Windows 10 Search Bar not working

Windows 10 Search Bar not Working – How to Repair!

Windows 10’s new Search Bar can save you a considerable amount of time on a daily basis. Unlike the Classic Menu of Windows 7, the application searches through everything from your documents to installed software. If you encounter problems during this process and something goes wrong, we need to fix your Windows 10 Search Bar not working.

We will show you all the important steps in detail. Often the Search Bar remains white, no programs are found or nothing works. In order for you not having to perform a comprehensive repair of your operating system, it is better to focus on a few key points, which we will explain below. Mostly getting to the solution is easier than you think.

In search of suitable help
Source: Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

You may have already performed one of the following steps without success. Then just try the next one until you were able to repair your Search.

Windows 10 Search Bar not Working? 6 Different Solutions!

  1. Basic: Install the Latest Updates and Restart your PC
  2. Use On-Board Tools: The Microsoft Troubleshooter
  3. Repair Windows 10 Search and Reset Process
  4. How to Reactivate if the Windows 10 Search Bar not Working
  5. Advanced: Restore all Default Apps to Factory Settings
  6. Check Cortana and Repair Windows Search

So let’s start at the beginning with something that never hurts anyway – and if it does, you can fix the problems by uninstalling updates again.

1. Basic: Install the Latest Updates and Restart your PC

Pressing the Windows logo key together with the letter I (or alternatively the gear icon) will take you to the Settings. (You may have to activate your Windows key first). There you select Update and Security, where you should already be in the Windows Update tab. Click on the Check for Updates button. Allow to download and install all found updates. If you keep on having problems with this step, take a look at our detailed guide on the topic.

Afterwards, you should restart your PC. This is a good idea in any case, regardless of whether an update has been installed. Because with modern devices, a restart is sometimes very different from a shutdown. Processes that would otherwise continue to run temporarily are terminated and can only be restored by the reset. Thus, this can help you if your Windows 10 Search Bar is not working.

Repair Windows 10 Search through an update

2. Use On-Board Tools: The Microsoft Troubleshooter

It is always amazing how many features Windows 10 comes with out of the box. You should really try to make use of the extended Troubleshooting, if you want to repair your Search Bar:

  1. Stay in the Settings for Update and Security (or open them again via Windows logo key + I).
  2. This time, choose the Troubleshooting tab in the left margin.
  3. Here you click on Additional Troubleshooting at the bottom.
  4. There you will find the Search and Indexing button under Find and fix more problems. Click Run Troubleshooter to automatically repair internal processes if your Windows 10 Search Bar is not working.
Run the Troubleshooter if Windows 10 Search Bar is not working

3. Repair Windows 10 Search and Reset Process

Let’s now turn our attention to the process behind the Search Bar, the SearchUI. With this you can scan your entire hard disk, which is especially helpful for the search of duplicate files. If we reset this process, we can see if the error was indeed here:

  1. Launch the Windows 10 Task Manager by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
  2. Select the Details tab. You may need to enable More Details first.
  3. Search for the SearchUI process. If this entry is missing, look for SearchApp.exe.
  4. Right-click on End Task. Should your Windows 10 Search Bar not be working, this will help fix the problem, as the process will restart itself.
Using the SearchUI process to reset the app

4. How to Reactivate if the Windows 10 Search Bar not Working

It sometimes even happens that Windows 10’s Search was disabled by a random switch. This can minimally speed up the startup process, but makes it impossible to use the feature. Fortunately, this problem can be fixed quite easily:

  1. Open the System Services Management. To do this, first start the Windows Run command with the Windows logo key + R. In the text field, enter services.msc and confirm with Enter.
  2. Select Windows Search from the list of services. This is the only way if the Windows 10 Search Bar is not working.
  3. Double click to open the properties of Windows Search. Startup type should be set to Automatic. Change this (if necessary) and confirm with OK. That’s it.
Windows 10 Search Bar not working? Reactivate the process!

5. Advanced: Restore all Default Apps to Factory Settings

Preinstalled apps and features ever so often lead to problems. This is especially annoying if the corresponding application has never been needed in the first place. The Search function is one of these standard programs that are already present when Windows 10 is installed. Follow these instructions to restore the factory settings:

  1. Start Windows PowerShell as administrator. You can find the application via the quick access Windows logo key + X. Yes, you want changes to be made to your device.
  2. Copy the following text into the command line: Get-AppXPackage | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml”}
  3. Confirm your entry with Enter. Windows will then reinstall the entire package and should fix the Search Bar in the process.
  4. To be on the safe side, restart your PC.
With this command you uninstall all standard Microsoft apps

6. Check Cortana and Repair Windows Search

If all these approaches did not lead to any result, you still have one last option before you should talk to a specialist or at least Microsoft’s support. For example, Windows Update KB4512941 (version 1903) had bugs in the Search, which could be attributed to a high workload of Cortana. It would by far not be the first time that the voice assistant causes difficulties for all users.

In order to repair the Search in Windows 10, you have to locate a folder created by Cortana. By default, you can find it under the path %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.Cortana_cw5n1h2txyewy\LocalState. Simply open it in Explorer and delete the entire contents – and subsequently the LocalState folder itself. The next time you restart your PC, all this will be regenerated automatically.

You don’t need a voice assistant anyway? Then read through how you can easily disable Cortana. Maybe you won’t have to fix the Windows 10 Search Bar not working, but can use your operating system without any problems from now on.