Windows 10 Cortana and Search Not Working

[nivrip]

I've noticed that Cortana/ Search do not work at all now. The Search box opens and it is possible to type a few letters only into the box. This brings up a few options at the top of the box but when I move the cursor up towards one of them the whole box totally disappears. I've noted this over the last week or so but have not made any changes recently.

I looked it up on Google and it appears to be quite a well known problem. So much so that Microsoft have a dedicated Start Menu Fix Download. This I tried but the scan showed no problem to fix !!

I tried switching off the AV, Reboot and checking that all Updates are in order. There do not appear to be any nasties on board and apart from a lack of Cortana everything else seems OK.

Just concerned that there is something not right here. Anyone else come across this problem?

 

[Ian]

What a puzzling problem you have there @nivrip!

The first thing I'd suggest running is running "sfc /scannow", to make sure there is no corruption. You'll need to do this from an admin command prompt, so if you right click the start button (or press Windows Key + X) and then select "Windows Powershell (admin)" and then run the "sfc /scannow" command.

It'll take some time to check your system files, but it'll let you know (and fix) any problems.

I suspect that is unlikely to fix it, but it's a good starting point.

The 2nd thing I would check is to see if this happens on other user profiles. If anyone else has an account on your system, do they have the same problem? If you don't have any other accounts, try creating a new (local) username on your system and see if it works there - it could be a user profile problem and this will help confirm it so we can fix it.

 

[nivrip]

Thanks, Ian. I ran scannow as you suggested. It came up with "found corrupted files and repaired them".

There is no difference so far but I assume I will need to reboot before being certain.

I forgot to mention that I also tried System Restore but that did not work at all saying " maybe because the AV was on". I will probably try again with the AV off

 

[Ian]

Yep, you'll need to reboot to notice if the fixes from SCF helped. If that fails, give the 2nd user account idea a go - as I think that may help us diagnose it .

 

[nivrip]

As a follow up I can say that Cortana and Search remain elusive. I went on to Microsoft's site and got onto their Chat service where you are in contact with one of their technicians. I was assured that the fix was straightforward by feeding some details into Powershell but it did not work at all. Further contact with MS has suggested using the Windows 10 Set Up Tool which is currently reinstalling Win10 (it's a long, slow process).

I am keeping my fingers crossed and will report on the progress when it's complete.

 

[floppybootstomp]

Interesting. As I've mentioned before I have several elusive problems with Win 10, I shall try some of the ideas listed above and see if I can cure a few.

 

[nivrip]

Just realised you had a similar thread (https://www.pcreview.co.uk/threads/fresh-install-of-win-10.4072176/), Flops.

Did anything ever come of that?

 

[floppybootstomp]

Just realised you had a similar thread (https://www.pcreview.co.uk/threads/fresh-install-of-win-10.4072176/), Flops.

Did anything ever come of that?

No, the situation is just the same as in post 24 of that thread.

I tried several suggestions including what I think is the reset and still no improvement. In fact lots of commands simply don't work, such as 'Press Windows key and X' - that does nothing.

I reckon my install is borked but if I do a fresh install I just know I'm going to have trouble because of the way my games are installed on a separate drive.

Maybe I'll go ahead and do it, perhaps the first rainy day that comes along, but then - how long to the next clean install? Kinda reminds me of XP, that needed a fresh install around every 18 months to work efficiently.

I don't use Cortana myself but have you had any luck re-enabling it?

 

[nivrip]

So far, no.

I used the Windows 10 Set Up Tool which ran for about 2 hours downloading a fresh Win10 and then it checked for updates at which point it stopped working altogether ( Modern Setup Host has stopped working I was informed). So, I tried again - another 2 hours, but at least I was doing something else whilst waiting. Again I got to Checking for Updates and it simply shut down with no message. Never got to the Install stage.

So, I went back MS Chat and the Tech there suggested I download the whole setup to a USB stick and then he "would guarantee that there would be a way of solving this".

So it is right now being transferred to USB stick and later we will see, under the guidance of someone who knows a lot more than I do.

BTW, I don't use Cortana but I do miss the Search facility.

 

[nivrip]

The sessions with MS Chat became wearisome. Every time you go back to them you get a different technician and you have to go over everything again. You end up going in circles.

So, I made the decision to go for Windows Reset in Settings. I knew I would lose a couple of programmes but it didn't matter too much and I would have a Factory Default position so I could begin afresh. I set it going and it ran through up to 100% in about 50 minutes. Then I was left with a black screen with the four blue windows and the revolving circle of white dots. I assumed this was part of the reset going on in the background.

