Windows 10: "We're getting search ready" error - Windows/Cortana Search

None of these fixed the issue for me *Sad

 

Hello,
I followed your instructions but it was not fixed.
As you see below I get results from the web and store but not from settings and moreover I still get the message “we're getting search ready”
Has anybody found a different solution?

 

I am in exactly the same boat. Tried mostly everything and while it finds apps, programs, web searches and Windows Store apps, it never finds options or control panel items and continually has the same 'We are getting search ready' message at the top.

Otherwise Windows 10 seems to be working just fine.

 

Time for a bigger hammer!

If you use Libraries and have folders other than the defaults, make note of the folders in each Library.
These instructions restore the default Library locations and you will have to add the folders back in the Library after completing the steps.

Search and Indexing are closely related.

Check if the indexing options are wrong ... many people index entire drives and that makes a VERY big index. A large index is also really slow.

Control Panel > Indexing Options
Press the [ Modify ] button
Remove all check marks from all locations until there is nothing displayed in the lower pane.
You might have to press the [ Show all locations ] button to get them all removed.

When you're finished this process, the index still exists, but new entries from those locations will not be added. You'll rebuild the index in another step. Keep the Indexing Options window open

Launch File Explorer
In the left hand navigation pane, right click Libraries
Select Restore default Libraries

When that finishes, return to the Indexing Options window
Press the [ Advanced ] button
Press the [ Rebuild ] button

This should not take very long because you previously removed all locations, but the default Libraries add your user folders back in to the index. These are mostly the files you want indexed anyway.
Let crawler do it's job, when it's finished see if the issue still exists.

Entries in the index have the contents of the files so you can use search to find text in the body.
Indexing programs or other non-text files adds no value and affects system performance drastically.

There are two other locations you might want to include (Start and your Mail folder).
Windows will add some locations it thinks you want, that's ok.

 

Guys, I've had this same issue for a few days now and just worked out what it was! It's UAC !!! I turned it off a few days ago and only worked out this was the cause when I tried to open windows calculator and it said you have UAC disabled and need it on to run windows programs!? I turned it back on to the first lowest level then rebooted and the start button search works and displays programs and no longer the we are getting it ready... msg...

hope this helps!

 

That UAC is more annoying than helpful

 

Tell me about it! It's like being forced to have stabilisers on every bike you buy!

I turned it off a few days back and also changed the registry to stop it from prompting for permissions to do anything in windows explorer and then a day or so later noticed start button search had stopped returning programmes in it's search and had that stupid getting search ready msg. I tried loads of things then tried to open windows calculator and was informed I needed UAC on to open or use calculator or windows programmes!? WTF then realised this must be the cause of the search issue! Moved UAC level to the next one up from bottom and rebooted and boom all sorted!

 

Turn UAC back on and then reboot!

 

Thank you for the tip, however, it didn’t work.

Can anybody else report that the UAC trick did the job?

The funny thing is that if I search "wallpaper" I get results only from the store and the web and off course I get the message “we're getting search ready”.

If I click on "My Stuff" then I get to a window which gives me local results, however, there is a possibility for "other places to look". (first pic)
There is the option to search in settings and when I click on settings then I do get the results that I was searching for in the first place. (second pic)

Weird or what?

 

Just restart Windows explorer in Task Manager until they fix search.

 

Try going to Bing Settings

Select History




Press the [ Clear All ] button and then confirm the action
- Press Yes, clear all search history

you might try turning off history for a test
if you want Bing to keep history, you can turn it back on later.

 

Interesting, my user folders (Documents, Pictures, etc) are on my E: drive, while Windows is on the C: drive. I had changed my default locations.

Do you think that this is causing the problem?

If so, are you saying that I should:

1. Drop everything from the index list and rebuild
2. Restore Documents, Pictures, etc to the default location (C*Smile and rebuild the index
3. Point Documetns, Pictures, etc back to the correct location (E*Smile and update the index again?

Is that correct?

----

EDIT

I just did steps (1) and (2) and I'm still getting the dreaded "we're getting search ready" message. No point in moving to step 3.

Search also isn't working right. For example, Outlook or Control Panel or any other app in my Start Menu isn't showing up even though they've been indexed.

 

Sort of what I was leaning towards. Your setup is a bit different in that you changed the location of the user folders. I hadn't thought of that scenario, so good thinking on your part. Shame it didn't help.

Your User Folders are in the default location now? Did you select each User folder on E: and changed
Properties > location tab > [ Restore default ] button

Did you restore the Libraries? Do you use Libraires?

Did you add any entries back to the Indexing options?
Standard installs would include your User, but exclude (clear the check box) AppData

An easy method to see what Windows initially sets up is to create a new account and compare what you see there to what is on your main account. But indexing is system wide, so that won't help in this case. I'll look at a fresh install tomorrow and post what I see as the indexing options.

Heck, that might even be the easiest way to 'fix' this. Let members know if the "we're getting search ready" occurs on the new test account. You can remove the test account afterwards.

Restart your machine if not already done
Create the test account
sign off your account
Sign in to the new account

Side note: The way I understand it is: Indexing augments searching. It indexes additional properties and the contents of files. This allows you to quickly find text strings in the body of a file or use a property tag such as Date Taken for pictures.

Search still works without indexing, it's just slower. There's an option to not use the Index for searches.

 

I think we may have lift-off!

I think having changed my user directories was causing issues with indexing for some reason... something probably got borked when I upgraded from Win 8.1 to Win 10.

What you had posted actually helped a ton (thanks for that by the way!). I ended up doing this:

1. Go to indexing options and uncheck everything.
2. Go to services and stop the Windows Search service, then switch to disabled
3. Go to c:\programdata\microsoft\windows search and delete the data directory
4. Go to the registry and go to Windows Search and change the SetupComplete setting from 1 to 0
5. Go to my user icon on the desktop and for each user item I had changed, go to properties and change the location back to default
6. Go to services and switch Windows Search back to automatic (delayed), and Start
7. Wait for indexing to complete (it's fast) Since I have nothing
8. Edit indexing and add back the non-user stuff (like the Start Menu)
9. Wait for indexing to complete
10. Oh no, but it's still got "we're getting search ready"... reboot the sucker!
11. No more "we're getting search ready" and start menu search is finding programs... and control panel which was missing before!
12. Now for each user item I defaulted back, re-point it back to where I want them on E drive instead of C drive
13. Wait for indexing to complete (takes a lot longer this time, 80k items to index)
14. Win!!!

One things that threw me off-guard is that search is also a little different in Win 10 than Win 7 & Win 8. I have a file, say, My File.xls. In prior versions, I'd hit start, type My File, and it'll pop up in the search results. It appears that Win 10 doesn't like to show file search results in the base results... instead you have to select My Stuff to get those to pop up. Kinda of annoying as it adds some extra steps.

Also FYI. I had tried the set up new account trick a few days ago and it appears that the "we're getting search ready" issue migrated over to there too since, as you mentioned, the index is shared so the problem appears to be shared (at least in my case) too.

Thanks again!

 

Yeah it's driving me insane!!!

I still use Search Everything for searching files.