The short answer
Restart the Windows Search service first, since it stops more often than it should and everything depends on it. If results are still missing, rebuild the index, which takes an hour or two in the background and fixes the majority of cases permanently. Check the indexed locations include the folders you actually search.
Windows Search works from an index, which is a database of file names, locations and in many cases content. When search stops working, the index is usually either corrupted, out of date, or does not cover the folders you are looking in. The search box itself is rarely the problem.
Step 1: restart the service
Open the Services list
Press the Windows key, type services.msc and open it.
Find Windows Search
Near the bottom of the alphabetical list.
Restart it
Right-click and choose Restart. If it is stopped, start it, and check the startup type is Automatic (Delayed Start).
Test a search
Look for a file you know exists by an exact name.
If search works after this and then fails again in a few days, the service is crashing, which points at a corrupted index and takes you to the next step.
Step 2: run the troubleshooter
Windows includes a search troubleshooter under Settings, System, Troubleshoot, Other troubleshooters, Search and Indexing. It is more useful than most built-in troubleshooters because the common failures are well defined, and it will offer to reset things that are otherwise buried in menus.
Step 3: check what is being indexed
Open Indexing Options from the Start menu. It shows which locations are included. Two things commonly go wrong:
- A folder you search often is not in the list, particularly folders on a second drive or a custom location.
- Too much is indexed, for example an entire large drive, which makes indexing never complete.
Add the locations you need and remove anything enormous that you do not search. Under Advanced, you can also choose whether file contents are indexed as well as names, which matters if you search inside documents.
Files on a network drive or a cloud folder that syncs on demand are frequently not indexed, because the content is not present locally. If searching works for local files and fails for cloud ones, that is why, and the cloud provider’s own search is the better tool for those.
Step 4: rebuild the index
This is the definitive fix for a corrupted index. In Indexing Options, click Advanced, then Rebuild under Troubleshooting. Windows discards the index and starts again.
Expect it to take from twenty minutes to several hours depending on how many files you have, and search results will be incomplete until it finishes. Leave the machine on and plugged in, since indexing pauses on battery and under heavy use.
If rebuilding fails or the index reports a size of zero afterwards, the index file itself may be locked. In that case, stop the Windows Search service, delete the index folder from the ProgramData search directory, and start the service again, which forces a clean rebuild.
Step 5: the Start menu specifically
If typing into the Start menu returns nothing at all, but searching in File Explorer works, the problem is the Start menu rather than the index:
- Restart Windows Explorer from Task Manager, which resolves a hung shell.
- Run sfc /scannow followed by the DISM restore health command, which repairs damaged system files.
- Re-register the Start menu components using the PowerShell command Microsoft publishes for this, which recreates the app packages.
- Create a new user account and test there. If search works in the new account, the fault is in your user profile rather than the system.
Be cautious with registry edits and third-party fix tools found online for this problem. The documented steps above resolve nearly all cases, and a wrong registry change can produce problems that are much harder to undo than a broken search box.
Step 6: consider a better tool
Windows Search is adequate and slow, and a lot of people are happier with a dedicated file search utility. Tools that read the file system journal directly index instantly and return results as you type, without the background indexing burden.
They search names rather than content, which covers most of what people actually need, and they sidestep the whole category of problem described above. If you search for files frequently, this is worth trying regardless of whether the built-in search is working.
Preventing it recurring
- Keep indexed locations reasonable rather than indexing whole drives.
- Let the machine idle occasionally while plugged in, so indexing can complete.
- Install Windows updates, since search components are updated with them.
- Exclude large folders of files you never search, such as game installations and virtual machine images.
- Do not disable the Windows Search service to save resources, which is advice that circulates and breaks search entirely.
How long does rebuilding the index take?
From twenty minutes to several hours depending on the number of files and whether contents are indexed. Leave the machine on and plugged in, because indexing pauses on battery.
Why does search find some files and not others?
The missing files are in locations that are not indexed, or are cloud files that are not downloaded locally. Check Indexing Options to see which locations are covered.
Does indexing slow my computer down?
It uses resources while running and pauses when you are actively working. Indexing an entire large drive is what causes noticeable impact, which is why keeping the indexed locations sensible matters.
Should I disable Windows Search to improve performance?
No. It breaks search in the Start menu and File Explorer, and the performance gain on a modern machine is negligible. Reduce the indexed locations instead.
Why does Start menu search work but File Explorer search does not?
They use the index differently, and File Explorer falls back to a slow direct scan in non-indexed locations. Adding the folder to the indexed locations usually fixes it.
The order
Restart the Windows Search service, then run the search troubleshooter. Check that the folders you search are in the indexed locations and that nothing enormous is included. Rebuild the index and let it finish. If only the Start menu is affected, repair system files and test in a new user account. And if you search files constantly, a dedicated search tool is faster than anything Windows does.
