Solved Windows searching does not work

DeZolance

New member
Local time
10:58 AM
Messages
35
I am having trouble with my pc searching for files
Neither the explorer window or start menu seach works
whatever I type nothing comes out and if I click on see more results in the star menu search I get an error saying:
"Windows cannot access the specified device,path or file.You may not have the appropriate permissions to access the item."

I tried a couple if fixes myself but nothing
So any answer to this?
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
custom build
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x64
CPU
AMD FX3800
Motherboard
Asus M5A97 PLUS
Memory
kingston 2GB 2x,HyperX 4GB
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX970
Hard Drives
Kingston SSD 60GB
Toshiba HDD 500GB
Western Digital HDD 500GB
Antivirus
Security essentials
Browser
Mozilla Firefox
Boot from an installation disk go to Repair open a CMD window
Type:
chkdsk C: /f


If it finds bad clusters and or bad blocks, your disk is dying. Replace the disk. My suggestion is to replace with a SSD.

If the disk is healthy, do a system file check
Type
sfc /scannow
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
    custom build
    OS
    Windows 7 HP 64
    CPU
    i5 6600K - 800MHz to 4200MHz
    Motherboard
    GA-Z170-HD3P
    Memory
    4+4G GSkill DDR4 3000
    Graphics Card(s)
    IG - Intel 530
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 226BW
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    (1) -1 SM951 – 128GB M.2 AHCI PCIe SSD drive for Windows 7 and Lubuntu
    (2) -1 WD SATA 3 - 1T for Data
    (3) -1 WD SATA 3 - 1T for backup
    PSU
    Thermaltake 450W TR2 gold
    Keyboard
    Old and good Chicony mechanical keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech mX performance - 9 buttons (had to disable some)
    Internet Speed
    500Mb/s
    Browser
    Firefox 64
    Other Info
    TinyWall firewall
  • Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model Number
    Asus Q550LF
    OS
    Windows 7 Pro
    CPU
    i7-4500U 800MHz to 3.0GHz
    Motherboard
    Asus Q550LF
    Memory
    (4+4)G DDR3 1600
    Graphics Card(s)
    IG intel 4400 + NVIDIA GeForce GT 745M
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG Display LP156WF4-SPH1
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    BX500 120G SSD for Windows and programs +
    1T HDD for data
    Internet Speed
    500 Mb/s
    Browser
    Firefox
    Other Info
    TinyWall firewall
Log in to Windows as an administrator, to see if you get the same error message. If you do, see if it allows you to give yourself permission to access the drive. If you can access the drive as an administrator, then it is a permissions issue with the Windows account you were using before.
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Dell
OS
Linux Mint 18.2 xfce 64-bit (VMWare host) / Windows 8.1 Pro 32-bit (VMWare guest)
CPU
Haswell
Memory
4 GB
Monitor(s) Displays
Acer 23"
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080
Hard Drives
Two hard drives, 1TB each: One for Linux, one for my data.
Keyboard
IBM Model M
Antivirus
Sophos (Linux), Trend Micro (Windows)
Browser
Firefox, Opera
Other Info
I use Samba to share my data drive with the other computers at my house and with my guest session in VMWare Workstation Player.

My Computer

Computer type
Laptop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
toshiba 505
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium bit
CPU
amd?
Motherboard
?
Memory
4 gig
Monitor(s) Displays
Samsung S27D360 &S24D300 - Acer K222HQL - Eizo 21" (4x3)
Screen Resolution
1280 x 720 -1600x900 - (eizo 1024x768
Hard Drives
240 ssd
PSU
amd (?)
Mouse
logitech tackball
Antivirus
360 total security
Browser
firefox portable 29.0.1
Boot from an installation disk go to Repair open a CMD window
Type:
chkdsk C: /f


If it finds bad clusters and or bad blocks, your disk is dying. Replace the disk. My suggestion is to replace with a SSD.

If the disk is healthy, do a system file check
Type
sfc /scannow

Tried chkdsk and got this


The type of the file system is NTFS
Cannot lock currnet drive

Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process.Would you like to schedule this volume to be checked the next time the system restarts?
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
custom build
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x64
CPU
AMD FX3800
Motherboard
Asus M5A97 PLUS
Memory
kingston 2GB 2x,HyperX 4GB
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX970
Hard Drives
Kingston SSD 60GB
Toshiba HDD 500GB
Western Digital HDD 500GB
Antivirus
Security essentials
Browser
Mozilla Firefox
Log in to Windows as an administrator, to see if you get the same error message. If you do, see if it allows you to give yourself permission to access the drive. If you can access the drive as an administrator, then it is a permissions issue with the Windows account you were using before.

I am an administrator and I still get nothing

But I did try one thing
I ran command prompt through WinKey+R as an administrator and activated the Hidden administrator account with
"net user administrator /active:yes"

I logged in that administrator account and searching works perfectly fine,no errors
In that case my problem could very well be a permissions issue somewhere
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
custom build
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x64
CPU
AMD FX3800
Motherboard
Asus M5A97 PLUS
Memory
kingston 2GB 2x,HyperX 4GB
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX970
Hard Drives
Kingston SSD 60GB
Toshiba HDD 500GB
Western Digital HDD 500GB
Antivirus
Security essentials
Browser
Mozilla Firefox
Tried chkdsk and got this


The type of the file system is NTFS
Cannot lock currnet drive

Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process.Would you like to schedule this volume to be checked the next time the system restarts?

