In Windows 10 the Start menu has made a comeback with the new design that is kind of familiar with improved search capabilities. And also Microsoft Windows includes powerful system-wide search functionality that lets users quickly find files and other data via a windows 10 start menu or Start Screen search. By default, Windows Search will index certain common locations on your drive. Such as the User folder, Outlook Messages, and Internet Explorer browsing history. But sometimes Windows Search would suddenly stop working and return no result at all. Several Windows 10 users face the unexpected behavior of Windows 10 which is that when searching in the Start Menu or in the Settings app, the search returns no results.
The search feature usually stops responding in Windows 10 especially for ultrabooks. And even if you press the F3 button or the taskbar search button it will not make your search feature operational. You might get this issue from a third party application you previously installed on your Windows 10 device or you might have some registry keys damaged
A restart fixed the issue usually but the solution is not really practicable. Especially since the search bug could reappear at any time after the reboot of the PC.
Fix Windows Search not working
If you are also suffering from this problem, Search Results do not appear on the Start menu and Cortana search. Here fallow To fix search in the Settings app, Taskbar Search, and Start Menu in Windows 10.
Restart all Running services
Press and hold the “Windows” button and the “R” button. Now you should have the “Run” window in front of you. In the run box write the following: “msconfig”. Press the “Enter” button on the keyboard or left click on the “OK” button.
The “System Configuration” window should pop up on the screen. Left-click or tap on the “Services” tab situated on the upper side of the window. Now check the box next to the “Hide all Microsoft services” situated on the lower left side of this window.
After you checked the box from the step above left-click or tap on the “Disable All” button situated on the lower right side of this window. Now Left click or tap on the “General” tab situated on the upper side of the window. Tick the radio button “Selective Startup” feature and Uncheck the box next to “Load Startup items”.
Click Apply and ok to make save changes. Close the “System Configuration” window. Reboot your Windows 10 operating system. When the system starts you will have to check if the Instant Search feature works in the metro apps from Windows 10. If the feature is not working then proceed with the next method below.
Note: If the Search feature works then you will have to disable each application at a time from the start-up menu by following the steps above. Disable them separately by unchecking the mark next to each one. And see what app is causing your system to malfunction in such a way that your search feature stops responding. If you find the application then you will have to uninstall it or just update it to the latest version available for Windows 10 systems.
Check Windows Search Service
The other reason why your start menu search may not be working is that the Windows Search service is not running. Windows Search service is a system service and runs automatically on the system startup. Check whether the service is running or not. If it is not running, you have to start it manually. To do that, press “Win + R,” type services.msc and press the Enter button to open the Services window.
Now On Scroll Down And look for the service named Windows Search Service. If the service is not running, right-click on it and then select the “Properties” option.
In the properties window, click on the “Start” button to start the service. Also, make sure that the Startup type is set to “Automatic;” this ensures that the service will automatically start at every system startup. Once you are done with the changes, click on the “Ok” button to save the changes.
Note: If The Service is Running simply Right Click on it and select Restart. This Will Restart the Service. Once the service has been started, This is what it looks like in your Services window. For me, this method worked perfectly.
Rebuild the Windows Search Indexer
Rebuilding the Search Indexer may help in repairing the built-in search tool in Windows 10. To rebuild the Windows search index head to Control Panel >View By Small Icons > Indexing options. Click on Advanced and ensure that you are on the Index Settings tab in the Advanced Options window.
The rebuilding will take some time and once it is done you can start searching for the files you need and the Search should work properly.
Use Inbuild Troubleshooter Fix the Problem
Windows have an inbuilt troubleshooting tool to fix problems automatically. let’s use this to fix windows search related Errors. Tap on the Windows key, type Control Panel and hit enter. Alternatively, use the keyboard shortcut Windows-Pause to open the Control Panel. Select large or small icons under “view by”. Click on Indexing options, and when the menu opens on the Advanced button.
There you need to click on “Troubleshoot search and indexing”, and follow the instructions on the screen to resolve the issue.
Click the checkbox next to any problems you’re encountering. In this case, we click Files don’t appear in search results.
Click Next. The troubleshooter will detect any problems. A troubleshooter may or may not detect any problems. If it does detect a problem, it will attempt to fix it.
End Cortana process
Sometimes Cortana is also responsible for the malfunction of the start menu search. If that is the case, restarting the Cortana process will solve the problem. Ending Cortana’s process in Task Manager might just do the trick. After ending the process, it will automatically restart almost immediately.
To do that, right-click on the taskbar, and then select the “Task Manager” option. Once the task manager has been opened, find the Cortana process under the Processes tab, and click on the “End task” button.
The above action will restart the Cortana process, and you might as well solve the start menu search problem. Did restarting Cortana do the trick? If not, keep reading.
Re-register Cortana
As I said Cortana might also be a reason why the search is not working. If restarting the process is not working, then you could try re-registering the Cortana app. To start, open the Windows File Explorer, and navigate to the following location: “C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShellv1.0”
Right-click on the “powershell.exe” application, and then select the “Run as administrator” option. After opening the PowerShell, copy the below code snippet and execute it.
Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)AppXManifest.xml”}
Once you are done executing the command, close the PowerShell, restart your system and you should have the start menu search working.
Make a change on the Indexed folder
Press Win + R shortcut keys together on the keyboard to open the Run dialog. Paste the following text into the Run box and press Enter:
%LocalAppData%\Packages\windows.immersivecontrolpanel_cw5n1h2txyewy\LocalState
A new Explorer window will be opened. You will see the Indexed folder. Right-click it and open its Properties. In Properties, click the Advanced button on the General tab. The following dialog will appear. Here, tick the option named “Allow files in this folder to have contents indexed in addition to file properties” as shown below:
If it is already checked, uncheck it, click Apply and check it again and click Apply again. Finally, click OK and close all dialog windows.
Perform system file scan
System File Checker or SFC is a utility in Windows 10 which allows users to scan for and restore corruptions in Windows system files. The System File Checker is a utility in Microsoft Windows located in C:\Windows\System32 folder. This utility allows users to scan for and restore corrupt Windows system files. Try this to fix the corrupt file and fix the issue.
Right-click on the taskbar and select Task Manager. Here on Task manager click the file and run a new task. Type CMD and check the box create this task with administrative privileges click ok.
Left-click or tap on the “Yes” button if you are prompted by a user account control message. Now you have the command prompt window in front of you. Here on Command Prompt Type Bellow command and Press enter key to execute the command.
sfc /scannow
This Will Scan Windows for Corrupted System files. If found Anything This Will Repair itself. Wait until 100 % complete the scanning process.
After the process has finished close the command prompt window. Reboot your Windows 10 operating system. Check to see if your Instant search feature works in your Windows 10 operating system.
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