In this tutorial, learn how to fix Windows 10 search bar not working.
Why is Windows 10 Cortana or Search bar not working? Not all Windows 10 users have this issue and the exact cause stills unclear, there is not a general method for it.
Search bar not working on Windows 10
If you’re facing issues using Cortana or Search on Windows 10, here is how you can fix it.
Read more:
How To Fix Windows 10 Start Menu Search Not Working
Method 1. Restart Search/Cortana process
As we now know all too well, Cortana can be responsible for a misbehaving start menu search. If that is the case, restarting the Cortana process will solve the problem.
Step 1. First, open the Task Manager by pressing the CTRL + SHIFT + ESC button combinations.
Step 2. When the Task Manager window opens, look for the process Cortana under the Processes tab, then right-click it and click on the End task button.
Step 3. Also, if you can look for the process Search, right-click it and click on the End task button.
These above steps will restart the Search/Cortana process, and you might as well solve the problem.
Method 2. Enable Windows Search service
Another reason why Windows 10 Cortana or Search bar may not be working is because the Windows Search service is not running. So make sure that Windows search service is enabled. To do that follow these steps below:
Step 1. Press Windows Key + R then type services.msc in the Run dialog box. Click OK.
Step 2. In the Services window, scroll down to find the Windows Search service, and then right-click it and select Properties.
Step 3. Set the Startup type to Automatic. Click OK to save the change.
Step 4. Restart your PC.
Method 3. Re-register Cortana
As we have known, Cortana can be the cause for Windows 10 search bar not working. So, you can try re-installing Cortana app to fix this issue.
Step 1. Open the Windows File Explorer and go to the following location:
C:Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0
Step 2. Find and right-click powershell.exe, then select “Run as administrator“.
Step 3. In the Powershell window, copy the below code snippet and execute it.
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers Microsoft.Windows.Cortana | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml”}
Step 4. Now you can close the PowerShell window and then restart your PC.
Read more: How To Reinstall Cortana on Windows 10
Method 4. Restore indexing services
Step 1. Go to Control Panel (View by Small icons) > Select Indexing Options.
Step 2. When the Indexing Options window opens, click on the Advanced button.
Step 3. When the new window pops up, under Troubleshooting category, click on the Rebuild button.
You will receive the following notification window, click OK to continue.
Method 5. Run Windows Troubleshooter
The easiest method is to use the tools built into Windows to help you fix this issue.
Step 1. Go to the Control Panel (View by Small icon), select Troubleshooting.
Step 2. Click Troubleshooting > System and Security > Search and Indexing.
Step 3. In the troubleshooter, click Next. Then tick the box that applies to your problem (example: Files don’t appear in search results & Search or indexing is slowing down the computer).
Step 4. After that, click Next to run the scan. This will automatically attempt to fix any problems.
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Hope something helps you.
