Windows 10: Windows Search not working, Start Menu corrupted

After some Windows updates, my search does not seem to find anything not on C drive. I have multiple games installed on a secondary harddrive E through steam, and other programs, however the only stuff it seems to find is what there is either a shortcut to on my desktop, or only programs installed on C drive. The start menu is also corrupted. Indexing Options also does not lead anywhere and has a missing thumbnail in Control Panel. The troubleshooter for search indexing doesn't even appear in settings, and an error comes up when I try to access advanced search index options {26ee0668-a00a-44d7-9371-beb064c98683}. If I don't have a shortcut to the program, I can't start it without navigating to the installation folder because the search doesn't pick it up. Even in my installed programs list through both windows & ccleaner, many programs and games are not showing up if they are installed on the E drive which is just making it confusing and annoying to navigate through. I've tried DISM and SFC commands and checking some registry entries with bing and cortana but nothing has helped.


Also seems like windows has trouble finding files when I try to open them AND images are not opening, have no thumbnails, AND videos come up with codec error messages.

Really unlucky with all this garbage lol so many issues with Windows

:)

 

Start Menu Search

Hi,

About your issue regarding the Start menu or Search, in order for us to assist you better. Please answer the question:

• Were there any recent changes made to your system prior to the issue?

In the meantime, we suggest you to check this link:
Troubleshoot problems opening the Start menu or Cortana. It contains troubleshooting steps prior to the issue.

We'll look forward to your response.

 

Start menu,Wifi key, Search key not working

Hello Nikhil,

The issues with accessing the Start menu/ Windows key might have occurred due to corrupted/ missing system files after installing the latest update on your computer.

Provide us with additional information to assist you better with this issue:

• Have you made any changes to the operating system prior to this issue?
• What is the complete error code/ error message with this issue?

I suggest you to try the troubleshooting steps suggested from the Microsoft helps article like: Check for updates, Restart the computer, run the troubleshooter, create test user account and check if it helps.

Troubleshoot problems opening the Start menu or Cortana

Hope it helps. Get back to us with an updated status of accessing the Start menu, Search bar for further assistance.

Thank you.

 

Start Menu Search not working


When I start my computer, my Start Menu Search sometimes gets stuck in a start up or searching loop.
The start menu itself works if I am just using my mouse to click icons. The issue is hitting the Windows button on my keyboard and typing.

What is strange is that when this happens, if I log out then log in again, it starts up fine. While this is a workaround, I would like to solve the problem that is causing the problem.

I've tried re-indexing my entire computer based on a similar post I found here, but that did not work. Also - searching in a general Explorer window works fine showing the Windows Indexing does not appear to be the problem.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.