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!
***Post moved by the moderator to the appropriate forum category.***
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.
Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum
http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-%20US/answersfeedback/threads and let
us know what you think.
74 additional answers
Sort by: Most helpful
-
Anonymous
2012-01-26T15:29:21+00:00 My W7 search doesn't work either. W7 control panel does not have a "System and Maintenance" option,you have to go to "indexing". The trouble shooter says indexing is working properly and if you request "online help", Windows searches MS help using keywords that lead to nothing. I wonder why Microsoft ONLY has a "helpful" button so you can't reply that it wasn't.
-
Anonymous
2012-01-25T09:32:42+00:00 Dear Fouzan,
this really helped me and my search problem has been resolved.
Thanks you so much for great support.
Asif
-
Anonymous
2012-01-14T07:46:28+00:00 Salutations to you 'James Walker the Great'!
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 ONE WORKED FOR ME AFTER ATTEMPTING ALL OTHER BLOGS POSTED.
I went through the blog valley and captured affliction, but was rewarded with the most beautiful post of this blog at the end by James Walker...because I need my quick 'Search programs and file' option as well! Thanks All!
!Beau-ti-ful!