Start > Search Programs and files not working properly

Its been happening ever since I installed Win7.

For example, When I click Start, type "CC" in the search box, the Start menu displays what I intend to start (CCleaner) but when I press enter I get this:



Its acting completely wierd!

On top of that, when I right click the entry, I get a menu which is expanded towards the left awkwardly. See below:




I also recall that I have unchecked "Allow files on this drive to have contents indexed in addition to file properties." in the properties of my Windows 7 boot drive.

And since the programs are installed there, I think the problem might be related.

I have checked it again but it dosen't have any effect!

Please help! Any and all replies appreciated!

Thank you!

The big menu is from Winrar.
http://www.sevenforums.com/general-discussion/2737-context-menu-bloat.html
http://www.sevenforums.com/customization/3026-weirdly-huge-right-click-menu-7-a.html


You might try rebuilding your index to see if it helps.
Indexing Options - Vista Forums

Allright! I solved the big menu problem.

It seems to be some issue with WinRAR's icons, so I turned off the icons in the context menu and everything's OK accept for the Start > Search problem!

And it only seems to affect some programs. I could launch Paint and Window's Defragmenter by just typing a few letters and hitting enter.

Quite frankly, I have grown quite dependent on Start search box for launching programs quickly, so I am considering to do a repair install or even a clean install.

BTW, I tried rebuilding the index but it still acts wierd.

I also wanted to ask that would it be OK to use the same CD key I used before in case I want to re-install? Or should I start a new thread for it?

Hi Dragor1

The official Microsoft Beta keys are good for up to five separate installs and should be ok for multiple reinstalls. if you have any problems with the on-line activation use the phone method and you should have no problems.

Ok thanks Barman58. Will proceed to do a clean install now.

Ok Hope everything goes ok,
I thing you'll find that MIcrosoft expect BETA products to be re-installed on a regular basis so you should have no problems with activation

Glad you got your menu fixed dragor1.

The problem remains! And I'm posting from a clean install!

Now, when I click on Notepad from the first screenshot, I get this inside notepad:

===========================================================================
Interface List
12...00 17 31 57 a8 1f ......Intel(R) PRO/1000 PL Network Connection
1...........................Software Loopback Interface 1
10...00 00 00 00 00 00 00 e0 Microsoft ISATAP Adapter
13...00 00 00 00 00 00 00 e0 Microsoft ISATAP Adapter
===========================================================================
IPv4 Route Table
===========================================================================
Active Routes:
None
Persistent Routes:
None
IPv6 Route Table
===========================================================================
Active Routes:
None
Persistent Routes:
None


Now what in the world could that mean? Is it some sort of hosts file or what? and by the looks of the first screenshot, it seems it is opening a file named "Kanad" Which is my real name, but the username I have used for my account is "Kanad Godse"; my full name!

I am fresh out of ideas! Please help!

I am now going to report it to MS via the feedback tool, but first I need to know from this forum's users if anyone else has a similar problem?

The problem once more: When I try to launch a program from Start Search by typing a few letters of the program, and after confirming that the intended program is found and highlighted, I press Enter which should launch the program but instead I get the first screenshot of my first post and when I choose Notepad, I get the stuff posted above!

Hope to hear from you folks!

Solved!

There was a file named "Kanad" which was in C:\Users which had no extension.

It was 2kb in length and when I opened it in Notepad I got the same contents as in my previous post.

I deleted the file and Start search now seems to be fine!

Would like to see if anyone else has that file! If so then they would definately get this problem!

hey! thanks for the info, i had the same problem. im trying to remember what program created that file but its not coming to mind.. hmmm

apocone said:

hey! thanks for the info, i had the same problem. im trying to remember what program created that file but its not coming to mind.. hmmm

Click to expand...

I think Windows itself created that file!

Because, once I had deleted it and had no problems for a while, but then the problem re occurred when I updated my graphics driver via Device manager by letting Device manager download drivers from the net.

Weird in my opinion! Now that I know I'm not alone, I'm gonna report it to MS!

Thanks for your reply!

I'm pretty sure it is software / device related. I remember specifically the file being created due to a syntax error of some kind with something I was working with a long time ago. I forgot about the problem (and the file) until I realised it was affecting the start search index.

So there are two issues here:

1) Why does start menu search link every file in its index to C:\Users\Name.file (.file meaning there is no extension) when such a file exists. (This is the Windows part of the bug)

2) What creates the name file?

Do you work with Putty/SSH terminals or Filezilla? I have a sneaking suspicion that the file was created when I used the wrong parameters with a command in one of these apps.

Altered User Files with Windows 7 Update

My Search Programs and Files on the Start Button stop working precisly after Windows 7 downloaded and installed 23 updates on 4/14/2011. I use automatic daily updates. After being installed when any character was entered in the search box, the screen went blank and returned nothing. I researched many articles and tried to resolve the issue including rebuilding the indexes, etc. I could not find matching entries in the registry keys. I looked at the hotfix but decided against it. I followed the instructions for creating a new user and moved everything over. The Search Programs and Files now works properly. What I did notice in following the instructions that a new set of NTUser files was created on 4/14/2011 at the time of the update and when the search stopped working. The dates havbe now changed to the 15 and 16 as I had accessed them to try and remove them to revert back to the prior copies of the files. The initial user was recreated on 24/1/2010. The ones created on 4/14/2011 were created unkown to myself. The files created by the system on 4/14/2011 are in lower case while in original files are in upper case. The files include:
ntuser.dat ntuser.datLOG1 ntuser.datLOG2 along with 3 other ntuser.dat followed with a binary key. I would hope there would an easier way to fix the problem as it takes a great deal of time to move everything over to the new user and verify everything is working proiperly.

I have the same issue as LongvilleLouie. I have spent hours researching and have tried many different "fixes".... I have rebuilt the index several times.I tried the hotfix. System restore.NOTHING works.
I get a complete blank white page when I use windows search. Even if I go the the Control Panel and search it....Once I type in my search and enter....NOTHING.
And as I have read on my accounts....everything works fine in the "Guest Account".I really do not want to have to create another "User" account and transfer everything. Someone must have found the problem by now as it seems to be a common one.