Windows 10: Start menu search not finding applications?

More people with the same problem:

Start menu search not finding applications? - Windows 10 Forums
error - Windows/Cortana Search - Windows 10 Forums

Questions that might be relevant:

• If you have the bug: did you clean install, or upgrade? (I clean installed)
• During the installation, did you disable all the calling-home hoo-haa? What about Cortana? (I disabled all of it)

Let's narrow this sucker down. Perhaps we can fix it!

EDIT: Nushydude found a possible fix here. Seems like a lengthy process, but worth trying!

UPDATE: re-indexing everything fixed it for me. Other changes, may or may not be related: 1. The "we're getting search ready..." message is now gone / 2. I completely hid the search button from the task bar.

 

I solved this by reinstalling, another PC I had to reinstall twice.

Basically the only solution to this is reinstalling Windows until this issue doesn't show up.

None of the solutions here worked for me, not even indexing.
I simply reinstalled.

 

Same problem here. Also, I can't pin anything to the start menu that isn't already under "all apps".

 

Just installed Windows 10 on another PC. Same issue once again.

 

Just to rule out corrupted install media, I'd re download the ISO and make new install media.

 

Done that already.
Also, the same ISO written on USB I used on my machine to fix the start menu search gave the same issue on another PC.

 

I don't know what to tell you then? I've done 4 upgrades and 1 clean install, no issues with the search function for me?

 

Hey guys, perhaps it's just a matter of waiting - just, way longer than seems realistic? I know that for me, the problem stopped once the "We're getting Search ready for you" thing completely disappeared. On my own PC, it was either that or the re-indexing which solved it. Otherwise, I kind of expect that Microsoft is on this and will have a fix for us soon that makes this more transparent/understandable/fast.

 

Yeah, I finally got it to work, even for all the apps I installed later. I went into the Cortana settings and told her to forget me. I disabled web searches. I changed the indexing to only include the Start Menu at C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu that is already listed, then removed Users and added just C:\Users\MYNAME\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu. Then rebuilt the index, which was only 279 items after all that. Then rebooted.

It still says We're getting search ready, and now I need to type the full settings text and search, but the apps I wanted most are now working with only a couple of characters typed. Hopefully the settings searches get back to normal too. Eventually I might reindex users files but I don't really care that much.

There are many posts on Superuser and other places about this that haven't gotten much further in solving it for everyone. It seems to resolve itself whenever it feels like it. MS should fix the root cause of the problem, whatever that is.

 

. . .Try drag and drop. . .drag the icon from the left side list to the middle of the menu. . .that is how I souled the problem. . .*Smile

 

This issue only happens with clean installs. Never with upgrades.
I had to clean install 4 times on a laptop today because the first three times that error showed up.
And each time I was doing tnr exact same steps to install, I didn't do anything different the fourth time which made it work.

 

I'm on a clean install as well. Maybe MS made it so hard to clean install because they didn't test it...at all. No way am I going to do a third install though. I don't like Windows *that* much.

 

There is apparently a glitch with the index cache. A reinstall cannot (properly) fix that. I think this needs an update

 

I clean installed 10 Enterprise on my laptop, search works for me.

 

Cool... Can you keep us posted about when the problem disappears for you? If you're still seeing the "We're getting Search ready for you..." message, then I'm suspecting that might be it.