Can't type in search bar Windows 10

Anonymous
2015-10-13T04:21:24+00:00

After I updated to Windows 10 the search box on the taskbar was working.

A few days later I discovered that I couldn't search anything from this box.

If you have fixed this or know how to fix please share your knowledge as I rely on the search box.

-AnonymousFellow

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Cortana and search

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.

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Anonymous
2017-03-01T16:35:00+00:00

Hello guys and search for a solution for this problem and its was the simple of things.

I don´t know why it works but try it and tell if it works for you guys too.

  1. Press Win + R (to open Run )
  2. copy paste and press enter to run this program. "C:\Windows\system32\ctfmon.exe". it brings back the language bar and for me it allowed me to type in windows search, start menu and WINDOWS 10 apps again

I think it is due to missing Language bar or some think like that.

But when you restart it may stopped working again, just create a task to run this program every time you start the windows and your good to go.

Best regards.

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Anonymous
2015-10-13T09:58:21+00:00

Hi,

Thank you for posting your query in Microsoft Community.

I understand that you are having a tough time working on the computer.

I will certainly help you to resolve the issue.

  • Do you receive any error code/message?
  • Is there are any update pending or failed to install?

If any of these functions like Start Menu, Settings, Search, Cortana, Microsoft Edge, Action Center and other Windows components are not responding, follow these below methods and check if it helps: 

Method 1:

  • Press Windows + X keys on the keyboard, select Command prompt (admin).
  • Enter the below commands one by one and hit Enter key. PowerShell -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted
  • It will open the PowerShell window.
  • Now enter the below command and hit Enter key. Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers |Where-Object {$_.InstallLocation -like "*SystemApps*"} | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}

If the issue still persist, follow the below method.

Method 2:

  • Open the Task manager.  Here’s a tip:  Press CTRL+Shift+ESC.
  • Click File > Run New Task
  • Make sure you have a check mark beside “Create this task with administrative privileges”
  • Type Powershell
  • Type the following in the Powershell prompt:

$manifest = (Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.WindowsStore).InstallLocation + '\AppxManifest.xml' ; Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register $manifest

  • Close the Powershell window
  • Reboot the computer and check if it helps.

Hope it helps.

Let us know the status, we are glad to assist you further.

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Anonymous
2017-06-24T14:19:43+00:00

you must type in cmd the next command: 

REG ADD HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run /v ctfmon /t REG_SZ /d CTFMON.EXE

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  1. Anonymous
    2017-12-02T05:55:04+00:00

    Hello guys and search for a solution for this problem and its was the simple of things.

    I don´t know why it works but try it and tell if it works for you guys too.

    1. Press Win + R (to open Run )
    2. copy paste and press enter to run this program. "C:\Windows\system32\ctfmon.exe". it brings back the language bar and for me it allowed me to type in windows search, start menu and WINDOWS 10 apps again

    I think it is due to missing Language bar or some think like that.

    But when you restart it may stopped working again, just create a task to run this program every time you start the windows and your good to go.

    Best regards.

    Thank you. This problem had been giving me fits and none of the other suggested solutions worked for me. And yours was so simple too.

    Was this answer helpful?

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-12-01T00:17:15+00:00

    I think I found a solution - I can't find the article that mentioned it, but apparently the "input language" has to match the "display language" (unless there is no "language pack" available for your particular language).

    I have always had "English (Canada)" set as the default language (in Control Panel/Settings - Region & Language), but the "Windows display language" had to remain set to "English (United States)" because there was no "Language pack" for English (Canada). The latest Windows update (Nov 2017) now allows English (Canada) as a "Windows display language".  But first, I had to manually download the "Language pack" for English Canada as follows:

    1. Go to Region and language in Control Panel (or Settings).
    2. If you see more than one language listed, find the one that says "Windows display language" under it. Click to highlight it, and 3 buttons should appear below it.  If [Set as default] is grayed-out, this means your default "input" language is the same as your "display" language, and everything should be working properly.  If not...
    3. Find the default "input" language, and click [Options].
    4. Under Language options, If there is a button to [Download language pack] (or something like that), click it.  If not, there is no button, there is no language pack available.
    5. Wait for Windows to download and install the language pack. If you hit the "back" button, you should see a message under your chosen default language that says it will become the Windows display language upon next login.
    6. Restart your computer.

    After doing that, my computer was back to normal - I could type in the Search boxes, Start menu, Microsoft Edge browser, etc.  No need to run ctfmon.exe every time I start my computer.  No need to run commands in Powershell.  No need for other work-arounds.  Hope this helps others.

    The suggested solution is just a work-around.  Microsoft should provide a solution to the problem.  And, why is this happening in the first place??

    For me, the problem just started after the last Windows Update - installed on my computer on 2017-11-16.  It seems to affect most of the "built-in" Windows apps/tools. That is, the keyboard doesn't work in the Start menu, in the "Settings" app, or even in Microsoft Edge browser.

    Hello guys and search for a solution for this problem and its was the simple of things.

    I don´t know why it works but try it and tell if it works for you guys too.

    1. Press Win + R (to open Run )
    2. copy paste and press enter to run this program. "C:\Windows\system32\ctfmon.exe". it brings back the language bar and for me it allowed me to type in windows search, start menu and WINDOWS 10 apps again

    I think it is due to missing Language bar or some think like that.

    But when you restart it may stopped working again, just create a task to run this program every time you start the windows and your good to go.

    Best regards.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments