Win11 22H2 - search function won't work when first letter is 'm' !?!

HI,

yesterday i updates to win 11 22H2 & also added the following 3 quality updates:

KB5018496
KB5018341
KB5018483

Now when i open the Start or Search windows from the taskbar and start with the letter 'm' it just freezes not entering the remaining letters and then closes itself.
If i start with any other character it works fine. 'M' works fine as long as it isn't the first charcter entered.
Win 11 never crashes and everything else seems ok. Searching in File Explorer or Mail is also ok, it's just Start & Search on the taskbar that is doing this.

I ran SFC Scannow & DISM restoreimage & restorehealth but no change.
Version - 22H2
OS Build - 22621.755

Anybody else seen this problem?
Any suggestions for a fix?

Thanks.

KB5018496 is October 2022 Preview Update for 22H2 (correct)
KB5018483 is October 2022 Preview Update for 21H2 (incorrect for 22H2)

How did your system get KB5018483 installed? Was this system upgraded to 22H2 before KB5018483 was applied?
I'm surprised Windows allowed this to happen.

In this video, i will guide you on how to fix search bar not working in Windows 11.

For grins and giggles, open the onscreen keyboard app and see if it is the same.

glasskuter said:

For grins and giggles, open the onscreen keyboard app and see if it is the same.

Click to expand...

it's the same with the onscreen KB.

FreeBooter said:

In this video, i will guide you on how to fix search bar not working in Windows 11.

Click to expand...

thanks for the suggestion but i tried this and the problem is still there.. but after re-indexing i can now type 2 additional letters after 'm' before it closes itself.
i didn't try uninstalling updates though... will do as a last resort.

garlin said:

KB5018496 is October 2022 Preview Update for 22H2 (correct)
KB5018483 is October 2022 Preview Update for 21H2 (incorrect for 22H2)

How did your system get KB5018483 installed? Was this system upgraded to 22H2 before KB5018483 was applied?
I'm surprised Windows allowed this to happen.

Click to expand...

Sorry, i installed 843 as part of 21H2 right before i forced 22H2 down.. it shows in the list as recent updates which is why i included it..
Probably shouldn't have mentioned it, sorry for any confusion.

Garlin is correct, unless it applied BEFORE your upgraded to 22H2, KB5018483 should not have applied as it specifically states it is a 21H2 update. The only suggestion I have is to go back to 21H2 and start over.
Settings > System > Recovery.
Under the Recovery options section, click the Go back button.

Verify that 21H2 is working correctly. While in 21H2 run sfc /scannow. Check to see if "M' works in search. I suggest you make a full system image of 21H2 as insurance using the backup solution of your choice before proceeding to 22H2 again.

glasskuter said:

Garlin is correct, unless it applied BEFORE your upgraded to 22H2, KB5018483 should not have applied as it specifically states it is a 21H2 update. The only suggestion I have is to go back to 21H2 and start over.
Settings > System > Recovery.
Under the Recovery options section, click the Go back button.

Verify that 21H2 is working correctly. While in 21H2 run sfc /scannow. Check to see if "M' works in search. I suggest you make a full system image of 21H2 as insurance using the backup solution of your choice before proceeding to 22H2 again.

Click to expand...

it was installed before 22H2..
re the roll back, yes you're probably right.. i made a disk image first so will go back to that when i get a chance and compare/go again..
thanks.

Can you create a new user? If he or she does not have this problem, it suggests your user profile is corrupt.

marbles said:

HI,

yesterday i updates to win 11 22H2 & also added the following 3 quality updates:

KB5018496
KB5018341
KB5018483

Now when i open the Start or Search windows from the taskbar and start with the letter 'm' it just freezes not entering the remaining letters and then closes itself.
If i start with any other character it works fine. 'M' works fine as long as it isn't the first charcter entered.
Win 11 never crashes and everything else seems ok. Searching in File Explorer or Mail is also ok, it's just Start & Search on the taskbar that is doing this.

I ran SFC Scannow & DISM restoreimage & restorehealth but no change.
Version - 22H2
OS Build - 22621.755

Anybody else seen this problem?
Any suggestions for a fix?

Thanks.

Click to expand...

Did you ever find a solution for this? I'm having the exact same issue right now and I can't find much online as far as a solution is concerned. I found someone saying they had the same problem with the letter "T", but they removed their Twitter app and the issue was resolved. I've tried removing pretty much every app that begins with "M" but haven't had similar success.

I am confused. Is your build really 22621.755? 22621.755 is from Oct of 2022. How about fleshing out your system specs. to help folks trying to diagnose your issue?

KB5018483 did address improvements to search. Did it install successfully? How about removing it, rebooting, and reinstalling it? Still need to understand why your system is at bld. 22621.755?

