Fix Search Not Working in Windows 10

If you’re facing this issue where you search for some particular program or settings and the search results don’t return anything, you are at the right place as today we are going to discuss how to fix search not working issues in Windows 10. For example, the problem is when you type, say Explorer in the search and it wouldn’t even auto-complete let alone search for the result. You can’t even search for most basic apps in Windows 10 such as Calculator or Microsoft Word.

Users are reporting that when you type anything to search, they only see search animation, but no result comes up. There would be three moving dots indicating that search is working, but even if you let it run for 30 minutes no result would come up and all your effort will go in vain.

The main problem seems to be the search indexing issue because Search cannot function problem. Sometimes, most basic things like Windows Search services might not be running, which is creating all the issues with the Windows search functions. Anyway, without wasting any time, let’s see how to actually Fix Search Not Working in Windows 10 with the below-listed troubleshooting guide.

Table of Contents

Fix Search Not Working in Windows 10

Make sure to create a restore point just in case something goes wrong.

Before trying any advanced method listed below, it’s advised to do a simple restart that might solve this issue, but if it doesn’t help then continue.

Method 1: End Cortana’s process

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc together to open Task Manager.

2. Find Cortana in the list then right-click on it and select End Task.

3. This would restart Cortana, which should fix the search, not working problem, but if you’re still stuck, then continue with the next method.

Method 2: Restart Windows Explorer

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys together to launch the Task Manager.

2. Find explorer.exe in the list then right-click on it and select End Task.

3. Now, this will close the Explorer and to rerun it, click File > Run new task.

4. Type explorer.exe and hit OK to restart the Explorer.

5. Exit Task Manager and you should be able to Fix Search Not Working issue, if not then continue with the next method.

Method 3: Restart Windows Search service

1. Press Windows Key + R then type services.msc and hit Enter.

2. Find Windows Search service then right-click on it and select Properties.

3. Make sure to set the Startup type to Automatic and click Run if the service is not running.

4. Click Apply, followed by OK.

5. Reboot your PC to save changes.

Method 4: Run Search and Indexing Troubleshooter

1. Press Windows Key + X and click on Control Panel.

2. Search Troubleshoot and click on Troubleshooting.

3. Next, click on View all in the left pane.

4. Click and run the Troubleshooter for Search and Indexing.

5. Select Files don’t appear in search results and then click Next.

5. The above Troubleshooter may be able to Fix Search results not clickable in Windows 10.

Method 5: Run Windows 10 Start Menu Troubleshooter

Microsoft has released official Windows 10 Start Menu Troubleshooter which promises to fix various issues related to it including searching or indexing.

1. Download and run Start Menu Troubleshooter.

2. Double click on the downloaded file and then click Next.

3. Let it finds and automatically Fixes Search Not Working in Windows 10.

Method 6: Search the Contents of Your Files

1. Press Windows Key + E to open File Explorer then click View and select Options.

2. Switch to the Search tab and checkmark “Always Search File Names and Contents” under When searching non-indexed locations.

3. Click Apply, followed by OK.

4. Reboot your PC to save changes.

Method 7: Rebuild Windows Search Index

1. Press Windows Key + X then select Control Panel.

2. Type index in the Control Panel search and click Indexing Options.

3. If you can’t search for it, then open the control panel and select Small icons from the View by drop-down.

4. Now you will Indexing Option, click on it to open settings.

5. Click the Advanced button in the bottom in the Indexing Options window.

6. Switch to File Types tab and checkmark “Index Properties and File Contents” under How should this file be indexed.

7. Then click OK and again open the Advanced Options window.

8. Then, in the Index Settings tab and click Rebuild under Troubleshooting.

9. Indexing will take some time, but once it’s complete, you shouldn’t have any further problems with Search results in Windows 10.

Method 8: Re-register Cortana

1. Search Powershell and then right-click on it and select Run as Administrator.

2. If the search is not working, then press Windows Key + R then type the following and hit Enter:

C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0

3. Right-click on powershell.exe and select Run as Administrator.

4. Type the following command in powershell and hit Enter:

Get-AppXPackage -Name Microsoft.Windows.Cortana | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}

5. Wait for the above command to finish and reboot your PC to save changes.

6. See if re-registering Cortana will Fix Search Not Working in Windows 10.

Method 9: Registry Fix

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Right-click on an empty part of Taskbar and select Exit Explorer.

2. Press Windows Key + R then type regedit and hit Enter to Registry Editor.

3. Navigate to the following Registry Key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FolderTypes\{ef87b4cb-f2ce-4785-8658-4ca6c63e38c6}\TopViews\{00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}

4. Now right-click on {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000} and select Delete.

5. Start the explorer.exe from Task Manager.

6. Reboot your PC to save changes.

Method 10: Increase Paging File Size

1. Press Windows Key + R then type sysdm.cpl and hit Enter.

2. Switch to Advanced tab in System Properties and then click Settings under Performance.

3. Now again navigate the Advanced tab in the Performance Options window and click Change under Virtual memory.

4. Make sure to uncheck “Automatically manage paging file size for all drives.”

5. Then select the radio button which says the Custom size and set the initial size to 1500 to 3000 and maximum to at least 5000 (Both of these depends on the size of your hard disk).

6. Click Set Button and then click OK.

7. Click Apply, followed by OK.

8. Reboot your PC to save changes.

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That’s it you have successfully Fix Search Not Working in Windows 10 but if you still have any questions regarding this guide then feel free to ask them in the comment’s section.