Personalization Enable or Disable Search on Taskbar and Start Menu in Windows 11


Search_banner.png

This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable Windows Search on the taskbar and Start menu for all users in Windows 11.

Windows Search is on your taskbar and Start menu by default in Windows 11.

You can use the search box to find your apps, files, settings, help, and more on Windows—plus unlock the power of the web with quick access to online information like time zone conversions, fact lookup, trending searches, and search results for navigating to websites faster. You can also use Search to find files and people in your work or school organization through  Microsoft Search. 

References:
docs.microsoft.com

Windows Search - Win32 apps

Windows Search is a desktop search platform that has instant search capabilities for most common file and data types such as email, contacts, calendar appointments, documents, photos, multimedia, and other formats that can be extended by third party developers. These capabilities enable users to...
docs.microsoft.com

Search for anything, anywhere - Microsoft Support

Search Windows and the web on the taskbar, and search for answers, apps, files, and settings from the web and your PC.
support.microsoft.com support.microsoft.com
learn.microsoft.com

Search Policy CSP

Learn more about the Search Area in Policy CSP.
learn.microsoft.com

You must be signed in as an administrator to enable or disable Windows Search on the taskbar and Start menu.

Disabling Windows Search will not affect search indexing or search in File Explorer.



Contents

  • Option One: Enable or Disable Search on Taskbar and Start Menu in Local Group Policy Editor
  • Option Two: Enable or Disable Search on Taskbar and Start Menu using REG file


EXAMPLE: Enable or disable Search on taskbar and Start menu

Windows_Search_enabled_Start_menu.jpg
Windows_Search_enabled.jpg
Windows_Search_disabled_Start_menu.jpg

Windows_Search_enabled_Settings.png
Windows_Search_disabled_Settings.png





Option One

Enable or Disable Search on Taskbar and Start Menu in Local Group Policy Editor


The Local Group Policy Editor is only available in the Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions.

All editions can use Option Two to configure the same policy.


1 Open the Local Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc).

2 Navigate to the policy location below in the left pane of the Local Group Policy Editor. (see screenshot below)

Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Search​

Windows_Search_gpedit-1.png

3 In the right pane of Search in the Local Group Policy Editor, double click/tap on the Fully disable Search UI policy to edit it. (see screenshot above)

4 Do step 5 (enable) or step 6 (disable) below for what you want.

5 Enable Search on Taskbar and Start Menu for All Users

This is the default setting.


A) Select (dot) Not Configured, click/tap on OK, and go to step 7. (see screenshot below)​

Windows_Search_gpedit-2.png

6 Disable Search on Taskbar and Start Menu for All Users

A) Select (dot) Enabled, click/tap on OK, and go to step 7. (see screenshot below)​

Windows_Search_gpedit-3.png

7 Close the Local Group Policy Editor.

8 Either restart the explorer process, sign out and sign in, or restart the computer to apply.




Option Two

Enable or Disable Search on Taskbar and Start Menu using REG file


1 Do step 2 (enable) or step 3 (disable) below for what you would like to do.

2 Enable Search on Taskbar and Start Menu for All Users

This is the default setting


A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.​

Enable_Windows_Search_on_taskbar_and_Start_menu_for_all_users.reg​


(Contents of REG file for reference)
Code: 
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\PolicyManager\default\Search\DisableSearch]
"value"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Search]
"DisableSearch"=-

3 Disable Search on Taskbar and Start Menu for All Users

A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.​

Disable_Windows_Search_on_taskbar_and_Start_menu_for_all_users.reg​


(Contents of REG file for reference)
Code: 
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\PolicyManager\default\Search\DisableSearch]
"value"=dword:00000001

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Search]
"DisableSearch"=dword:00000001

4 Save the REG file to your desktop.

5 Double click/tap on the downloaded REG file to merge it.

6 When prompted, click/tap on Run, Yes (UAC), Yes, and OK to approve the merge.

7 Either restart the explorer process, sign out and sign in, or restart the computer to apply.

8 You can now delete the downloaded REG file if you like.


That's it,
Shawn Brink


Related Tutorials

 

Attachments

Last edited:
Click to expand...
Hey Brink, is there no way to disable this for specific users/groups? Previously, I had setup a "Path Rule" to handle disabling search for specific users in the GPO; however, it doesn't seem to work in Windows 11. Are you aware of any other means to block this via specific users/groups?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
jbrivers7 said:
Hey Brink, is there no way to disable this for specific users/groups? Previously, I had setup a "Path Rule" to handle disabling search for specific users in the GPO; however, it doesn't seem to work in Windows 11. Are you aware of any other means to block this via specific users/groups?
Click to expand...