You didn't boot from the Win 7 installation disk. You opened a CMD window under running windows.
It also asked if you wanted to do the check disk on next boot. Why you didn't do it?
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
    custom build
    OS
    Windows 7 HP 64
    CPU
    i5 6600K - 800MHz to 4200MHz
    Motherboard
    GA-Z170-HD3P
    Memory
    4+4G GSkill DDR4 3000
    Graphics Card(s)
    IG - Intel 530
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 226BW
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    (1) -1 SM951 – 128GB M.2 AHCI PCIe SSD drive for Windows 7 and Lubuntu
    (2) -1 WD SATA 3 - 1T for Data
    (3) -1 WD SATA 3 - 1T for backup
    PSU
    Thermaltake 450W TR2 gold
    Keyboard
    Old and good Chicony mechanical keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech mX performance - 9 buttons (had to disable some)
    Internet Speed
    500Mb/s
    Browser
    Firefox 64
    Other Info
    TinyWall firewall
  • Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model Number
    Asus Q550LF
    OS
    Windows 7 Pro
    CPU
    i7-4500U 800MHz to 3.0GHz
    Motherboard
    Asus Q550LF
    Memory
    (4+4)G DDR3 1600
    Graphics Card(s)
    IG intel 4400 + NVIDIA GeForce GT 745M
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG Display LP156WF4-SPH1
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    BX500 120G SSD for Windows and programs +
    1T HDD for data
    Internet Speed
    500 Mb/s
    Browser
    Firefox
    Other Info
    TinyWall firewall
You didn't boot from the Win 7 installation disk. You opened a CMD window under running windows.
It also asked if you wanted to do the check disk on next boot. Why you didn't do it?

1. I dont have a Windows instalation disk
2.I did do the disk check on next boot and it didn't detect any problems
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
custom build
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x64
CPU
AMD FX3800
Motherboard
Asus M5A97 PLUS
Memory
kingston 2GB 2x,HyperX 4GB
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX970
Hard Drives
Kingston SSD 60GB
Toshiba HDD 500GB
Western Digital HDD 500GB
Antivirus
Security essentials
Browser
Mozilla Firefox
I am an administrator and I still get nothing

But I did try one thing
I ran command prompt through WinKey+R as an administrator and activated the Hidden administrator account with
"net user administrator /active:yes"

I logged in that administrator account and searching works perfectly fine,no errors
In that case my problem could very well be a permissions issue somewhere

While logged into the administrator account where searching works perfectly fine, create a new user account with administrator access. Then log into that new account and try the search. If successful, then the problem has to be with the account which already existed in Windows. Somehow it got corrupted.
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Dell
OS
Linux Mint 18.2 xfce 64-bit (VMWare host) / Windows 8.1 Pro 32-bit (VMWare guest)
CPU
Haswell
Memory
4 GB
Monitor(s) Displays
Acer 23"
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080
Hard Drives
Two hard drives, 1TB each: One for Linux, one for my data.
Keyboard
IBM Model M
Antivirus
Sophos (Linux), Trend Micro (Windows)
Browser
Firefox, Opera
Other Info
I use Samba to share my data drive with the other computers at my house and with my guest session in VMWare Workstation Player.
While logged into the administrator account where searching works perfectly fine, create a new user account with administrator access. Then log into that new account and try the search. If successful, then the problem has to be with the account which already existed in Windows. Somehow it got corrupted.

I made a test admin user and searching works perfectly fine there
Now is there a way to fix my current user or do I just migrate to the other one?
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
custom build
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x64
CPU
AMD FX3800
Motherboard
Asus M5A97 PLUS
Memory
kingston 2GB 2x,HyperX 4GB
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX970
Hard Drives
Kingston SSD 60GB
Toshiba HDD 500GB
Western Digital HDD 500GB
Antivirus
Security essentials
Browser
Mozilla Firefox
There may be a way to fix the current user, but I've always found it easier to just migrate to the other one.
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Dell
OS
Linux Mint 18.2 xfce 64-bit (VMWare host) / Windows 8.1 Pro 32-bit (VMWare guest)
CPU
Haswell
Memory
4 GB
Monitor(s) Displays
Acer 23"
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080
Hard Drives
Two hard drives, 1TB each: One for Linux, one for my data.
Keyboard
IBM Model M
Antivirus
Sophos (Linux), Trend Micro (Windows)
Browser
Firefox, Opera
Other Info
I use Samba to share my data drive with the other computers at my house and with my guest session in VMWare Workstation Player.
There may be a way to fix the current user, but I've always found it easier to just migrate to the other one.

I have allot of set preferences on my current user so I am willing to try otherwise I will just migrate
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
custom build
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x64
CPU
AMD FX3800
Motherboard
Asus M5A97 PLUS
Memory
kingston 2GB 2x,HyperX 4GB
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX970
Hard Drives
Kingston SSD 60GB
Toshiba HDD 500GB
Western Digital HDD 500GB
Antivirus
Security essentials
Browser
Mozilla Firefox
My reason for migrating to the other user account is so that you will start fresh, leaving the problems behind.
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Dell
OS
Linux Mint 18.2 xfce 64-bit (VMWare host) / Windows 8.1 Pro 32-bit (VMWare guest)
CPU
Haswell
Memory
4 GB
Monitor(s) Displays
Acer 23"
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080
Hard Drives
Two hard drives, 1TB each: One for Linux, one for my data.
Keyboard
IBM Model M
Antivirus
Sophos (Linux), Trend Micro (Windows)
Browser
Firefox, Opera
Other Info
I use Samba to share my data drive with the other computers at my house and with my guest session in VMWare Workstation Player.
Well ok I will leave it like that just migrate,thanks everyone for the help
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
custom build
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x64
CPU
AMD FX3800
Motherboard
Asus M5A97 PLUS
Memory
kingston 2GB 2x,HyperX 4GB
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX970
Hard Drives
Kingston SSD 60GB
Toshiba HDD 500GB
Western Digital HDD 500GB
Antivirus
Security essentials
Browser
Mozilla Firefox
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