Quick Navigation :<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
File Explorer\u00a0(also Windows Explorer) is the file management utility in your Windows computer. It offers a search box to help you find specific files in the current folder and even in the computer. You just need to input the keyword and press\u00a0Enter<\/strong>. This is a rather useful tool when you forget the specific location of the file or folder, or there are too many files in the selected folder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, many users complain that there\u2019s no items match the search when they use the search utility in File Explorer. If you are bothered by the same problem, you are at the right place! Here are 10 feasible and easy ways to help you fix File Explorer search not working<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you encounter File Explorer search not responding, the first thing you can do is restarting your File Explorer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To do that, just press Windows <\/strong>+ X<\/strong> and select Task Manager<\/strong> from the menu. In the pop-up windows, find and select Windows Explorer<\/strong> process, and click Restart <\/strong>button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Besides, some users have fixed the issue by restart the Windows process SearchUI.exe<\/strong> that controls the search element. Just go to Details<\/strong> tab in Task Manager<\/strong>, right-click the process and click End task<\/strong>. Then, this process will be restarted automatically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, you can search files again to see if File Explorer search not working is fixed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The problem might appear if the Windows Search service is disabled. So, you need to make sure the service is enabled and here\u2019s how to do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 1<\/strong>: Press Windows <\/strong>+ R<\/strong> to open Run <\/strong>window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 2<\/strong>: Input services.msc<\/strong> in the box and click OK<\/strong> to open the Services <\/strong>app.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 3<\/strong>: Locate Windows Search<\/strong> service in the Name<\/strong> column. Double-click the service to open its Properties <\/strong>window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 4<\/strong>: Make sure the Startup type<\/strong> is Automatic<\/strong>. If not, choose Automatic<\/strong> from the drop-down menu. The Service status<\/strong> should be Running<\/strong>. Otherwise, click Start<\/strong> button to run the service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 5<\/strong>: Click Apply <\/strong>and OK<\/strong> to save the changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, you can check if the problem of File Explorer search not working is resolved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you cannot find your files or folders by searching in File Explorer, perhaps the search options are not set properly. Just follow the steps below to make changes for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 1<\/strong>: Press Windows<\/strong> + E<\/strong> to open your File Explorer<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 2<\/strong>: Click View <\/strong>tab in the upper tool bar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 3<\/strong>: Choose Options<\/strong> to change folder and search options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 4<\/strong>: In the Folder Options<\/strong> window, switch to Search<\/strong> tab and check Always search file names and contents <\/strong>option.Note:<\/strong> You can also check Include compressed files<\/strong> option according to your needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 5<\/strong>: Click Apply<\/strong> and OK<\/strong> button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then, restart your computer to take effect the changes. This method works for most of the uses who are facing the problem. But it fails to fix the issue for you, try the next solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes, there might be no search results because the involved drive doesn\u2019t allow indexing file contents. If this is applicable to your case, you can try changing the setting to fix the issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just navigate to This PC<\/strong> in your File Explorer. Then, right-click the involved drive under Devices and drives<\/strong> section and choose Properties<\/strong>. When you get the following interface, make sure the option Allow files on this drive to have contents indexed in addition to file properties<\/strong> is check, and click Apply<\/strong> and OK<\/strong> to save the change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have no idea about which drive the target files are stored on, you\u2019d better repeat the same operation to all your drives. Once it\u2019s done, reboot your device and the File Explorer search should work without any problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the reports of some users, they have fixed File Explorer search not working by rebuilding search index. So, you can have a try.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 1<\/strong>: Open Control Panel<\/strong> and choose to view by Small icons<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 2<\/strong>: Find and click the Indexing Options<\/strong> item.