For newly created RDP users on Windows Server, check these areas first:
- Verify the Windows Search service
- Press Windows + R, type
services.msc, and press Enter. - Open Windows Search.
- Set Startup type to Automatic (Delayed Start).
- Select Apply > Start > OK.
- This is required when Start menu search returns no results or inconsistent results.
- Press Windows + R, type
- Check whether Search is being disabled by policy for new users
- The NoFind policy can remove the Search link from Start and disable some File Explorer search elements.
- If enabled, users can lose Start menu Search, Windows key + F, F3, and Ctrl+F behavior in File Explorer.
- If this affects only newly created users and not older profiles, review the user policy assignment for new accounts.
- If the Start menu itself does not respond, verify the required service
- In Services, ensure Background Tasks Infrastructure Service (BrokerInfrastructure) is set to automatic startup.
- If it fails to start, verify the PDC driver exists and is not disabled.
- Run:
sc query pdc - Expected result: the pdc service should be present and running.
- If the issue is only with affected new profiles, rebuild the Search app data for one affected user
- Warning: this includes deleting a user package folder and a registry key. Incorrect registry changes can cause further problems.
- Sign in with another account or use Windows Recovery Environment.
- For Windows 11, delete:
%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Packages\MicrosoftWindows.Client.CBS\_cw5n1h2txyewy - Open Registry Editor and go to:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search - Delete the Search key.
- Open elevated PowerShell and run:
Add-AppxPackage -Path "C:\Windows\SystemApps\MicrosoftWindows.Client.CBS_cw5n1h2txyewy\Appxmanifest.xml" -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register - Restart the server or sign back in and test search again.
- If Search works for old profiles but not new ones, test with one newly created Windows account
- Confirm whether the problem reproduces on every new account.
- If it does, that points more strongly to a service or user policy issue than to a single corrupted profile.
References: