Windows 7 Search Not Working

Searching folders for documents, music, etc. was working fine just a few days ago, but now suddenly it has stopped working completely. The search features in the start menu, windows explorer, and WIN + F aren't working.

As I type a search query, I get no instant results. Even after I press enter I get absolutely no results. However in the start menu when I search something and click "See more results" I get an error like this:

[Window Title]
search:query=notepad

[Content]
Windows cannot access the specified device, path, or file. You may not have the appropriate permissions to access the item.

[OK]

--------------------------------------
I've tried to rebuild the search index and disable and enable the search feature through control panel, but it still isn't working. I've tried system restore but that hasn't helped either.

I would like to note that when I start Windows in safe mode, the search features work as usual.

What else can I do to fix this? Thanks for your help!

Thanks for your help, but tips listed did not solve my problem

Bobby Jimenez — Head in the Cloud

Problem:

Windows search does not display any results, the message “see more results” returns an error message:

search:query=(Your_Search_item) Windows cannot access the specified device path or file. You may not have the appropriate permissions to access the item.

Similar issue applies to Outlook. Outlook simply cannot search anything.

Solution:

I found out eventually that the error was due to a corrupt Structured Query Schema bin file. By deleting the corrupt file, Windows will then recreate a new file. And voila! Problem solved.

How? Follow my instructions below:

Step 1:

Click on the “Start” button. In the menu that appears, click on “Control Panel.” From the “Control Panel,” click on “Folder Options.”

When the Folder Options menu opens, click the “View” tab.

Change settings to show hidden files: Scroll down until you see an option called “Hidden Files and Folders” Cick on “Show hidden files, folders, and drives”

Change settings to show operating system files: In the same window, uncheck (untick) the box that reads “Hide protected operating system files (Recommended).” Do this if the folder you want to unhide is a system folder.

Step 2:

Locate the file StructuredQuerySchema.bin from the path below – note that you need to to replace ‘YOUR_USER_NAME’ below with your correct Windows user name.

c:\Users\YOUR_USER_NAME\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\1033\StructuredQuerySchema.bin

This should fix your issue! Make sure you do the reverse of Step 1 to re-hide the folders.

I hope you find this article useful. Please feel free to click on the ‘like’ button and leave me a good comment below, thanks!

To restore the search tool to win7 tiny any version

Remove any MS office products you have installed ( Any and all )

Use a different Office package eg : Apache OpenOffice or LibreOffice

Its worked for me many times .

Or just dont install any office progarms at all