X

Search Bar Not Working or Displaying Results in Windows 10? Here’s how to fix it.

Windows 10 comes with a lot of interesting features with some of the best UI improvements as seen so far till now from Microsoft. While a lot of users are happy with their current version of Windows Operating System Windows 10, a particular problem, of the search bar not working in Windows 10 and displaying results a lot of the time and has kept a lot of users from enjoying the numerous goodies Windows 10 has to offer. While a lot of PC users running Windows 10 currently face this most common issue when using Windows 10 , while some of us (the lucky few!) still don’t know about it, so let me describe the problem in detail before going on to show you how to fix windows 10 search bar not displaying results in Windows 10.

Why is the Windows Search Bar in Windows 10 not working and displaying results?

Ever since installing Windows 10 or Windows 10 Pro on their PC, some users have been unable to view search results in the Windows Search bar.

Though this feature worked fine the first time everyone ran Windows 10 after installing it on their computers, the search bar function has gone away in a lot of systems, and while in many cases Windows 10 Search Bar not displaying results problem could be easily fixed by simply restarting their computers, but in other cases it’s not as simple as that, as the problem still persists after rebooting a couple of times.

The complaints range from search results not displaying to the Windows 10 search bar not working at all, but the general thing is that when you search for a file or folder on your computer using the default search bar which is preloaded with Windows 10 home and professional, the search process will keep running indefinitely and the results won’t display, even if you allow it to run for hours. On other computers which do not have Windows 10 Search Bar Not Working problem, some results are displayed and the process just stops abruptly.

Whichever of the issue you’re facing with Windows 10 search bar ,we have multiple solutions for you to fix the search bar and make it working. Here’s a complete tutorial based on How To Fix Windows 10 Search Bar Easily.

How To Fix The Windows 10 Search Bar Not Working

We,ll start fixing the Windows 10 Search Bar by the most basic and easiest Method 1 – Re-indexing the Search Files in which we will command Windows to re-index all the search files pre-included and refresh them all.

Method 1 – Re-indexing the Search Files

    1. Launch the Windows Run in the desktop by just pressing the Windows + R keys simultaneously on your keyboard.
    2. In the input box beside Open, type the below as it if not it won’t work.  %LocalAppData%\Packages\windowsimmersivecontrolpanel_\LocalState and click on Ok.
Fixing Windows 10 Search Bar- Run Option
    1. Right-click on the Indexed folder.
    2. Click Properties.
A Window will appear
    1. Click Advanced.
    2. Tick the check box beside “Allow files in this folder to have contents indexed in addition to file properties.
Fixing Windows 10 Search Bar – Indexing Search Files
    1. Click Ok, then Apply.
Fixing Windows 10 Search Bar – Indexing In Progress
    1. Click Ok again. This option will start indexing, and will be indicated by a pop-up with a progress bar. Allow the indexing process to complete.
    2. When the indexing process is complete, click Ok.
Fixing Windows 10 Search Bar – Indexing Completed

The above method has worked for most people facing the search problem, and if it still doesn’t work for you, follow the below process.

Method 2 – Killing Cortana

We all know about Cortana, the sweet invisible digital assistant packaged along with the beloved Windows 10. While Cortana is useful in a variety of ways, it is the root cause of the search results not displaying or working on many computers running Windows 10. Sadly, killing it might be the only way to get your search bar up and functioning properly again.

    1. Open Task Manager. A shortcut to doing that is pressing Ctrl+Shift+Esc on your keyboard.
    2. Check the list of running programs. If you can’t find Cortana on the list, click on More Details.
    3. When you find Cortana, right-click on it and select end process.
Windows 10 Task Manager
  1. Cortana has been successfully killed!

Now try searching for something with the Windows Search bar and see if the results will not be displayed. The search bar should be working perfectly fine.

If you find Cortana useful on your computer, do not worry about it being broken affected by Method 2 above. The Cortana process will be restarted immediately by the operating system after killing it.

Method 3 – Restarting your computer

As with a lot of other problems with a lot of digital smart devices, restarting the operating system is a quick temporary way to fix the search bar not displaying results and search bar not working problems in Windows 10.

If you don’t want to try the above methods and want only a “quick fix”, just reboot your computer normally the next time the search problem surfaces. You, should be able to use the search feature again once the reboot is completed.


Conclusion.

So, here’s the complete tutorial above on how to fix Windows 10 Search bar problems easily which will surely help you to fix the most common issue.

These are the various ways by which you can fix Windows 10 search bar problems when the search results are not being displayed at all or are displayed partially, and when your search bar isn’t working. I sincerely hope you find a solution for your particular system here.

If you’ve tried all of the above methods and the problem is not solved yet, shoot us a comment and we’ll do everything we can do to solve the problem for you.

Also, Read.

 

Ojo Stephen:
Related Post