How to Fix File Explorer Search Not Working in Windows 10 / 11

Is Search box of File Explorer not working on your computer? If you are facing this issue at your end, you are not alone. Some Windows 10 users are also complaining about similar kind of issue at their end. Follow the fixes of this article and the problem will be solved quickly. But before going ahead for the main solutions, check out these simpler workarounds and check if they works out for you or not.

Workarounds

1. Press “Esc” key when the Search box is not responding on your computer. It will offer some temporarily fix for the problem.

2. Reboot your computer and check if it helps or not.

3. Check if any Windows Update is pending or not. If any of the updates are pending on your computer, update your system, check if it is working  or not.

If any of these workarounds didn’t work out for you, go for these solutions-

Fix 1 – Restart Windows Search Service

1. Press Windows key + R together to Open RUN.

2. Now, Write services.msc in it and Press OK.

 

Services.msc 1

 

3. Locate Windows Search Service, right click on it and Click on Properties.

 

Windows Search Properties Min



 

4.  Make sure the Startup Type is Automatic. If it is not Change it to Automatic.

 

Start Up Type Automatic Windows Search Min

5.  Also, Start the the service by clicking on start if it is not running.

If it is already running , then click on Stop and then click on start again to restart the service.

Windows Search Restart 1 Min

Fix 2 – Restart file explorer

1. Press CTRL + SHIFT + Esc keys together to open Task manager.

2. Now, locate windows explorer.

3. Right click and choose restart.

 

Restart Windows Explorer Min

 

You can also create a batch file to do it instantly, when the problem reappears.

1. Open notepad.

2. Copy and paste the code given below

taskkill /im explorer.exe /f
start explorer.exe
exit

3. Save the file as restartexplorer.bat on desktop or anywhere.

 

Restart Explorer Bat Min

 

4. Now, just click it to run it whenever this happens.

Fix-3 Modify File Explorer options-

Modifying File Explorer Options on your computer may solve this issue.

1. Press Windows key+R to launch Run window on your computer. Now, type or copy-paste “control.exe folders” in Run window and then hit Enter. File Explorer Options window will be opened.

 

Folder Options Run

 

2. In File Explorer Options window, go to “View” tab and then toggle the option “Launch folder windows in a separate process“. (You can check/ uncheck the option.)

3. Click on “Apply” and “OK” to save the changes.

 

Change Folder Options

 

Relaunch File Explorer on your computer. After opening File Explorer window, type to search something in File Explorer and check if the error is still there or not. Your problem should be solved.

Fix 4 – via Powershell

1. Press Windows key + R key together to open RUN.

2. Write powershell in it .

3. Press CTRL + Shift + Esc keys together from your keyboard to open elevated powershell window.

4. Write the following command given below and hit enter key.

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

Wait for some time to get it executed fully.

Fix 3 – Rebuild Search Index

1. Search indexing options in Windows 10 search box

2. Click on indexing options from the search result.

Indexing Options Min

2. Click on Advanced.

 

Indexing Options Advanced Min

 

3. Choose Tab File Types

 

File Type Index Properties Min

 

4. Select Index Properties and File Contents

5. Click OK.

6. Choose OK when the Confirmation prompt pops up.

 

Rebuild Search Index Prompt Min

 

 

 

Fix 5- Change the index location once

1. Search indexing options in Windows 10 search box

2. Click on indexing options from the search result.

Indexing Options Min

2. Click on Advanced.

 

Indexing Options Advanced Min

 

3. Now, click on select new.

 



New Location Search Min

4. Choose a new location on your PC (for example : C:\Temp )

5. Click on Apply and OK and close the window.

Restart PC.

6. Make sure Show hidden files option is enabled. For this just search file explorer options in windows 10 search box and click on file explorer options.

7. Now, click on view tab. Choose show hidden files option.

Show Hiddenfiles Min

 

6. Now, open it again and change it back to C:\programdata\microsoft

Restart PC again.

Fix 6 – End Cortana Process

1. Press  Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys together to Open Task manager.

2. Now, Locate Cortana and do a Right Click on it and Choose End task.

 

End Task Cortana Min

 

Doing this will restart the Cortana process and will Fix the issue.

Fix 7 – Install KB4532695 update to fix this

Microsoft have released KB4532695 update which seems to fix this issue for the PC affected by this bug. Just download ans install KB4532695 from this official Microsoft website.

Fix 8- Add System permission to a folder

If this problem persists with a particular folder then , system permission may be missing from the folder. To set this do this:

1. Do a Right click on the folder

2. Click on Properties

3. Click on Security Tab.

4. If you do not see System in the List of Group or User Name, Click on Edit.

 

Edit Security System

 

5. Click on Add.

6. Write system in the text box and Click on Check names.

 

Check Names

 

7. Keep Clicking on OK and Close every Open box so far.

Fix 9 – Troubleshoot Search and Indexing

1. Press Windows key + R together and write Control Panel in RUN command Box and Click OK to Open Control Panel.

 

Type Control Panel

 



2. Select Large icons in View by .

3. Click on Troubleshooting

Troubleshotting Options Control Panel

4. Click on View all from the Right Menu.

 

View All Troubleshooting Min

 

5. Locate Search and Indexing and Click on it.

 

Search And Indexing Min

 

6. Choose Files Don’t appear in Search Results

 

Files Do Not Appear In Search Results Min

7. Proceed with On Screen instructions.

Fix 10 – Default Apps by protocol

1. Press Windows key + I to open settings

2. Click on Apps.

Apps Settings

 

3. Click on Default Apps from the left menu. Now, scroll in the right side and click on Choose default apps by protocol.

 

Default Apps By Protocol

 

 

4. Now, scroll and and in the left side look for windows search protocol. After locating it just select windows explorer from the right, if it is not selected.

 

Windows Search Protocol