Windows Search not working

One last suggestion: Control Panel Troubleshooting system and Security
-> try the Search and Indexing trouble shooter
Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Troubleshooting\System and Security

If you've already done that, then I guess I can't help more, but here are the search results of Seven Forums "Search not working" - take a look around, there might be a simple solution in another post or thread

Thought of one more thing - what do you see in the location bar if you hit the down arrow on the right side of the box?

This is the search string I see (I took off the "displayname=Search%20Results%20in%20Computer" attribute, leaving only the search and location

search-ms:crumb=System.Generic.String%3A(internet%20explorer)&crumb=location:%3A%3A{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}

you could try copying the string above and paste it into your location bar.

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You could also try the System File Checher (SFC) - it comes with Windows and fixes a lot of things that get out of kilter.

Run an elevated Command Prompt
Start Menu => All Programs => Accessories => Right click Command Prompt
SFC /scannow

it takes a while and it only processes a number of items at a time (100). I don't know why, but it probably does it that way so it doesn't step on it's own toes. If problems are found by SFC, restart and run again - continue that sequence until SFC doesn't report any problems.

And that really is all I can think of. Hopefully you can find something that helps on the forum.

I took a "quick look at some of the posts in the search (no pun intended) I gave you before and found this

MrJukes said:

This is a very bad state to get into as you are pretty much stuck unless you know the magic regkey to set to fix it.

The bad state persists across reboots. You most likely got into this state by pasting a path into the search box, hitting home, then holding down the delete key. It is also likely that you have, at some point, changed your keyboard repeat rate setting to be slower than normal.

Anyway, on to the fix.

1. Open regedit
2. Navigate to HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FolderTypes\{ef87b4cb-f2ce-4785-8658-4ca6c63e38c6}\TopViews\{00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}
3. You should see that "GroupBy" is set to null. This is the problem. Change "GroupBy" to "System.StartMenu.Group" (without the quotes)
4. Restart explorer

Congratulations on stumbling upon one of the nastiest bugs in Win7!

I think MRJukes means "The value for the GroupBy string is null. Change the value to the string System.StartMenu.Group - when I read it at first I thought he meant change the key - he didn't.

When I looked in my registry, I only found the entry with the correct string under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE (HKLM), not under HKEY_CURRENT_USER (HKCU).

If you're comfortable using regedit, see what you find in yours - I searched for FolderTypes, then TopViews, then the entire string without the hive (no HKLM)

Code:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FolderTypes\{ef87b4cb-f2ce-4785-8658-4ca6c63e38c6}\TopViews\{00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}]
"GroupBy"="System.StartMenu.Group"

The fix proposed by MrJukes is similar to what I show in the code box above, EXCEPT he says the key is in the current user hive, not the local machine hive.

So check both places in your registry - if the key is ok in the HKLM hive, then see if you have the key under your user (or HKCU) hive. If you can't find it under your user, don't sweat it, I couldn't either and my search works. So it must be something else.

Good luck. I might pop back in once in a while - either I found something else or want to see if you found a solution. We all learn around here - Thanks!

That's what I found too - so your issue is something different.

I try to use Windows options to solve issues whenever possible. Have you tried
Control Panel => Folder Options => Restore Defaults

You might have to hit the button on each of the tabs (at least on the search tab). I'm suggesting Control Panel because it configures system wide, whereas Organize => Folder and Search options are usually per folder setting in explorer.


Did you run SFC and did you try pasting the search string into your location box (where it normally displays your location i.e. C:\Users)?

Anything?

If you tried those, there is one other utility you could try System Update Readiness Tool.
Microsoft Support
Article ID: 947821 - Last Review: April 30, 2012 - Revision: 20.0
Description of the System Update Readiness Tool for Windows Vista, for Windows Server 2008, for Windows 7, and for Windows Server 2008 R2

Use Method 2 - pick the correct download for your machine and run it.
It is a big download and it takes a long time to run - just like SFC.

@Empyreal: Sorry for the delay, I've been busy helping with a device problem.

The thread you referenced is saying their issue is due to a network location defined. If your Computer shows a network location, try disconnecting it. According to that thread it solved the Search problem.

If you don't have a Network Location defined..... back to square one

Drat, I despise square one.

I re-read some of the thread and noticed that you mention Home Group. I don't use that on my machine, but the Network Location "solution" might be related to having a Home Group.

Poke around in this tutorial How to Change Windows 7 Homegroup File and Folder Sharing Settings and check the settings on your machine.

Try Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\HomeGroup\Troubleshooter

Square one......