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

Anonymous

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

Remember - This is a public forum so never post private information such as email or phone numbers!

Ideas:

Programs you are having problems with
Error messages
Recent changes you made to your computer
What you have already tried to fix the problem

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.

0 comments

Answer accepted by question author

Anonymous

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

Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum

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

us know what you think.

0 comments

62 additional answers

Anonymous

2011-04-05T18:00:06+00:00

I am having the same problem. I tried this and it didn't work.

When I search from the start menu I get no results at all. I tried the hotfix mentioned elsewhere but it would not install on my version of Windows.

I am running Windows 7 x64 SP1. It is a relatively fresh install, only a few days old. Any help would be appreciated.
Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments
Anonymous

2011-04-11T16:39:50+00:00

It looks like this is a bug in Win 7 SP1, no way to fix it other than a fresh install.
Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments
Anonymous

2011-06-21T21:14:21+00:00

Well this didn't work either. I'm amongst the long list of fellow frustrated with Windows7 search people I've found all over the web. This is just crazy. It shouldn't be this hard.
Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments
Anonymous

2011-07-12T17:15:39+00:00

I cannot figure this out either. It worked for a while. I bought this HP laptop a couple of months ago. I would type in a search for a file, and it would bring up all the files that fit the search. Now, it won't bring up a single thing, not even when I am doing a search within a folder where I know (and can even see) the file is there. Why is this happening? How can I fix it? I have my search options for public folders. I saw that was a possibility, but it is set to the default, so that shouldn't be the issue. Can anyone help me out here? I am NOT computer savvy, unfortunately, even with as much as I have to use my computer daily, so if anyone can dumb it down for me and help me resolve this issue, I will be forever in your debt. Thanks...Lisa
Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments