Search bar and Windows key not working and glitching.

Arthur Ciosaki 0 Reputation points
2026-09-16T15:34:27.4933333+00:00

Hello!

First and foremost, sorry if there are any mistakes, English is not my first language. A few days ago, all Windows functions worked just fine, but, recently, I've been having some troubles with the Windows icon+key and the Search bar, specifically when I try to click them directly from the taskbar. They won't open at all, no matter how many times I click (it registers the click, but doesn't visibly open anything). Yesterday, the search bar still opened, but it was entirely blank, with nothing to interact or type (it also didn't manully close after clicking somewhere else). After trying some popular fixes, now nothing shows up. I believe it might be opening something, though, just maybe not working properly (?), because it sometimes blocks the middle part of my screen in the exact same place of the functioning search tab, in which case I have to manually find and close "Search", through Task Manager, for the invisible barrier/tab to go. If I manually press the Windows key on my computer or try to Restart Windows Explorer, the entire task bar vanishes and only comes back when I press other commands like Windows+X, but, still, neither of them seem to function.

I've already tried:

  • Restarting Windows Explorer.
  • Running troubleshooter for Search and Index.
  • Running sfc /scannow.
  • Ending SearchHost from Task Manager.
  • Updating Windows (it's already operating on the latest version)

None of them worked, and some (like restarting Windows Explorer) only made the taskbar temporarily vanish, but didn't fix the main issue. Thank you.

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Performance and system failures
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  1. David-M 126.5K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-09-16T16:06:27.4166667+00:00

    Hi. I'm David, and I'm happy to help you.

    Please see if the same behaviors occur if you start Windows in Safe Mode.

    1. Press "Ctrl + Alt + Del" to open the security screen. Select the "Power" icon in the bottom-right corner. While holding down the "Shift" key, click "Restart". Your PC will boot into the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE)
    2. On the Choose an option screen, select "Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart";
    3. After your device restarts, you'll see a list of options. Select option 4 from the list or press F4 for Safe Mode.

    You don't have to run Windows in Safe Mode forever. This is just a test to help isolate the source of the problem.

    Looking forward to your reply.

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  2. AI answer

    2026-09-16T15:34:44.34+00:00

    Since Search and Indexing troubleshooter, sfc /scannow, ending SearchHost, restarting Windows Explorer, and Windows Update were already tried, the next supported steps are:

    1. Restart Windows Font Cache Service.
      • Open the taskbar search box and run services.msc.
      • In Services, right-click Windows Font Cache Service > Stop.
      • Test Search.
      • Then right-click Windows Font Cache Service > Start.
    2. Restart the Windows Search process again from Task Manager.
      • Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete and open Task Manager.
      • Go to Details.
      • Right-click SearchHost.exe and select End task.
      • Confirm End process.
      • Search should start again automatically the next time it is used.
      • If needed, restart the device afterward to also apply any pending updates.
    3. Regenerate the Windows Search package data for the affected account.
      • This is more advanced and includes deleting a registry key and a package data folder.
      • Important: incorrect registry changes can cause serious problems. Back up the registry first.
      • First confirm whether Windows Search works in a newly created Windows account.
      • For Windows 11, delete this folder: %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 registry key.
      • Open an elevated PowerShell window and run:
         Add-AppxPackage -Path "C:\Windows\SystemApps\MicrosoftWindows.Client.CBS_cw5n1h2txyewy\Appxmanifest.xml" -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register
      • Restart the computer.
      • This restarts search indexing and regenerates the registry key and the AppData folder.
    4. If the issue also affects the Start button and taskbar behavior after those steps, use Windows recovery reinstall.
      • Open Settings > System > Recovery.
      • Under Fix problems using Windows Update, select Reinstall now.
      • This was specifically suggested in a similar case where Search remained blank after Search troubleshooter, SFC/DISM, restarting Windows Explorer, Windows Font Cache Service, and ending SearchHost.exe had already failed.
    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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  3. ApexNáV 360 Reputation points
    2026-09-16T16:44:50.0166667+00:00

    Repairing Windows by reinstalling the same version may help. It repairs system files and components while preserving your apps, files, and settings, but I still recommend backing up important data just in case. You can perform the repair using the Microsoft guide below:

    https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/deployment/install-upgrade/fix-issues-by-reinstalling-the-current-version-of-windows

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