Windows 8.1 64-Bit, Search function not working

AndrewL

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Hello there

I am running Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit.
A couple of weeks ago I noticed the search function had just stopped working altogether, this includes searching in File Explorer, the Windows 8 Start Menu and even in Outlook.
I can no longer search anywhere - I type my search term, but it does not do anything at all, it doesn't even start the search.


  • I have checked my services and the services for Windows Search is set to automatic delayed start up and is currently running.
  • I have ran the troubleshooter for Windows Search and Index and it detects no problems.
  • My Indexing Options seem fine, my Drives and Outlook are indexed.
  • I have tried disabling the index and enabling it.

Does anyone have any other suggestions to try? Can there be group policies preventing this, or settings applied on the domain/network?
Are there any known conflicts with firewall rules or anti-virus that can prevent this?

Thanks.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel Pentium Dual CPU 2.4GHz
    Memory
    4GB
    Screen Resolution
    Dual 1280x2014
    Antivirus
    VIPRE
Hello

Does anyone have any ideas at all?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel Pentium Dual CPU 2.4GHz
    Memory
    4GB
    Screen Resolution
    Dual 1280x2014
    Antivirus
    VIPRE
Sorry to bump again, but this is a real problem for me.
It is incredibly tedious to have to sieve through hundreds of e-mails to find an old one without the search feature.
Also just having to scroll through 'All Apps' in Windows 8 Start is a pain rather than typing a couple of letters to select the program I want to open.

Surely there must be someone who might know why all search facilities seem to have stopped working?

Any suggestions are welcome.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel Pentium Dual CPU 2.4GHz
    Memory
    4GB
    Screen Resolution
    Dual 1280x2014
    Antivirus
    VIPRE
I may be wrong, but I was under the impression that this was stopped in Windows 8/8.1. Windows 7 can still search through an Outlook mailbox, but not anything newer. For that, you'll want to use Outlook's search. It's annoying in some ways, but Outlook's search works very well.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-3770K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-Z77-UD3H
    Memory
    16 GB Patriot Viper 3 DDR3-1600
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia 470 GTX
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Hard Drives
    Crucial M4 256 GB, WD WD20EFRX 2 TB
    PSU
    OCZ 700W
    Case
    Corsair 300R
    Cooling
    Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo
I don't think it was stopped in Windows 8/8.1 as I have always had the facility to search in Windows 8.1 up until a few weeks ago, I haven't even ran any Windows Updates as I have them turned off.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel Pentium Dual CPU 2.4GHz
    Memory
    4GB
    Screen Resolution
    Dual 1280x2014
    Antivirus
    VIPRE

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-3770K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-Z77-UD3H
    Memory
    16 GB Patriot Viper 3 DDR3-1600
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia 470 GTX
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Hard Drives
    Crucial M4 256 GB, WD WD20EFRX 2 TB
    PSU
    OCZ 700W
    Case
    Corsair 300R
    Cooling
    Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo
I am not referring to searching for e-mails within the start screen.
I cannot search for ANYTHING on my computer in every possible place I can search.

Windows File Explorer > does nothing when I search, does not even try to search:
search01.PNG

In Windows Start Menu > No results when searching, doesn't even try and search.
search02.PNG

In Microsoft Outlook 2013, Shows no results what so ever:
search03.PNG


All of this used to work a few weeks ago, I do not believe this facility was dropped from Windows 8, otherwise it would never have worked for me and other people I know do not have this issue.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel Pentium Dual CPU 2.4GHz
    Memory
    4GB
    Screen Resolution
    Dual 1280x2014
    Antivirus
    VIPRE
I had the same problem, and stumbled across the answer completely at random the other day.

Give me a bit to back track to the answer.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Kernel 4.x
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i5 3570K
    Motherboard
    P8Z77-V LK
    Memory
    G.skill Ripjaw Z 2133MHz 9-11-10-28
    Graphics Card(s)
    GTX770 4GB Dual BIOS
    Sound Card
    Audigy 4 Pro
    Monitor(s) Displays
    32" SAMSUNG HDTV
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 progressive
    Hard Drives
    10TB total
    3 RAID arrays
    3 single disks
    PSU
    Corsair HX750
    Case
    Corsair R400
    Cooling
    Corsair H100
    Keyboard
    Logitech G510
    Mouse
    Logitech G5
    Internet Speed
    ~900mbps (~115MB/s) down, ~10mbps(~1.5MB/s) up
    Browser
    Firefox & Chromium
    Antivirus
    Common Sense
If it helps, I found this in my Windows Event Viewer, it is there many times with a different source file every time.


Crawl could not be completed on content source <file:C:/>.

Context: Application, SystemIndex Catalog


Details:
A word breaker was not found for the given language. Check your current language settings and ensure that search supports the current language. If the problem persists, reinstall search. (HRESULT : 0x8004110a) (0x8004110a)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel Pentium Dual CPU 2.4GHz
    Memory
    4GB
    Screen Resolution
    Dual 1280x2014
    Antivirus
    VIPRE
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