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 3<\/strong>: In the pop-up window, click Advanced <\/strong>button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 4<\/strong>: Switch to File Types<\/strong> tab in the Advanced Options<\/strong> window and check Index Properties and File Contents<\/strong>, and then click OK<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 5<\/strong>: Open Advanced Options<\/strong> window again. Under Index Settings<\/strong> tab, click Rebuild<\/strong> button in Troubleshooting <\/strong>section, and then click OK<\/strong> in the confirmation window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once it\u2019s done, your File Explorer search should work properly again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can also employ Windows Troubleshoot to fix the problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 1<\/strong>: Right-click the Start<\/strong> button and select Settings <\/strong>from the lists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 2<\/strong>: Go ahead to Update & Security<\/strong> > Troubleshoot<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 3<\/strong>: In the right pane, scroll down to locate Search and Indexing<\/strong>. Click it and hit Run the troubleshooter<\/strong> button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 4<\/strong>: Then, you will get the following interface. Check Files don\u2019t appear in search results<\/strong> option and click Next<\/strong> button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 5<\/strong>: You will be asked for administrative privilege to perform the operation. Just click Try troubleshooting as an administrator<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You just need to follow the onscreen instructions to complete the process. Now, you can use the search tool again. If the error still exists, try the next solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes, File Explorer search not working occurs only when searching for a specific file\/folder. In this case, perhaps the file\/folder doesn\u2019t have the system permission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you can find the file or folder manually, you can add the system permission to this file\/folder. In this way, you can find it more quickly by using File Explorer search tool next time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 1<\/strong>: Right-click the problematic file or folder and choose Properties<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 2<\/strong>: In the pop-up window, go to Security<\/strong> tab. There should be SYSTEM in the box of Group or user names<\/strong>. If not, click Edit<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 3<\/strong>: Click Add<\/strong> button and you will get the following window. Then, input SYSTEM<\/strong> in the empty box and click Check Names<\/strong>, and hit OK<\/strong> button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 4<\/strong>: Click Apply<\/strong> to save the change and click OK<\/strong> to exit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this way, you should be able to search the specific file\/folder with File Explorer search utility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is reported that the\u00a0Cortana\u00a0application has something to do File Explorer search not responding issue. To resolve the error, you are recommended to end the process of Cortana in Task Manager and restart it. If this fail to work, go to re-register your Cortana according to the given steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 1<\/strong>: Right-click the Start <\/strong>button and choose Windows PowerShell (Admin)<\/strong> to run PowerShell as administrator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 2<\/strong>: Copy and paste the following command to the PowerShell window and press Enter<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Get-AppXPackage -Name Microsoft.Windows.Cortana | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\\AppXManifest.xml”}<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 3<\/strong>: Wait patiently until the command has finished re-registering Cortana and then restart your computer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is true that the corrupted system files can also lead to File Explorer search not responding. Therefore, it is worthwhile to take action to repair corrupted system files. Here\u2019s a simple guide for you:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 1<\/strong>: Type cmd<\/strong> in Run <\/strong>dialog and press Ctrl<\/strong> + Shift<\/strong> + Enter<\/strong> to run Command Prompt<\/strong> as administrator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 2<\/strong>: Input the command DISM.exe \/Online \/Cleanup-Image \/RestoreHealth<\/strong> and press Enter<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 3<\/strong>: Wait for the process to complete and then use\u00a0System File Checker\u00a0tool. Just type\u00a0sfc \/scannow<\/strong>\u00a0and hit\u00a0Enter<\/strong>\u00a0key.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once the scanning process is 100% completed, restart your device and check if the issue is fixed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If your File Explorer search stops working and all above methods fail to resolve the issue for you, you can try creating a new administrator user account. This operation is a little complicated but you can make it referring to the tutorial below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 1<\/strong>: Press Windows<\/strong> + I<\/strong> to open Settings<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 2<\/strong>: Go ahead to Accounts <\/strong>> Family & other people <\/strong>and click Add someone else to this PC<\/strong> from the right pane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 3<\/strong>: Choose I don\u2019t have this person\u2019s sign-in information<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 4<\/strong>: Click Add a user without a Microsoft account<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 5<\/strong>: Enter the username and password (if desired) for the new account and then click Next<\/strong> button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 6<\/strong>: Then, you will go back to the Accounts setting. Just choose the new account and click Change account type<\/strong>. Choose Administrator<\/strong> as the account type and click OK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 7<\/strong>: Now, you can use this new account to fix the search issue. Just sign into the new account, open your File