File Explorer Search Box in Win 11


bobhalverson

Member
Local time
2:13 PM
Posts
14
OS
Windows 10
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 Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP All-In-One
    CPU
    Intel Core i3-7100T CPU @ 3.40GHz, 340i MHz, (2) Cores,
    Motherboard
    HP 82DC Ver. 1000
    Memory
    6 Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" HP All-In-One
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    987 Gb
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
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 3400
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 11th Gen. 2.40GHz
    Memory
    12GB
    Hard Drives
    256GB SSD NVMe
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro RTM x64
    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, 2TB WDC 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 23H2 22631.3296
    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
    1tb Solidigm m.2 +256gb ssd+512 gb usb m.2 sata
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell Premium
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    so slow I'm too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 22H2 19045.3930
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 9020
    CPU
    i7-4770
    Memory
    24 gb
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    256 gb Toshiba BG4 M.2 NVE SSB and 1 tb hdd
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell factory
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Internet Speed
    still not telling
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
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 23H2 22631.3296
    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
    1tb Solidigm m.2 +256gb ssd+512 gb usb m.2 sata
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell Premium
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    so slow I'm too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 22H2 19045.3930
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 9020
    CPU
    i7-4770
    Memory
    24 gb
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    256 gb Toshiba BG4 M.2 NVE SSB and 1 tb hdd
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell factory
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Internet Speed
    still not telling
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
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 22H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Homegrown
    CPU
    AMD 5950X
    Motherboard
    Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero
    Memory
    128GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVidia RTX 3060TI
    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 22H2 (latest update ... forever anal)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Slim S01
    CPU
    Intel i5-9400
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GT730
    Sound Card
    OOBE
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 32"
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    2 x 1TB SSDs
    PSU
    OOBE
    Case
    OOBE
    Cooling
    OOBE
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    Classic Australian w.a.p.
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    KIS
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro (latest upadte ... anally always)
    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
Heaven forfend the misguided perception of the purity and infallibility of Windows should be tainted with 3rd party alternatives
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
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 3400
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 11th Gen. 2.40GHz
    Memory
    12GB
    Hard Drives
    256GB SSD NVMe
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro RTM x64
    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, 2TB WDC HDD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender/Microsoft Security
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.
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
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.
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 Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP All-In-One
    CPU
    Intel Core i3-7100T CPU @ 3.40GHz, 340i MHz, (2) Cores,
    Motherboard
    HP 82DC Ver. 1000
    Memory
    6 Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" HP All-In-One
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    987 Gb
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...
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
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 3400
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 11th Gen. 2.40GHz
    Memory
    12GB
    Hard Drives
    256GB SSD NVMe
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro RTM x64
    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, 2TB WDC HDD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender/Microsoft Security

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