Hello, and welcome. :alien:

I'm not currently aware of a way to disable this for specific users or groups.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Laptop 7 Copilot+ PC
    CPU
    Snapdragon X Elite (12 core) 3.42 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15" HDR
    Screen Resolution
    2496 x 1664
    Hard Drives
    1 TB SSD
    Internet Speed
    Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Brink said:
Hello, and welcome. :alien:

I'm not currently aware of a way to disable this for specific users or groups.
Click to expand...
Thank you SO much for the quick reply sir! I'll keep piddling, and see if I can come up with something. The previous (Windows 10) search apparently lived in "C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.Search_cw5n1h2txyewy". I'm currently trying to track down where the new Windows 11 search UI might live locally. If I can find that, I believe that a new "Path Rule" "should" block the search. If you find anything about it, could you throw me a quick post reply, and I'll test on my end? Hopefully we can figure this out in the future! =)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
I there any way to do this in Group Policy Management Console? Quite a few of these Local Group Policies I've found on this site do work in GPMC, but I don't see this particular setting.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    N/A
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-5960x
    Motherboard
    Rampage V Extreme
    Memory
    64GB RAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX 980 SC'd
    Sound Card
    N/A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS 27" Monitor
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080p
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 960 Pro NVME 2TB (System Drive)
    Samsung QVO 8TB SSD (Data) - Installed on Feb 2024
    Seagate BarraCuda Pro 10TB HDD (Backup, haven't used much since installing the 8TB SSD.
The registry key didn't work for me.

The search bar still shows up on the taskbar even after a restart.
I used BloatyNosySetup instead. This is what the resulting registry key looks like after. Seems to work for me.

Here are the commands (need admin):

Code: 
REG ADD "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search" /V "InstalledWin32AppsRevision" /T "REG_SZ" /D "{68C27189-9CFE-4F68-97FB-29D0AFB49068}" /F 1>NUL
REG ADD "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search" /V "InstalledPackagedAppsRevision" /T "REG_SZ" /D "{FEAE1A90-911F-4196-B5C0-A52C39E23AE1}" /F 1>NUL
REG ADD "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search" /V "SearchboxTaskbarMode" /T "REG_DWORD" /D "0x00000000" /F 1>NUL
REG ADD "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search\JumplistData" /V "windows.immersivecontrolpanel_cw5n1h2txyewy!microsoft.windows.immersivecontrolpanel" /T "REG_QWORD" /D "0x01DA0F09D3882FB0" /F 1>NUL

Not sure if this will work in future
 

Attachments

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 10 22H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 23H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
BlueShark said:
The registry key didn't work for me.
Click to expand...

Hello, :alien:

Just to confirm, did you do step 7 in option two after merging the REG file to apply?
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Laptop 7 Copilot+ PC
    CPU
    Snapdragon X Elite (12 core) 3.42 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15" HDR
    Screen Resolution
    2496 x 1664
    Hard Drives
    1 TB SSD
    Internet Speed
    Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
So, it looks like in Windows 11 23H2, specifically Build 22631.3085, they have completely removed the "gpedit > Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Search" folder altogether?! O.o
1706411222524.png

1706411231207.png
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
Good news though...your reg files appears to still work! I wonder why they removed that from GPO? I did put in a feedback request MONTHS ago asking for a way to disable search ONLY for specific users. I want admins to HAVE the search on Start Menu, while non-admins to NOT have it.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
jbrivers7 said:
Good news though...your reg files appears to still work! I wonder why they removed that from GPO? I did put in a feedback request MONTHS ago asking for a way to disable search ONLY for specific users. I want admins to HAVE the search on Start Menu, while non-admins to NOT have it.
Click to expand...
Hello mate, :alien:

The GPO is still there for me in build 26040, but I'm glad the REG files still work for you.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Laptop 7 Copilot+ PC
    CPU
    Snapdragon X Elite (12 core) 3.42 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15" HDR
    Screen Resolution
    2496 x 1664
    Hard Drives
    1 TB SSD
    Internet Speed
    Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
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