Windows 8 search is not working properly.

[WindowsUser]

I'm having trouble with Windows search.

Neither the start screen nor the search feature within Explorer will return any results if the files I want to look for are on my secondary HDD. This is a bit of a problem as all of my documents, pictures, videos, downloads etc are on this secondary drive.

I can even go into the documents library and search using Explorer, and it still won't find anything that I search for.

Any suggestions? Everything is indexed and the indexing is complete.

 

[Capt.Jack Sparrow]

I'm having trouble with Windows search.

Neither the start screen nor the search feature within Explorer will return any results if the files I want to look for are on my secondary HDD. This is a bit of a problem as all of my documents, pictures, videos, downloads etc are on this secondary drive.

I can even go into the documents library and search using Explorer, and it still won't find anything that I search for.

Any suggestions? Everything is indexed and the indexing is complete.

Hello there!

Go to Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Troubleshooting\System and Security and select "Search and Indexing" let it fix it for you.

 

[WindowsUser]

Thanks for the quick reply. It didn't find any problems.

 

[Mystere]

Did you add the locations to your Libraries?

Library - Include a Folder - Windows 7 Forums

Library locations are automatically indexed. Or, you can add them manually in the search options.

 

[WindowsUser]

Yea, they're already in my libraries.

I've given up getting Windows to search it, it just refuses for whatever reason.

I downloaded a program called Everything, and I'll be trying that for a period.

 

[Capt.Jack Sparrow]

Try doing a Refresh http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/2293-refresh-windows-8-a.html

 

[Vince53]

You can't find something n another hard drive by using "Search."

 

[Brink]

Hello WindowsUser, and welcome to Eight Forums.

Do you have that location added to your index?

If not, then you will not get search results from it.

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/4595-search-windows-8-a.html

and

Index Locations - Add or Remove - Windows 7 Forums

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[WindowsUser]

Yes, its all indexed.

It just seems that Windows search won't work on a drive that Windows isn't installed on. A bit stupid if you ask me, but this was confirmed by one of MS's technical agents.

 

[Mystere]

No, that's not true as it works on my second and third drives.

 

[Brink]

WindowsUser,

It's finds items on my other non Windows 8 drives as well.

You might also rebuild the index to make sure it's updated.


Do you have your search settings set like below?

 

[WindowsUser]

Yes, I have the search settings as above.

Everything is indexed, the index has been rebuilt several times. I've moved it to a different drive, I've repaired the service.

It just refuses to work. I'm a bit confused as to why an MS Tech told me it wouldn't work, but OK.

 

[Brink]

Did you do an upgrade install or clean install to Windows 8?

If upgrade, then you might consider what Shyam posted earlier to refresh Windows 8. It seems a lot of folks are having issues after doing an upgrade install for various reasons.

 

[WindowsUser]

No, it was done from a clean state.

It either just won't work, or my issue stems from the files in my libraries having been in libraries in previous installs. In which case one would think it's a permissions issue, but after having ensured all permissions settings are correct, the issue remains.

 

[Brink]

Odd. It seems like you have pretty much everything set properly for the index and search settings.

Did you also check to make sure that all the file types (extensions) were added to the index as well?


Index - Add or Remove File Types - Windows 7 Forums


As a test to see if it's just an issue in your account, create a new administrator account, sign in to it, and see how search works in it.

 

[WindowsUser]

Created a new admin account - didn't work still.

All file types are included in search. I think a reinstall is the only possible way to fix it, although I'm not convinced that will work.

 

[Brink]

Please let us know how it goes with it. You might check search right after the clean install is finished, and after each time you install anything to see if it may reveal a cause.

 

[WindowsUser]

I'm just going to use an alternate program for finding files. It must be something extremely obscure that's stopping it from working.

 

[Flomsat]

I am having the exact same issue and have done all of the suggested steps. Keen to know if there is a fix for this issue any time soon.

 

[4wd]

I am having the exact same issue and have done all of the suggested steps. Keen to know if there is a fix for this issue any time soon.

Won't fix any w8 \ w7 search problems (search deficiencies + horrible interface being built into the OS lol), but this will dig up whatever you need to find, always, in any hidden corner. It's an excellent tool:

Agent Ransack - Free File Searching Utility

The standard win search is fine to find the calculator + the latest pictures of the cat, but I cannot trust it for anything else.