Windows 10 search service not working

With the introduction of the new Windows 10 OS comes a lot of interesting changes. One of them is the search bar, which is available on the taskbar. If you have problems with its functionality, or search does not work at all in Windows 10, read our tips.

The search bar in Windows 10 is available not only as a text bar on the taskbar, but also as a feature in the Start menu. With its help, we can quickly find the program, game, etc. that interests us. Unfortunately, like many other features and solutions in Windows 10, errors also occur when working with search.

Similar problems occur with the Start menu, which does not work in some Windows releases 10. Sometimes, users simply cannot start it, or it freezes during operation and a critical error message appears. However, there is a simple solution to fix the problem. But first, let's understand why the search bar is not working and what is the source of this problem.

If such problems appear in Windows 10 - for example, we cannot access the search bar, the search does not work, or suddenly stopped working for unknown reasons - you can try to solve this problem yourself.

Of course, the easiest way is to restart your computer and see if the error occurs. If yes, we will try to fix it through the search service. To use this tool, press the combination Win keys+R then enter the command services.msc and press Enter.

After opening the window, find in the list of available services Windows item Search. You need to check what value is displayed in the Status column. If the service is running it should be “Running”. If not, click right click mouse on Windows Search and select “Properties” from the drop-down list. Then in the window that opens, select Startup type: Auto, and in the Status item, click the Start button. After making these changes, the search bar should work without problems. It is also possible after changes made restart your computer.

Windows 10 Start Menu Button Not Working

What to do if search through the Start menu does not work? Or even worse, if the Start menu button does not respond at all? However, there is a simple solution. This solution will be especially useful to you if the message appears in Windows 10: “ Critical error. The Start menu and Cortana app don't work. We will try to fix this issue the next time you sign in." If you have problems logging into the Start menu, you will need to use command line. Run it in administrator mode and enter the following command:

sfc /scannow

The system will begin scanning for errors, after which the problem should be fixed. However, if the solution doesn't work and you still get the above error, do the following actions. Go to section:

"Settings - System - Tablet Mode"

and set the switch "Enable tablet mode".

Then open:

Settings - Personalization - Start

and enable the item "Open home screen V full screen mode» .
In most cases, after enabling these features, search and the Start menu button will start working.

If this method does not work, we will reboot (restart) the Start menu button. To do this, open the PowerShell application with administrator rights and enter the following command:

Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach (Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml”)

The last method makes a restart to initial settings. If you still have problems with the search or the Start menu button, write about it in the comments.

How to disable search on the taskbar

If it bothers you search system, built into the taskbar, you can instantly disable it in a few clicks. Let's look at how to remove it in Windows 10.

To begin, right-click next to search bar on the panel Windows tasks 10. From the drop-down menu, select the “Search” option and check the “Disabled” checkbox.

The search bar will immediately disappear from the taskbar. All these changes take effect instantly and can be noted in the same way. To return it, simply select “Show search field”.

In Windows 10, another option for displaying the search bar is available - that is, instead of the input field, you can set a Magnifier icon, when clicked on it, a search window will appear. To do this, set the "Show search icon" to medium.

When search does not work in Windows 10, the most obvious solution is to restart the explorer process. It overloads the Start menu, panel quick launch and updates the entire management interface. This is the case when it comes to something that stopped working search tool, called by the combination Win + S. The most different applications, snap-ins present on the PC. The Start menu has crashed several times throughout its evolution, but reports of such cases are becoming increasingly rare.

There are also other types of problems. User brings up File Explorer via Win+E and finds he can't sift through necessary files by entering their names. This case rather indicates system failure. And the only thing Microsoft experts can advise is to create a new account(via netplwiz) and try the same steps from there. First of all, right-click on the Taskbar, and make sure that Search is enabled by the corresponding checkbox in the settings, and then move on...

Restarting Explorer

The Start menu will be rendered anew, and it is possible that the search will also work.

Keyboard shortcuts

For quick login to search on top ten, use Win + S (in previous versions– Win + F).

Searching for files via the command line



If only part of the name is known, replace the other letters with questions. Everything is immediately filled with an asterisk. free place. In the example on the screenshot, 0 is replaced with a question mark.


You will see that this tool is faster than regular Explorer.

Search for files via Run

For these purposes, use the search-ms command (msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff684385.aspx):



This technique is suitable in cases where the Search does not work, the button is pressed, but the result is not entered into the field. The list that opens in Explorer will contain all the files you are looking for.

Via the system menu

As noted above, more than once users have seen that the Start menu does not want to open. Nobody knows why it doesn't work and how to turn it on. Try opening with key combinations?

