Windows 10: Disable web searches in Start menu

I need to be able to disable web searches in the Start menu. We have several Windows 10 laptops that we use to administer exams, and obviously we cannot have students able to search the internet during their exams. Having no way to disable this feature makes these laptops basically useless for our purposes.

:)

 

Disable Store and Web search in Start Menu

Hello
SystemSupport346,

Since the steps above did not work for you, we suggest that you disable web search by navigating the settings of Cortana itself. Please follow the steps below:

• Open the search box in the taskbar.
• Click the Notebook icon.
• Click Settings from the list.
• On the Settings page, turn off the Cortana can give me suggestions, ideas, reminders, alerts and more option.
• Turn off the Search online and include web results. See screenshot below:
  
  
  
  

Hope this information helps you. Feel free to post back if you need further assistance.

 

Disable Web Search Results in Windows 10 Start Menu

Hi Taira,

Disabling web results in the search box depends on the version and build of your Windows 10. We suggest checking the Windows 10 version and build installed on your computer. To check the version and build, follow the steps below:

• On Cortana search, type winver and press
  Enter.
• A pop-up box will appear containing the version and build of your operating system.

Meanwhile, you can try these steps on how to disable web results in the search box:

• Click the search box in the taskbar.
• Select the Notebook icon
  
  
  in the left pane.
• Click Settings from the list.
• In the Settings page, turn off the Cortana can give you suggestions, ideas, reminders, alerts and more option.
• Also, turn off the Search online and include web results option.

If you need further assistance, don't hesitate to reach out.

 

disable the start menu search

Hi Darrell,

If you really don’t use Windows Search much, you can disable indexing completely by turning off the Windows Search service. However, disabling the open file menu is not possible in Windows 10.

To disable the Windows Search, kindly follow these steps:

• Click on Start and search for Services.
• Select Services from the list of results.
  • 
    
    
• On the right side of the Services window, find the
  Windows Search entry and click it twice.
• In the Startup type drop-down menu, select the
  Disabled option. This will prevent Windows Search from loading the next time you start your computer.
• Click the Stop button to go ahead and stop the Windows Search service now. When the service has stopped, click on
  Apply button.
• Click on OK button, and then restart your computer.
  

Let us know if you have any other concerns.