Windows 10: Windows Search and Indexing Broken

After upgrading to TH2 I had an issue with windows search. The service wouldn't start at all.

I managed to run the Windows Search service.
I had to delete the Key RebuildIndex and change value of key SetupCompletedSuccessfully to 1.





Now that the search service works I have another problem. The indexing is not working:





In Advanced options the Index Location is blank and the button Select New is grayed out.





When I run the troubleshooter I get : Incorrect permissions on Windows Search directories -- Not fixed





The owner of folders C:\Program Data\Microsoft\Search and C:\Program Data\Microsoft\Search\Data is SYSTEM. Administrator and my user name are added with Full Control.
What could be the problem?

:)

 

Major problems after Anniversary Update

Type Indexing in Start search, open Indexing options. Under Advanced tab edit the locations you want indexed for fast search. Then choose Rebuild Index. This may take awhile I'd give it exclusive use to sort these faster.

Run the WIndows Search Troubleshooter:
Fix and Repair broken Windows Search in Windows 10/8/7

Go over the
Windows 10 Install Integrity Checklist.

Let us know if you have any questions and what you find.

 

Cortana not finding local documents

Thanks, did all the things. Also did sfc and dism. Also checked locations under Indexing Options. Also rebuilt index.

It is still broken. Broke after updating to Fall Creators Update.

This is seriously afu.

How do I stop Cortana and revert to plain Windows Search?

 

Hi, part of your problem may be addressed towards the end of this thread:

Solved File Explorer Search Not Working - Windows 10 Forums

Modify button: I had to do this once having even lost Indexing Options in Control Panel- I first fixed that, then to solve the modify button being greyed out:
Disable and re-enable the feature through dism.
dism /Online /Disable-Feature /FeatureName:"SearchEngine-Client-Package"
dism /Online /Enable-Feature /FeatureName:"SearchEngine-Client-Package"

 

Thanks but it's not working.

I have a PC with Win10 where I search and indexing are working fine. I reproduced the permissions for Search, Data, Application and Temp folders 1:1 on my laptop where is the problematic Win10. System is owner everywhere.
Tried your method with disabling SearchEngine-Client-Package - result was the same.
Not working at all. I think the problem lies somewhere in the registry but I don't know exactly where.

 

Hi, is 'Indexing Options' present in the (old) control panel? (I presume you must have given your screen-shot)
Do you have srchadmin.dll and srchadmin.dll.mui in system32 and syswow64 folders as appropriate?

 

What do you you mean by old control panel?
The two files srchadmin.dll are present in both directories.

 

E.g. Windows key + X, Control Panel

If the dlls and dll.mui files are present, and you have run the powershell commands from an elevated powershell window, and Modify is still greyed out, it's looking more like you'll need to try an in-place upgrade repair install.

However, it may be worth trying the DISM commands.
Try running these in sequence from a elevated (admin) Command Prompt:

To open an admin Command Prompt window
Press Win key + X, then click ‘Command Prompt (admin).
Then copy/paste each in turn at the prompt, press <Return> and wait for the command to complete.

Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

 

Thanks. I tried all that but it didn't work.

Actually I fixed the problem myself.
As it said there were incorrect permissions, I decided to change the indexing location. I chose a different path (in my case C:\Users\-Username here -\AppData\Local\Microsoft). I created two folders: Search and Data (inside Search).
Then in registry I just changed the values of DataDirectory and DefaultDataDirectory. Reabooted.
After reboot I just had to stop and start the WSearch service and indexing started working.
Of course I deleted the old Search folder with incorrect permissions and created a new one. After doing the above I manged to get indexing to work with %ProgramData%\Microsoft\Search. But yet again when I ran the troubleshooter I got Incorrect permissions error.
So I decided to stick to the new location.

But this time the problem is different. Under "Index These Locations" there was nothing. When click on Modify, under "Change Selected Locations" there are only two of my volumes (drive D: and drive M: and drive C: is missing. So I had no way to add the default folders (Start Menu and Users).
Then I found out the by editing the search policies in gpedit.msc I can add Default Index Paths and Default excluded paths. I added Users and Start Menu folders by they are not indexed.









How can I add my drive C: and how to get these locations indexed?

 

Hi, ok, you're right.. should have looked more carefully at the permisssions issue.

Good you've made some progress. Note that Users needs to be indexed, else searching Settings is s-l-o-w... (Or at least the relevant part of Users, whatever that might be).

Just wondering about your permissions on C: given you've had to deal with one permissions problem.

Mine on C: is this:

 

These registry keys appear to hold the search index locations:
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Search\CrawlScopeManager\Windows\SystemIndex\WorkingSetRules\
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Search\Gather\Windows\SystemIndex\Sites\LocalHost\Paths\
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Search\Gather\Windows\SystemIndex\StartPages\

(I added a distinctive location and searched the registry)

The default index location is here:
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft
Search folder, I assume

Permissions for the Search folder (after I'd hit Continue to get access to it):

 

These are my permissions on C:



















I have some strange Unknown users. I think they may be from the time I install MSSql Server. I'm not sure.
And I don't have Administrator added. When I try to add I get this:



Red icon with cross.

And the Owner was Unknown something, so I changed it to my Account.

 

Ok, I think you have some significant permissions issues to sort out.. hmm, could be tricky!
Mine's a clean single user Win 10 install

Suggest before changing anything you make a disk image so you can restore it if things get sticky.
Aomei Backupper or Macrium reflect (free versions) + boot disk - don't forget to create it- plus external backup medium

 

What do I have to do? Do I have to remove all Account Unknown users?
When I try to apply the permissions for Administrator I get permission denied from Windows, Users, Program Files, Program Files (x86), pagefile.sys, Intel, $Recycle.bin, bootmgr, BOOTNXT, Config.msi etc.
Is there a way to add Administrator and permissions in cmd from live boot while Windows is not running?

Is it a good idea if I do a repair install of Windows? Would anything change?

 

I'm afraid I can't advise further on that.. clearly you can do what you can to make permissions match a good system, and you need to remove extraneous groups and user names. However, you then have the question of inherited permissions, and whether all the changes you might need to make will leave you with a useful bootable system.

Perhaps someone who has more experience of this might be able to help, but realistically, I'd think you'd need to do a clean install.

There are articles which try to address this to some extent, but there's absolutely no guarantee any one of them will specifically or completely resolve what you have, so I can't direct you to one.

Example only:
How to restore Default Security Permissions - Microsoft Community

- and bear in mind that's Win 7, so you will be further limited on what might be available or applicable to Win 10.

Have you created a disk image before hacking it? ... beware...!

Two tools come to mind:
subinacl.exe (you'll need to research it)
and Tweaking.com's repair tool, which does have some repairs related to permissions, but may not be adequate for your case.