Jamis said:

I am confused. Is your build really 22621.755?

Click to expand...

Yes, you are confused. The OP @marbles was the one with the issue back in October, while on 22621.755. @twax was quoting post #1 and asking if a solution was ever found. FWIW I can type 'm' in search without a problem.

twax said:

I've tried removing pretty much every app that begins with "M" but haven't had similar success.

Click to expand...

Welcome to Eleven Forum.

It does appear to be something corrupt in the search index that causes this for you. Rather than removing any apps that begin with M, you may have better luck by rebuilding the search index. See this tutorial.

Bree said:

It does appear to be something corrupt in the search index that causes this for you. Rather than removing any apps, you may have better luck by rebuilding the search index. See this tutorial.

Click to expand...

I've already tried this as well with no effect. I've tried pretty much every solution that comes up whenever anyone mentions issues with search functionality in Windows 11. If Marbles doesn't have any particular input (and I'm not terribly optimistic given they haven't posted in 6 months), I'll probably just have to try re-installing Windows. This doesn't seem to be a very common problem.

twax said:

I've already tried this as well with no effect. I've tried pretty much every solution that comes up whenever anyone mentions issues with search functionality in Windows 11. If Marbles doesn't have any particular input (and I'm not terribly optimistic given they haven't posted in 6 months), I'll probably just have to try re-installing Windows. This doesn't seem to be a very common problem.

Click to expand...

Might wanna try an In-Place Upgrade first...





Here is the short version of the In-place upgrade tutorial...

DISABLE non-Microsoft:
a) antivirus software
b) firewall software
c) drive encryption software

Make a full OS backup with a program like Macrium Reflect or AOMEI Backupper Standard
Macrium Reflect
AOMEI Backupper Standard

Get the Windows 11 ISO image and save it to your desktop...


Right click the ISO image and choose: MOUNT
Open File Explorer and you will see a new drive letter. It will "look" like a DVD optical drive.
Double click the new drive letter to open it.
Find setup.exe and double click it to start the in-place upgrade.

Choose the Keep personal files and apps option.

After it's all done... to UNmount the ISO image, right click the new drive letter and choose: EJECT.


The ONLY thing you will lose is some of your personalizations.
Your drivers, programs and data will be intact.




The In-Place Upgrade takes about 30-35 mins on my computer.

Oh good grief! Didn't even look at the dates. Just take me out back and slap me with a 2x4. Apologizes to all. I'm going to bed now. m search works fine on my system.

Ghot said:

Might wanna try an In-Place Upgrade first...

Click to expand...

I tried that, too. It didn't fix the issue. However, after trying the In-Place Upgrade I did use the same ISO to create a virtual machine and the virtual machine did not exhibit this issue (i.e., I can execute searches that begin with the letter "m" with no problems).

twax said:

I tried that, too. It didn't fix the issue. However, after trying the In-Place Upgrade I did use the same ISO to create a virtual machine and the virtual machine did not exhibit this issue (i.e., I can execute searches that begin with the letter "m" with no problems).

Click to expand...

Well, if an In-Place upgrade didn't fix it... it's probably being caused by some 3rd party software.
Are you running any tweaking programs? Like... StartAllBack, Explorer Patcher, Classic Shell, etc?

Maybe try a different keyboard also?

It would also help to know what kind of computer we're discussing.

Ghot said:

Well, if an In-Place upgrade didn't fix it... it's probably being caused by some 3rd party software.
Are you running any tweaking programs? Like... StartAllBack, Explorer Patcher, Classic Shell, etc?

Maybe try a different keyboard also?

It would also help to know what kind of computer we're discussing.

Click to expand...

I agree that it is probably some 3rd party software creating the issue, especially given the fact that I didn't see the issue on the virtual machine. That also suggests to me that it's not an issue with the keyboard. I did have Winaero Tweaker installed at one point to see what kind of adjustments I could make to the task bar with it, but I uninstalled it some time ago.

Everything about the start menu works exactly as you'd expect it to unless I begin a search with the letter "m" (capital or otherwise). Once I type in the letter "m", the start menu goes blank as though it's about to load searches related to what I've just typed, but instead the start menu just freezes for a second and then disappears. It doesn't close. There is no close animation like you typically see. It just disappears as if the start menu has crashed. Once it has disappeared, I can press the Windows key and the start menu reappears as though there is nothing wrong. And there isn't anything wrong, as long as I don't start a search with the letter "m" (Happy Mother's Day!).

This is a piece-parts desktop computer I built about two months ago. I can provide hardware specifics, but I really don't think it's relevant.

Did you try creating a new user temporarily? See if the new user has the problem.