File Explorer Search Box in Win 11


bobhalverson

bobhalverson

Well-known member
Member
Local time
9:36 PM
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46
OS
Windows 11
I upgraded to Win 11 and had to revert back to Win 10.
The Search function in Win 11 did *not* work for me -- had trouble putting in search terms.
It's been a while -- don't remember if I had issues hand-typing search terms or using copy/paste.
Anyway, I'm able to get File Explorer search to work in Win 10, so I'm sticking to that for now.
My questions are:
1. Has this been acknowledged as an issue and fixed?
2. Does the Winaero Tweaker fix File Explorer search like it does in Win 10?
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP ProDesk 600 G4 MT
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-8500 CPU @ 3.00GHz [6 Cores]
    Motherboard
    HP 83EC - KBC Version 07.D4.00
    Memory
    64 Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Synaptics HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" LG
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    (2) 1 TB
    Internet Speed
    25 Mb/s
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    MS Defender
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Laptop 17-cp3005dx
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 5 7430U with Radeon Graphics, 2.3 Ghz, 6 Core(s), 12 Logical Processor(s)
    Motherboard
    HP 8D6B ver. 5908
    Memory
    32 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Radeon Graphics (integrated in mother board)
    Sound Card
    AMD High Definition Audio Device
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP Internal Display
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 60 Hz
    Hard Drives
    USB Attached SCSI (USAS) Mass Storage Device (1 TB)
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Defender
New computer last month came with WIn10 Pro and immediately Upgraded to Win11 Pro, no issues with the Search box in File Explorer or the Search icon on the Taskbar.

1654369992895.png
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Pro RTM Version 24H2 Build 26100.4202
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 3400
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 11th Gen. 2.40GHz
    Memory
    12GB
    Hard Drives
    256GB SSD NVMe M.2
  • Operating System
    Win11 Pro RTM Version 24H2 Build 26100.4202
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 5890
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 10th Gen. 2.90GHz
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Onboard, no VGA, using a DisplayPort-to-VGA adapter
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" Dell
    Hard Drives
    512GB SSD NVMe, 4TB Seagate HDD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender/Microsoft Security
For me there seems to be no difference using explorer search in 11 than was with 10. We might could offer more advise if we had more specific details. Perhaps when you had 11 there was an issue with indexing. 10 is going to be supported for 3 1/2 more years so, if that's what you are comfortable with, use it until then and upgrade to 11 at that time.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 25H2 26200.8655
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 7080
    CPU
    i9-10900 10 core 20 threads
    Motherboard
    DELL 0J37VM
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    none-Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    2x1tb Solidigm m.2 nvme /External drives 512gb Samsung m.2 sata+2tb Kingston m2.nvme
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell Premium
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    so slow I'm too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    #1 Edge #2 Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2 26200.8457
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Beelink Mini PC SER5
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 6800U
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics card(s)
    integrated
    Sound Card
    integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Crucial nvme
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    still too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    System 3 is non compliant Dell 9020 i7-4770/24gb ram Win11 PRO 26200.8457
I have similar problem, and I am still using Windows 11. The problem I have with file explorer search is that it only works for text files, but I need to search keywords in my MS Word docs. It worked in Windows 10, not sure why it's not working in windows 11.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP ENVY x360
    CPU
    Intel i5

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 25H2 26200.8655
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 7080
    CPU
    i9-10900 10 core 20 threads
    Motherboard
    DELL 0J37VM
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    none-Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    2x1tb Solidigm m.2 nvme /External drives 512gb Samsung m.2 sata+2tb Kingston m2.nvme
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell Premium
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    so slow I'm too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    #1 Edge #2 Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2 26200.8457
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Beelink Mini PC SER5
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 6800U
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics card(s)
    integrated
    Sound Card
    integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Crucial nvme
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    still too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    System 3 is non compliant Dell 9020 i7-4770/24gb ram Win11 PRO 26200.8457
I've noticed lately that both the start menu and search stop working, usually after I've RDP'd from my laptop to my desktop machine. Not sure if this is a known issue, but "Get-Process explorer | Stop-Process" seems to work (but not sure why you can't just "Stop-Process explorer", it throws a input object error). Huge pain in the butt to continually have to do that, but until Microsoft decides it's important enough to fix, it's one way of getting it working without having to reboot your computer.

edit - apparently the process name isn't a positional parameter and you need to specify -Name (Stop-Process -Name explorer).
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Homegrown
    CPU
    AMD 5950X
    Motherboard
    Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero
    Memory
    128GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVidia RTX 4070TI Super
    Sound Card
    Built-in Realtec Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2x Dell 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    OS = Western Digital Black NVME 2TB
    DATA = Sabrent Rocket NVME 1TB
    2x Samsung SSD (Virtual Machines)
    3x Western Digital (4TB, 6TB & 8TB)
    PSU
    Corsair CM1000
    Case
    Corsair 700D
    Cooling
    Corsair H115i RGB Pro XT
    Keyboard
    Corsair Strafe 2
    Mouse
    Logitech Trackball
  • Operating System
    Pop!_OS 22.04
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    System76/Gazelle
    CPU
    i7-10750H
    Memory
    64GB
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Ti Mobile
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 970 Evo Plus
Thanks for the info, I also noticed that the search can find the keyword if it's part of the file name. I updated to Windows 11 KB5013943 on 5/14/22, but it is the same issue. I am updating the newest one KB5014019, hopefully that will work for searching the doc or docx document.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP ENVY x360
    CPU
    Intel i5
I have NEVER found the search facility in any version(s) of Windows Explorer to be reliable and/or accurate.