Problem is, it's been like that for about 3 hours and I'm beginning to wonder if I'll ever get things back. What can I do if it doesn't change back to something I recognise? Is 3 hours long enough or too long? What would happen if I just switched everything off?

Anxiety is creeping in. Can anyone advise?

 

[floppybootstomp]

A tricky one. Three hours is much longer than a standard install of Win 10 would take but maybe it's putting all your programs and settings back to how they were.

If it were me I'd reboot but I don't want to be responsible if you were to lose everything so I'll pass the buck to you and let you make the decision.

Do you have Win 10 as bootable media to do a reinstall if the worst happened? (usb stick or DVD)

As for my Win 10, it's now showing more anomalies, I sometimes have to reboot to get Steam to work and one Steam game - Trackmania Stadium 2 - seized up on me and the only way I could exit was hit the reset button.

I have done a full scan with Kaspersky and run Privazer on every disk but to no avail, somethings definitely wrong with this thing.

 

[nivrip]

Lost my nerve in the end and after checking that this situation had gone on for 4 hours 30 mins I rebooted. I had to switch off at the mains.

After about 15 minutes of Blue windows, revolving dots and "Undoing Changes" I got back to the familiar log in screen and am running again. Still no Cortana, Search and the same niggly problems with One Drive.

Yes, I do have the Media Tool on the USB stick now so I feel a bit more confident about trying things.

Might try a full, clean reinstall but that will have to wait till tomorrow. It just seems never ending.

 

[Ian]

Might try a full, clean reinstall but that will have to wait till tomorrow. It just seems never ending.

As you've had a few problems, I think this may be a good solution - as long as you can make a backup image before you do anything, just in case things go pair shaped.

It's frustrating to do, but in less than an hour you should be sitting at a fresh desktop again - ready to restore your data and apps (on a fully working system ).

FWIW, check out ninite.com when you are back online, as it'll help you install a lot of common apps you may need - it's my first port of call after a fresh install, as it'll auto-install a lot of apps I use in a couple of clicks.

 

[nivrip]

Well, well, well. Great news.

Everything appears to be back to normal.

Cortana working again (although I don't really use it), Search working normally. Can now upload items to One Drive again. And One Drive now synching with the other PC and my phone. And everything just feels right again.

And what did I do to achieve this great feat? Windows Reset? Windows boot up from USB? Clean reinstallation of Windows?

Oh, no,no, none of those things. I cleaned the muck out of the case of the PC. I completely forgot to do the usual spring clean of the case this year and when I opened it the amount of dust amazed me. It took a bit of shifting but once it was sparkling again and I got it closed and rebooted I was astonished to find that things were right again.

Utter embarrassment describes my feelings at the moment having been through all this carry on and having various minds extend themselves on my behalf. Many thanks to Ian and Flops for their help .

I guess I forgot one of the basics of trying to sort things out - try the simple things first.

 

[floppybootstomp]

Alls well that ends well as they say

I wonder if I should break out with the vacuum cleaner.... it wouldn't hurt would it.

 

[nivrip]

I wonder if I should break out with the vacuum cleaner.... it wouldn't hurt would it.

Nothing to lose.

Just had a thought . If I'd done the Windows Reset which takes things back to the original factory settings would I have gone back to windows 7 which I had originally? I only "upgraded" to Windows 10 about a year or so ago.

 

[floppybootstomp]

Just had a thought . If I'd done the Windows Reset which takes things back to the original factory settings would I have gone back to windows 7 which I had originally? I only "upgraded" to Windows 10 about a year or so ago.

I'm pretty sure no, I reckon it will take you back to how your Win 10 install was when it was first installed, the last thing Microsoft want to happen is for people to go back to Win 7.

I'm pretty sure I done a reset and it stayed with Win 10.

If I take any further action it will be a fresh install from the DVD I burnt. And I just had a quick look inside my machine and it's not very dusty or clogged up at all.

My install is less than a year old, which makes me wonder about the stability of this OS. If I do a fresh install and all is good I shall back it up straight away in case the same things happen again.

 

[Ian]

Great news @nivrip!

I'm not sure how cleaning out the case would have helped fix those issues (as it doesn't sound like an overheating issue), but that doesn't matter as it's working . I'm glad you didn't have to do a full reset in the end .