Windows 7 start menu search not working

Anonymous
2010-02-15T02:37:21+00:00

Whenever I try to search in my Start Menu, I only get ghost search results which I cannot open:

![](http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r215/dimkasmir/img1.png)

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:

![](http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r215/dimkasmir/img2.png)

Anyone have any suggestions? All help would be greatly appreciated!

***Post moved by the moderator to the appropriate forum category.***

Windows for home | Other | Search, touch, and mouse

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Anonymous
2011-01-28T03:20:49+00:00

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

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Anonymous
2010-02-16T01:04:39+00:00

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.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Improve-Windows-searches-using-the-index-frequently-asked-questions

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

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Improve-Windows-searches-using-the-index-frequently-asked-questions

 Hope this information helped!

 Thanks and regards,

 Fouzan – Microsoft support.

 Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum 

 http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-%20US/answersfeedback/threads and let 

 us know what you think.

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  1. Anonymous
    2013-04-18T08:21:21+00:00

    The solution here is to Open any windows folder, click on type in any search word to het the search ribbon opened, then click on

    Advanced Properties, then Tick Partial Matches and try again.

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  2. Anonymous
    2013-01-10T20:21:52+00:00

    I get a similar problem.  After the machine has been switched on for a day, the search fails.  I.e. I hit the windows start button, then type something into the search box, and the results above remain blank, no matter what I type.  I tried rebuilding indexes.  This did not help.  Its really annoying not to be able to launch programs like "calc" any more.  Instead I have to tediously navigate to them.  After a reboot, its fine again for a while.

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  3. Anonymous
    2012-12-18T11:04:57+00:00

    I found that a .bin file in a specific location can become corrupt and cause Search to fail in both Windows Explorer and in Outlook 2010, ("show hidden files/folders" must be active):

    C:\Users(User Name)\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\1033\StructuredQuerySchema.bin

    Note that this same issue can cause your Windows Search to fail or just do nothing. Once I found and deleted this file, both my Windows Search (from the Windows Explorer Search) and the MS Outlook Search worked flawlessly, as it was forced to rebuild a clean version.

    What I sleuthed out is that when the computer in question had a shutdown (power interruption) while a search was open, the .bin file because marked as corrupted and a second one was created as StructuredQuerySchema(1).bin . One showed as encrypted and compressed and one showed normal. For some reason, neither was acceptable to Windows Search (which is the component that allows both Windows Explorer and Outlook to search) and so it would cause Outlook 2010 to crash and restart, and Windows Explorer search to do nothing.

    James Walker

    IT Support Specialist/IT Suppot Contractor

    This fix worked for me. Thank you very much.

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