On the other hand, flawless/faultless
UltraSearch
Agent Ransack
Everything

There, that should upset the purists. Heaven forfend the misguided perception of the purity and infallibility of Windows should be tainted with 3rd party alternatives
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 2xH2 (latest update ... forever anal)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Slim S01
    CPU
    Intel i5-12400
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GT730
    Sound Card
    OOBE
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 32"
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    512GB KIOXIA NVMe
    1TB SATA SSD
    PSU
    OOBE
    Case
    OOBE
    Cooling
    OOBE
    Keyboard
    BT
    Mouse
    BT
    Browser
    Brave FFox Chrome Opera
    Antivirus
    KIS
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 2xH2 (latest update ... 4ever anal)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavillion 15
    CPU
    i7-1165G7 @ 2.80GHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics
    Hard Drives
    Samsung NVMe 512GB
    + numerous/multiple SSD Type C USB enclosures
    Internet Speed
    NBN FTTN 50
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    KIS
idgat said:
Heaven forfend the misguided perception of the purity and infallibility of Windows should be tainted with 3rd party alternatives
Click to expand...
But then there are some of us who have to keep a Windows computer pretty much as designed so as to be able to help clients who do not 'customize' their machines. Since I had no computers that could run Win11 when it came out back in October I purchased a new Notebook and now 6 months later got a new Desktop, all working good even with some old programs such as Lotus SmartSuite 9.8.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Pro RTM Version 24H2 Build 26100.4202
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 3400
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 11th Gen. 2.40GHz
    Memory
    12GB
    Hard Drives
    256GB SSD NVMe M.2
  • Operating System
    Win11 Pro RTM Version 24H2 Build 26100.4202
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 5890
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 10th Gen. 2.90GHz
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Onboard, no VGA, using a DisplayPort-to-VGA adapter
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" Dell
    Hard Drives
    512GB SSD NVMe, 4TB Seagate HDD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender/Microsoft Security
Max K said:
Thanks for the info, I also noticed that the search can find the keyword if it's part of the file name. I updated to Windows 11 KB5013943 on 5/14/22, but it is the same issue. I am updating the newest one KB5014019, hopefully that will work for searching the doc or docx document.
Click to expand...
I updated the latest windows 11 release (KB5014019), It doesn't work. Well, it searches the keyword in the file name well. I just need to go to each word docs and search for the keyword myself. I am retired, I got plenty of time....
This is not the first time I deal with problems from Windows. but windows 11 is certainly the most annoying, the only reason I upgraded to windows11 was because I wanted the frequent pop-up window to stop showing up.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP ENVY x360
    CPU
    Intel i5
Max K said:
I updated the latest windows 11 release (KB5014019), It doesn't work. Well, it searches the keyword in the file name well. I just need to go to each word docs and search for the keyword myself. I am retired, I got plenty of time....
This is not the first time I deal with problems from Windows. but windows 11 is certainly the most annoying, the only reason I upgraded to windows11 was because I wanted the frequent pop-up window to stop showing up.
Click to expand...
Just downloaded dnGrep, a free App for PC so I can do the keyword search. It works well.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP ENVY x360
    CPU
    Intel i5
I'm not a software engineer, but it seems like File Explorer is a hammer & chisel part of Windows.
It amazes me that with all the horsepower Microsoft has, they can't make it work right.
Especially considering it worked fine for years...
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP ProDesk 600 G4 MT
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-8500 CPU @ 3.00GHz [6 Cores]
    Motherboard
    HP 83EC - KBC Version 07.D4.00
    Memory
    64 Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Synaptics HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" LG
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    (2) 1 TB
    Internet Speed
    25 Mb/s
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    MS Defender
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Laptop 17-cp3005dx
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 5 7430U with Radeon Graphics, 2.3 Ghz, 6 Core(s), 12 Logical Processor(s)
    Motherboard
    HP 8D6B ver. 5908
    Memory
    32 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Radeon Graphics (integrated in mother board)
    Sound Card
    AMD High Definition Audio Device
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP Internal Display
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 60 Hz
    Hard Drives
    USB Attached SCSI (USAS) Mass Storage Device (1 TB)
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Defender
bobhalverson said:
I'm not a software engineer, but it seems like File Explorer is a hammer & chisel part of Windows.
It amazes me that with all the horsepower Microsoft has, they can't make it work right.
Especially considering it worked fine for years...
Click to expand...
Windows has never been perfect for every one of the millions or more using it, same for the many flavors of Linux or Mac OS X/newer macOS, guess that's part of why GeoWorks and OS 2 and Linspire never stayed around.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Pro RTM Version 24H2 Build 26100.4202
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 3400
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 11th Gen. 2.40GHz
    Memory
    12GB
    Hard Drives
    256GB SSD NVMe M.2
  • Operating System
    Win11 Pro RTM Version 24H2 Build 26100.4202
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 5890
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 10th Gen. 2.90GHz
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Onboard, no VGA, using a DisplayPort-to-VGA adapter
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" Dell
    Hard Drives
    512GB SSD NVMe, 4TB Seagate HDD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender/Microsoft Security
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