Windows 7 My Search Function Is Completely Gone

iMudkipz

New Member
Well today, when i tried to search for something, I noticed my search bar was gone from my start menu.

So I went to google, searching for an answer, and...

No go.

I looked in my "Windows Features", and it is completely gone. Is there any way to help, without doing a system restore, or re-installing?
 
If you right click on the start menu button you will see "properties". Click that and a window will pop up. From there you will find how to add back in the search bar. I think it is under "customize" but you might have to look around for a bit to find it.
 
That's the first thing I did, when I noticed it was gone. The whole search function is completely removed from my computer. SearchIndexer.exe is missing from System32, as well as any DLL's, or MUI's linked to it, are gone.
 
Re: Windows 7 Search Function Completely Gone

This is a bizarre and unusual problem if the search box itself has disappeared. If you can attach a screenshot using the snipping tool, this would be great.

Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> Snipping Tool

Use this tool to capture screen shots of your desktop and export them into gif, jpeg, or PNG images.

Here are some questions for you:

Has the search bar completely disappeared or is the functionality of the search simply not working? If the search bar has completely disappeared, this is indicative of a major problem with your installation, in so much that you may have a corrupt install. Please indicate the exact nature of the problem for a more precise answer.

If the search simply is not responding, the search index may be corrupt and may need to be reset.

In that case, to see how to reset the Windows Search Index through Indexing Options, please see: http://windows7forums.com/windows-7-support/50208-file-search-fails.html#post176236

By resetting the search index, you are basically rebuilding the functionality that allows for you to quickly look up certain files, documents, and applications on command if it has started to fail or does not respond to queries at all.
 
The search option is related to the indexing options. If you open Control Panel and look at indexing options, do you show any folders being indexed? If you go to the Advanced Options, there is a Troubleshoot Search and Indexing option. Let us know what it says.
 
You say you have looked under the" Windows Features" section? I do not understand, unless it has somehow been removed by an advanced cleaning program, how it is not there. But to ensure we are talking about the same thing, is this where you went:

Control Panel - Programs - Programs and features - Uninstall a program.
Over on the left, select Turn windows features on or off. Scroll down the list and make sure you have "Indexing" and "Windows Search" ticked.

If this is the procedure you tried, then the only other option, excepting a restore or reinstall, is to try
sfc /scannow from a command prompt.
 
Last edited:
My solution was using the Uniblue Powersuite to repair my registry. It worked. It's quite possible that Windows registry repair would also have worked.
 
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