It has long been noted that it always works system menu, called via Win + X. There is a Find line that will help many people solve their problem. This is the same as pressing Win + S.

Windows 10 has a corresponding service for quickly applying OS operating parameters, executing commands and launching programs. It greatly simplifies and speeds up the work, but under certain circumstances it may not function. What to do if Search does not work in Windows 10? Let's look at this issue in detail.

general information

Why doesn't the search button work in Windows 10? It may “refuse” to start and perform its functions for a number of reasons:

  • error during OS installation;
  • virus or malware.

A graphic image of the service in the form of a magnifying glass is located on the taskbar, next to “Start”. If you encounter a problem opening the program in question, first check the functionality of Start. What to do if, you can see here.

Search stopped working in Windows 10: what to do

There are two main ways to solve the problem:

  1. Editing in the registry.
  2. Starting the Search operating service.

Registry

The hierarchical base of settings and commands contains a number of keys that are responsible for executing search functions. Editing them will solve the problem. What are we doing?


  • Enter the command – regedit.


  • We agree to make changes.
  • The Registry Editor is launched, which is a multi-level file system.
  • In the left list we find the “HKLM” branch.


  • We sequentially perform the transition – SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Search.
  • In the right window we find the SetupCompletedSuccesfully key.


  • Double click to open it.
  • In the “Change parameter” form that pops up, enter “1” in the “Value” field. OK.



We reboot and check functionality.

If after all the steps the search bar still does not start in Windows 10, you should do the above steps again. The fact is that the OS can return the original key to protect itself.

In such situation:

  • Right-click on “Start”.
  • Select “Control Panel” from the list.

  • In the expanded card, select the viewing option – Large icons. If the “Categories” item was used, required block not visible.
  • Expand “Indexing Options”.


  • In the card that opens, click on “Change”.

  • Next, we index the location - check the boxes next to the desired objects for which instant recognition is needed.

  • Select "Advanced".

  • Right-click on “Start” and launch “Task Manager”.
  • In the pop-up card, select “More details”.

  • Select “Explorer” from the list and click “Restart” (lower right corner of the window).

Windows Search

Another solution to the problem when the search icon is not pressed in Windows 10 is to check the service with using Search. For this:

  1. Use the Win+R key combination to call up the “Run” card.
  2. We hammer in services.msc. OK.


  1. In the expanded list, look for the name of the service. Opposite it there should be a startup type status - automatic, and a state - running.


  1. If other characteristics are displayed, call the service properties (right button).
  2. In the type we set it to automatic.


The problem where Windows 10 search does not find files should be resolved.

It would seem that after November Windows updates 10 problems with standard services will dry up, but they appear one after another. As after the first update, search does not work in Windows 10. After entering a partial or complete request, nothing happens and the system does not react in any way to the user’s actions. How to fix this problem?

Fixing the problem

If file search does not work for you in Windows 10, you need to make changes to the Registry Editor. To do this, click “Win ​​+ R” and enter “regedit”.

Go to the registry branch “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE”, “SOFTWARE”, “Microsoft”, “Windows Search”. Find the “SetupCompletedSuccesfuly” parameter.


Its value should be "1". If it is “0”, right-click on the parameter and select “Change”. Set it to 1 and save the result.

If after renaming the files the search starts to work, but after some time the “FileChangeClientConfigs” section appears in the registry again, perform the following steps:

  • Click “Start”, “Settings” and select “Update and Security”.


  • Here in the left menu you need to open the “Recovery” section and select “Return the computer to its original state.”


  • After restarting the PC, you need to check if the search works.

If recovery does not help, you need to enable indexing. To do this we do the following:

  • Click “Start”, select “Control Panel”, “Indexing Options”. Or enter this query into the search bar.


  • In the new window, click on the “Advanced” button.

  • Next, click “Rebuild”.

  • Reboot the PC. If this method did not help solve the problem, in the “Advanced” tab of the indexing parameters, click “Select new”.

  • The button will be active only after selecting “Rebuild” and restarting the PC.

Also on the Microsoft website, as a solution to the problem, they suggest doing the following:

  • In the "Control Panel" in the "Indexing Options" you need to click on the link "Troubleshoot search and indexing problems."

  • The search for problems will start.


  • There are two points to note here: “Files are not displayed in search results” and “Messages Email do not appear in search results." Click “Next”.


  • Troubleshooting will start.


  • The results will vary, but the search service will be activated.


  • Reboot the PC and check if file search works in Windows 10.