Windows 7 search does not work for documents, broken, no results

Anonymous
2010-01-12T02:06:48+00:00

My search function does not pull up files, specifically Microsoft Works word documents, that contain words i entered into the search bar.

I've tried searching through the document libraries and through the start menu, but it says "no items match your search." I've tested this by writing the words "smart world" in a document and the search function still can't find this document.

NOTE: search is not completely broken. it will return results for programs and items in the control panel. Results also return ONE document, and always the same one, which is the first word document i created on this computer.

i've spent an hour finding my way to this forum. along the way, i've seen some complicated fixes on other forums that have not worked for all. i am not a programmer and do not want to try some complicated fix that could damage my already frail and prone to stupid errors hard drive.

I'm using a Dell Inspiron 15 with win 7 32bit that was a free upgrade with the computer.

make it work for me MS!

SO MY QUESTION IS: how can i fix my windows 7 search feature so that it will pull up ms works word document files containing the words that i typed into the search bar?

I am completely enervated by all of this.

Thank you so much for any help you can provide!

rob

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Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Files, folders, and storage

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Anonymous
2010-01-13T00:26:08+00:00

Hi rob,

If you are experiencing problems with searching, such as unusually slow searches or incomplete search results, run the Search and Indexing troubleshooter to see if it can diagnose the problem.

Open the Search and Indexing troubleshooter by clicking the Start button, and then clicking Control Panel. In the search box, type troubleshooter, and then click Troubleshooting. Click View all, and then click Search and Indexing.

Depending on the severity of the problem, the Search and Indexing troubleshooter might need to restart the Windows Search service.

For further information, visit the below mentioned link:

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

You may also refer the below mentioned link.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Searching-in-Windows-frequently-asked-questions

If this not help, you may create a new user account and check if the issue persist.

For further information, visit the below mentioned link:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/Windows7/Create-a-user-account

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/Windows7/Fix-a-corrupted-user-profile

Hope this information helped!

 Thanks and regards

 Fouzan – Microsoft support

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  1. Anonymous
    2012-12-04T01:30:46+00:00

    HERE'S A SIMPLE SOLUTION. IT'S EASY AND IT WORKS! 

    YOU JUST NEED DISABLE INDEXING CERTAIN FOLDER, THEN RE-ENABLE INDEXING THAT FOLDER. THEN THAT FOLDER BECOMES SEARCHABLE INCLUDING THE CONTENT!

    Thanks DWGK - I was worried that I'd have to do this for hundreds of subfolders, but a hidden dialog comes up during the process enabling them all to be swept up in one go. Phew!

    Unfortunately this still did not work for me...has anyone else tried the above fix and search still did not work?

    For me, it is Word and Excel that 'search', either from the 'home' button or Windows Explorer, will not work. It WILL find the name of files, but WILL NOT find the entered search term contained within those files. Very frustrating.

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  2. Anonymous
    2012-12-04T05:02:53+00:00

    Just checking -- did you try with the content: property, as in searching for hat:

    content:hat

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  3. Anonymous
    2013-01-01T18:20:23+00:00

    I had the same problem as the people above, but followed your instructions and it worked! Thank you so, so much!

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  4. Anonymous
    2013-02-03T16:03:09+00:00

    The combination of the information from 2 links below fixed the problem for me, which I was having on folders on my D drive (my C drive searched fine): 

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

    http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Change-advanced-indexing-options

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