This one can be solved, or least it's solved on my computer. . Right click on Start and then on Properties. On the screen that comes up, click on Customize. Then scroll down near the bottom of that list to "Search othe files and libraries. Insert a radio button just on "Search with Public Folders" This did it for me. Oldnerd
Windows 7 start menu search not working
Whenever I try to search in my Start Menu, I only get ghost search results which I cannot open:

In many places I have seen instructions to delete the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FolderTypes{ef87b4cb-f2ce-4785-8658-4ca6c63e38c6} key in order to fix this issue but it is not showing up in my registry:

Anyone have any suggestions? All help would be greatly appreciated!
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Windows for home | Other | Search, touch, and mouse
Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.
Hi dimkasmir,
Your index requires virtually no maintenance. However, if the index has problems finding files that you know should be located in an indexed location, you might need to rebuild the index. This can take a long time to complete, so avoid performing this step unless you have given the index enough time (several hours) to correct any problems first. To rebuild the index:
1. Open Indexing and Search Options by clicking the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Maintenance, and then clicking Indexing Options.
2. Click Advanced, click the Index Settings tab, and then click Rebuild. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
You may also refer the below mentioned links.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Open-the-Search-and-Indexing-troubleshooter
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Change-advanced-indexing-options
Hope this information helped!
Thanks and regards,
Fouzan – Microsoft support.
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Anonymous
2013-10-04T20:25:05+00:00 lol accidently proposed as answer. um
anyway i had the same problem as Home in Issaquah, no search results. turns out a customization option was deselected, to change it back:
right click on your start menu, go to properties
go to the start menu tab and click the customize... button
scroll down and make sure the check box entitled "search programs and control panel" is checked
you can also select the radio buttoned item just above that to search "other libraries and folders or something"
These steps fixed the windows search for me. Thank you!
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Anonymous
2013-08-15T20:23:25+00:00 There is no "Systems & Maintenance" in my Control Panel...only "System" with no indexing options setting. What Windows 7 are you using???????? I have Windows 7 Professional with Service Pack 1
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Anonymous
2013-07-21T06:04:26+00:00 Guys there seems to be a hotfix
See this
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/977380/en-us
I am just going to try this now.
Voila Voila it worked.. Damn i struggled sop much but finally its fixed, download the above hotfix and reboot the laptop.. it really worked.