Solved Both of my Windows 11 Spotlights not working

I cannot change to either of my Spotlight settings. When I try and turn them on, they automatically switch themselves back to "Picture". They will not stay on Spotlight.
Why is that?

Have you checked the Spotlight folder to see if the images exist? Where to find the Windows Spotlight photos

I followed instructions and found that "Assets" folder was missing. I went ahead and added the missing folder and called it "Assets" which is where the imagines are suppose to be. Restarted but Spotlight still jumps back to Picture. It will not stay on Spotlight setting. Nor does the lock screen.
HELP!

Have you reset Spotlight?

Thanks, but no one seems to understand. I cannot put my device to Spotlight (neither one). It won't stay. It ALWAYS jumps back to "Picture" even after resetting it.
I have, since this was happening, reset my PC AND IT STILL DOESN'T WORK!

mecanicogolf said:

Thanks, but no one seems to understand. I cannot put my device to Spotlight (neither one). It won't stay. It ALWAYS jumps back to "Picture" even after resetting it.
I have, since this was happening, reset my PC AND IT STILL DOESN'T WORK!

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I would still try the suggestion to rule it out as a fix.
If a reset didn’t work have you considered an in-place repair?

I did run it, as you stated, and nothing.
An in-place repair, I'm assuming, is installing on top of this build the same .iso file as my 22623.1037 beta build?

I have run and done everything you have all suggested and nothing works.
Both of my Spotlights, both, are on "Picture" and I cannot switch either one to Spotlight. Not a one. I change them to Spotlight and right away they automatically, by themselves, switch back to Picture. BOTH OF THEM!
This is not really important, but it bugs me that it's not working right. This is the first time I've heard of this one. Maybe I should write a feedback to Microsoft. Could be a bug.

mecanicogolf said:

An in-place repair, I'm assuming, is installing on top of this build the same .iso file as my 22623.1037 beta build?

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Yes, an in-place repair upgrade is performed by mounting an ISO for the same build as your running Windows and running the Setup you'll find there.


In order to be able to keep your installed apps and files the major build number must be the same as (or higher than) your currently installed build, and the language of the ISO must be the same as your current Windows. That means you need an ISO for the Beta build 22623 in your own language, I assume from your location that will be US English. The minor number doesn't matter, it can be lower than your current .1037, a check for updates after the in-place upgrade will get you up to date with the latest CU.

mecanicogolf said:

This is the first time I've heard of this one. Maybe I should write a feedback to Microsoft. Could be a bug.

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I have a laptop with the same Beta build 22623.1037 and Spotlight works perfectly there, both for the desktop background and on the Lock Screen.

Thanks. Sounds like a good idea. The only one right now. I'll try that and get back to you.

Nope. Didn't work. I did exactly what you said and when I went to check Spotlight, just as before. Clicked on Spotlight and it automatically jumps back to Picture. ON BOTH SPOTLIGHTS! Guess I'll have to do a clean install, unless someone else has a suggestion.
Could be in my settings or something isn't set right. 3rd party program or something like that.

mecanicogolf said:

... Guess I'll have to do a clean install, unless someone else has a suggestion.
Could be in my settings or something isn't set right. 3rd party program or something like that.

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Each user has their own personal Spotlight Assets folder, it's in their appdata folder.

Try creating a new user and see if Spotilght works when you sign in as that user. If it does then that eliminates Windows or any 3rd party program as being the problem. It narrows it down to being an issue with your user profile.

It could also be a bug with the Insider build of Windows.

Bastet said:

It could also be a bug with the Insider build of Windows.

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Possibly, but if so it's an obscure one. As I said in post #8, I have a laptop with the same Beta build 22623.1037 and Spotlight works perfectly there, both for the desktop background and on the Lock Screen.

Bree said:

Possibly, but if so it's an obscure one. As I said in post #8, I have a laptop with the same Beta build 22623.1037 and Spotlight works perfectly there, both for the desktop background and on the Lock Screen.

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I agree it’s a long shot but am thinking it’s a bug between the op pc & the beta build.

Well guys, I ended up clean installing. Everything is OK now. It's always a pain and maybe not worth it (I could live without Spotlight) but it's hard using your PC knowing that there's something that's just not right and you want to fix it anyway. I did and now I'm OK.
Thanks for all your help and comments.

Glad to hear all is working OK.

I officially close this post. Or is there another way to do this?