Windows 10: The search box on the Taskbar and in Windows Explorer will not accept any typing input

The search box on the taskbar will not accept any typing input.

Nor will the search box in Windows Explorer.


Normal behavior: Click in the white box where it says "Type here to search", and type.

New, incorrect behavior: Click in the white box where it says "Type here to search", but the box does not accept any input.

Same for the search box in Windows Explorer.



Workarounds: None found so far.
Research: Google - multiple documents, none of which were exact matches. Applied many of the "solutions" suggested, to no avail.


Restarting the computer does not help.


Input into other applications Word, Excel, Chrome, etc is usually absolutely fine. Sometimes about once a week text typed into the Chrome browser does not reflect the input, e.g. I type "target" and the screen displays "rfotlt". If I retype the input into Word, I can copy and paste into the browser. So I have a workaround. Restarting fixes this. I don't need a solution for this, it is just FYI.

:)

 

Search box on taskbar missing.

Hi John,

This issue with search box may happen if it's hidden from the taskbar.

To resolve the issue, follow the steps below:

• Right-click on the taskbar and select Search.
• Select Show search box.

Feel free to post back if you have other concerns.

 

Explorer search not working with additional HD

1. Open explorer (e.g. Windows key + E) - or type 'explorer' in the Cortana search box on the taskbar and click 'File explorer' or via the shortcut on the taskbar ....
2. In the search box top right (you should see text 'Search this PC') type what you are searching for.
3. Press the Return key.
4. Look for your results in that window.

Please see my earlier post on suggestion as to what to type.

Note that indexed results will be fast (but only some things are indexed by default) - see Indexing options in the Control Panel e.g.
Non-indexed searching is slower.

3rd party solutions as previously suggested yield fast results.

Creating the shortcut as suggested simply opens explorer and puts your mouse cursor in the explorer search box.

 

Unable to type anything on search box in taskbar or explorer. Cotana is missing also.

Can't type anything on search box in windows taskbar or windows explorer. So unable to search anything. Also , I can't find Cotana anywhere.