Windows 10: Windows 10 Search Not Returning Results

Hello,

The Windows 10 Search function has stopped working. I checked online for the basic troubleshooting and nothing resolved the problem. I will list specifics of the system below. Thanks in advance to any assistance with this search issue.

Windows 10 Pro is installed on a 1TB SSD drive. The automatic system updater is turned on and Windows 10 is updated regularly on a schedule. I have a second 250GB HP Turbo SSD for cache and temp files and three additional SATA hard drives 4TB, 3TB and 2TB, in the drive bays all of which are new and functioning properly as far as read and write. The search function has worked in the past and I am certain it is recent it has stopped.

I checked the Windows 10 SEARCH settings and made certain enhanced search is on and also deleted the files index so that a new index would be created, all under the search settings pane. I did a test of creating a simple file called Find Me.txt and placed in a top level folder on one of the drives. I then selected this drive and at the top search bar I entered Find Me.txt, the search progress bar begins with the "working on it..." message but nothing comes up. I've done several other search tests and let the search go for hours, nothing happens.

I should note that last year I had to do a system restore of Windows 10 when it would not accept my password, which itself was a mystery. Perhaps with this system restore, the permissions or admin got wonky. I checked each disc to ensure under properties that indexing is turned on and all other basic permissions appear OK.

I turned off BitDefender antivirus for 10 minutes, but the search problem persisted.

I know enough to keep Windows 10 running, but I am NOT a Windows 10 expert and could use some assistance with the search function not working. This is a work computer, so I'm flying blind with my job until I can resolve this, so any assistance would be astronomically appreciated!

Windows 10 Pro, version 1903, 9/25/2019, OS BUILD: 18362.592
HP Z820 Workstation, dual Xeons, 256GB ECC DIMMS, three 1080ti GPUs

:)

 

Windows Search returning no results


Windows Search returning no results on one of my external harddrives.

I've trawled through pages of Google's advice and I have already:

• Tried indexing the HDD and rebuilding.
• Non-indexing and rebuilding.
• Indexing only specific folders on the HDD and rebuilding.
• Specifically disabling indexing for this drive in the drive's properties.
• Checked that I have the appropriate permissions on the drive (they are identical to my other HDDs).

Crude example of my problem:

• I am looking for the following file, A:\Example\test.txt.
• I am inside the A:\Example folder.
• I search for "test", "*" or "txt".
• It says there are no results.

And it says "no results" instantly - it doesn't appear to even try.

I do not have a second drive with sufficient space to move the contents to do a format - so I'm looking for non-destructive solutions.

Based on solutions I've been proposed since posting this thread:

• Does the HDD work on another computer? Yes. While searching on that computer it says "searching non-indexed locations will be slow", as I would expect. The issue must be with my computer and not the HDD.
• Does outright disabling Windows Search in the Services do anything? Yes - I can now search the drive, but it is painfully slow.

 

WIN10 search not returning results from indexed drive

Greetings

Windows 10 taskbar (Cortana) search is not returning results from an indexed drive. Both the C and D drives are indexed (specific Locations) and task bar search returns results from everywhere but the D drive. However, if I search via file manager search
returns all the results.

I have tried

• rebuilding the index
• stating and stopping the service
• running the troubleshooter (find a permissions problem)

The machine is fully patched with the latest release.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

THX Paul

 

Searching in 'Settings' returns no results

I have posted a question about getting no search results in the 'Settings' window previously (that is, the 'find a setting' text box), and got no help from it.

I have read other people having the same issue. I just decided to try a fix for a related but slightly different search issue, and it worked!

So if you are not getting any search results in your 'Settings' window I recommend following the suggestion on Fix for Windows 8.1 not returning settings results - CmdrKeene's Blog

And many thanks to cmdrkeene