Explorer. Then, go to the following path: C:\\Users\\<original-account\\AppData\\Local\\Packages\\Microsoft.Windows.Cortana_cw5n1h2txyewy<\/strong> and rename the target folder as Microsoft.Windows.Cortana_cw5n1h2txyewy.old<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 8<\/strong>: Restart your computer, sign into the original account. Then, input the following command in PowerShell<\/strong> and press Enter<\/strong> to execute it: Add-AppxPackage -Path \u201cC:\\Windows\\SystemApps\\Microsoft.Windows.Cortana_cw5n1h2txyewy\\Appxmanifest.xml\u201d -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Once it\u2019s done, restart your PC one more time and the File Explorer search not working should be resolved completely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ref: https:\/\/www.partitionwizard.com\/partitionmagic\/file-explorer-search-not-working.html<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Summary : File Explorer\u2019s search utility allows you to find any files or folders among all the data on the select drive on the disk. But some users reported an error of\u00a0File Explorer search not working. Quick Navigation : File Explorer\u00a0(also Windows Explorer) is the file management utility in your Windows computer. It offers a Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,14],"tags":[577,576],"class_list":["post-2987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-microsoft","category-windows-7-8-10","tag-file-explorer-search","tag-file-explorer-search-not-working"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/SUMMALAI.COM\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/SUMMALAI.COM\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/SUMMALAI.COM\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/SUMMALAI.COM\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/SUMMALAI.COM\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2987"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/SUMMALAI.COM\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2987\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2988,"href":"https:\/\/SUMMALAI.COM\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2987\/revisions\/2988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/SUMMALAI.COM\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/SUMMALAI.COM\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/SUMMALAI.COM\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}How to Fix File Explorer Search Not Working<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Fix 1: Restart File Explorer<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"restart](\"https:\/\/www.partitionwizard.com\/images\/uploads\/articles\/2019\/12\/file-explorer-search-not-working\/file-explorer-search-not-working-1.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nFix 2: Make Sure Windows Search Service Is Enabled<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"make](\"https:\/\/www.partitionwizard.com\/images\/uploads\/articles\/2019\/12\/file-explorer-search-not-working\/file-explorer-search-not-working-2.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nFix 3: Change the Search Options<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"change](\"https:\/\/www.partitionwizard.com\/images\/uploads\/articles\/2019\/12\/file-explorer-search-not-working\/file-explorer-search-not-working-10.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nFix 4: Allow Files to Have Contents Indexed<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"allow](\"https:\/\/www.partitionwizard.com\/images\/uploads\/articles\/2019\/12\/file-explorer-search-not-working\/file-explorer-search-not-working-11.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nFix 5: Rebuild Search Index<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"check](\"https:\/\/www.partitionwizard.com\/images\/uploads\/articles\/2019\/12\/file-explorer-search-not-working\/file-explorer-search-not-working-6.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"rebuilt](\"https:\/\/www.partitionwizard.com\/images\/uploads\/articles\/2019\/12\/file-explorer-search-not-working\/file-explorer-search-not-working-7.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nFix 6: Run Search and Indexing Troubleshooter<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"run](\"https:\/\/www.partitionwizard.com\/images\/uploads\/articles\/2019\/12\/file-explorer-search-not-working\/file-explorer-search-not-working-3.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"choose](\"https:\/\/www.partitionwizard.com\/images\/uploads\/articles\/2019\/12\/file-explorer-search-not-working\/file-explorer-search-not-working-4.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"assign](\"https:\/\/www.partitionwizard.com\/images\/uploads\/articles\/2019\/12\/file-explorer-search-not-working\/file-explorer-search-not-working-5.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nFix 7: Add System Permission to A File\/Folder<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"click](\"https:\/\/www.partitionwizard.com\/images\/uploads\/articles\/2019\/12\/file-explorer-search-not-working\/file-explorer-search-not-working-8.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"click](\"https:\/\/www.partitionwizard.com\/images\/uploads\/articles\/2019\/12\/file-explorer-search-not-working\/file-explorer-search-not-working-9.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nFix 8: Restart and Re-register Your Cortana<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"re-registry](\"https:\/\/www.partitionwizard.com\/images\/uploads\/articles\/2019\/12\/file-explorer-search-not-working\/file-explorer-search-not-working-12.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nFix 9: Repair Corrupted System Files<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Fix 10: Create A New Administrator User Account<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"create](\"https:\/\/www.partitionwizard.com\/images\/uploads\/articles\/2019\/12\/file-explorer-search-not-working\/file-explorer-search-not-working-13.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n