Windows 10: REMOVED ALL PERMISSIONS FROM ctfmon AND NOW I CAN'T TYPE IN FILE EXPLORER AND SEARCH BAR

I followed a tutorial under the assumption that CTFMON was a keylogger virus and ended up removing all permissions from CTFMON.EXE and made myself the owner with full access; now Windows programs such as the windows searchbar or the file explorer do not detect keyboard input. I was able to MANUALLY restore TrustedInstaller as owner as well as most permissions TrustedInstaller full access, SYSTEM Read and Execute Access, Admins Read and Execute Access, Users Read and Execute Access, and ALL APPLICATION PACKAGES Read and Execute Access, HOWEVER I am unable to add ALL RESTRICTED APPLICATION PAC

:)

 

ctfmon

Hello,

Ctfmon is the Microsoft process that controls Alternative User Input and the Office Language bar. It’s how you can control the computer via speech or a pen tablet, or using the onscreen keyboard inputs for asian languages. If you are using any of the mentioned
tasks, you should leave it enabled. Since you've already tried removing it at the task manager, we suggest that you follow the steps below to disable ctfmon.exe:

• Open Settings by clicking the Windows icon.
• At the Settings window, type in Administrative tools and select it.
• At the Administrative tools window, click Services.
• At the services window, look for Touch Keyboard and Handwriting panel service, set this to disabled and stop the service. This will disable the ability to use the onscreen keyboard.

Let us know the results.

 

Removed USB files suggestions showing up in search bar and in search this pc in windows explorer

I had inserted a USB in my laptop and then removed it but when I searched the files in the search bar and in search this PC in windows explorer, all of the files and suggestions from the USB show up. What do I do to remove them?

"show recently opened items in jump lists on start or taskbar and in file explorer quick access" is already disabled. I have tried removing and adding c and drive d drive from the indexing options. I also tried clearing the device search history but nothing
seems to work.

 

Why when I try to type something in my windows 11 search bar, it wont type?

Hi Coasters4me, My name is Ahmet, and I am an Independent Advisor. I hope you're well, I'm sorry that you are experiencing this issue. I'd be more than happy to assist you.

# Relaunch Windows Search Service

Windows Search Services supports your search bar running. If there are some issues occurring on your Windows Search Service, you may find Search Bar not typing in Windows 11. To fix this problem, here you can restart Windows Search Services in this way.

Step 1: Press Windows key+ R and enter services.msc in the Run window.

Step 2: Right-click on Windows Search and select Restart.

# Restart Cortana and File Explorer

As the processes running on background, Cortana and File Explorer can ensure that your search bar runs normally. If you can't type in Windows 11 search bar, you can try to fix it by restarting Cortana and File Explorer.

Step 1: Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manage.

Step 2: Right-click on Windows Explorer and choose Restart.

Step 3: Right-click on Cortana and choose End task. Then press Alt + F4 to restart PC and relaunch Cortana again.

# Launch Ctfmon Service

Ctfmon.exe can manage the active windows and provides text input service support for speech recognition, handwriting recognition, keyboard, and so on. If you can't type in Windows 11 search bar, your Ctfmon service may run into error. To solve it, you can run ctfmon.exe in this way:

Press Win + R and enter C:\Windows\system32\ctfmon.exe

Click OK to launch Ctfmon Service and then check if your Windows search bar works again.

# Run Search and Indexing Tool

Windows Search Troubleshooter can help you detect and fix some bugs inside your Windows. If you find your Windows 11 search bar not working, you can run the Search and Indexing tool which is designed to find and fix problems with Windows Search.

Step 1: Press Win + I to go to Settings and enter troubleshooter settings > Other Troubleshooters. Then scroll down to find Search and Indexing and click Run button next to it.

Step 2: Check the boxes for the problem you notice and click on Next, and Search and Indexing will troubleshoot your search bar and fix the problem.

Step 3: When completed, you may successfully fix your Windows search bar not typing in your Windows 11.

# Run DSIM & SFC Tool

Another way to fix Windows 11 search bar not typing is to run DISM (Deployment Imaging and Servicing Management) and SFC (System File Checker). In this way, you can troubleshoot and restore your Corrupt Files in System to fix your search bar.

Step 1: Press Win + R to activate Run window. Then enter cmd in Run window and click OK.

Step 2: Type DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth in the Command Prompt and hit Enter.

Step 3: Wait until DISM restore operation complete successfully, you can enter SFC /scannow and press Enter button to run SFC tool. After finished, reboot your PC.

# Use command in Windows Powershell

Step 1: Press Win + R and type powershell in the Run window.

Step 2: Copy and paste PowerShell -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted to the Windows Powershell and hit Enter.

Step 3: Copy and paste the following command to Windows Powershell and hit Enter button.

Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers |Where-Object {$_.InstallLocation -like "*SystemApps*"} | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}

# Start Touch Keyboard and Handwriting Service

Turning on Touch Keyboard and Handwriting service can be the way to fix your Windows 11 search bar not working. Some users have tried on this way and it works perfectly, so you can also have a try.

Step 1: Right-click on Start Menu icon and choose Computer management.

Step 2: Enter Services and Applications and choose Services.

Step 3: Find and double-click on touch keyboard and handwriting service. Then click Start to enable it and set Automatic as Startup type.

# Reset Your PC

If you still can't type in Windows 11 search bar after trying all the above ways, you need to reset your Windows System. Follow the steps to reset your system without losing any files.

Step 1: Press Windows Key + I to open Settings app. Then go to System > Recovery and click on Reset PC.

Step 2: Choose Keep my files option and your system will be back to its default setting. This may remove your apps and custom settings, but fortunately you can keep your personal files. After resetting, you can see if your search bar works again.

Let me know how it goes and hopefully it will help.

Have a wonderful day.

Yours sincerely,

Ahmet