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This tip is about the how to fix ‘Windows 11 File Explorer search not working’ issue. So read this free guide, How to fix ‘Windows 11 File Explorer search not working’ issue step by step. If you have query related to same article you may contact us.

How to fix ‘Windows 11 File Explorer search not working’ issue – Guide

There are users who have a problem with the File Explorer app on Windows 11 OS. It happens that File Explorer doesn’t seem to work properly when used on the new OS. As per user reports, the search result does not return the correct matches for the entered query, but random files are displayed. In some cases, this can happen when the File Explorer process doesn’t work properly and simply requires a restart to fix the problem. However, this is not the only cause of the problem as other factors can also contribute to the problem. Regardless of the cause, we’ll show you how to fix the problem in this article, then go ahead.

It turns out that File Explorer is a very important utility in Windows that lets you browse all the files on your computer. In addition, File Explorer’s search option allows you to quickly search for specific files based on their name or file type. However, if this doesn’t work properly and returns incorrect results, it can be very frustrating. As mentioned earlier, this can happen for a variety of reasons, and before we get into the methods that will help you solve the problem, let’s first look at these causes so that you can develop a better understanding of the problem. So let’s start.

How to Fix ‘Windows 11 File Explorer Search Not Working’ Issue

Restart your computer. Yes, this is an obvious and typical solution to most computer problems, but it is also one of the easiest things to try when trying to fix search problems. An easy way to restart Windows 11 is to right-click the Start button button and go to Power off or exit > Restart.

Open the Run dialog box. You don’t even need to type anything! It’s a strange solution, but it seems to work for people who run into the issue where the search bar won’t let you type. Use the WIN+R shortcut to start Run and exit to see if that fixes the search issue.

Restart SearchHost.exe. This process runs whenever you open the search box and should remain suspended when the search window is closed. If there is a problem with opening or closing this process when needed, this could be causing the search issue. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to open Task Manager. Go to the Details tab and right-click on SearchHost.exe. Select End task and confirm with End process. After it disappears from the Task Manager, try opening the search window again.

Change search settings to search more folders. If you think the Windows 11 search tool is broken because it’s not finding the files you know you have, check the search suite up to actually search these folders. To do this, open the search and select the three-dot menu button in the upper-right corner, then choose Indexing Options. Enable Enhanced if you want to search all folders on your PC. Also confirm that the folders you want to search in are not listed in the Exclude Folders from Advanced Search area.

Enable or restart the Windows Search service. This needs to be running for Windows 11 to search files correctly. Do this by launching the Run dialog box (WIN+R) and running the msconfig command. Open Windows Search and select Start. If it is already running, stop it and start it again.

Rebuild the Windows 11 search index. Open Settings by right-clicking the Start menu and selecting it from the list, then go to Search > Searching Windows > Customize Search Locations > Advanced > Rebuild.

Windows includes built-in troubleshooters that may provide another solution not covered above. You can try this in Settings. Once there, go to Update & Security > Troubleshoot > Additional Troubleshooters > Search & Indexing > Run the troubleshooter and follow the onscreen steps.

Check Windows Update for a fix. Microsoft releases updates all the time to not just add new features for Windows, but also to solve problems. There may be an update that you haven’t installed yet that fixes the search issue.

Undo recent changes made to your computer. It’s probably not clear if you know for sure what the culprit is for the search problem, but here are some ideas to consider: Uninstall a programRevert a driverRun System Restore

Reset Windows 11. At this point, you can restore the entire operating system to its original default state to fix Windows Search. It’s not guaranteed to work if the search bug hasn’t been resolved by Microsoft yet, but at this stage it’s the last thing you can try. Perform a Windows 11 reset from Settings > Update & Security > Recovery > Reset PC.

Final note

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