing the steps all the content were getting crawled and the crawl time also was reduced significantly.