# [SOLVED] Explorer Search finds nothing even after reindexing drive



## akofalvi (Dec 8, 2008)

Hi, I have a new Toshiba P70-A 11V laptop with Windows 8.1.
Windows search for files or folders returns nothing in the partition I use for storing personal data. I changed the letter drive assigned and re-built the indexing of the drive. Then it worked until restarting the computer. Then any search returns nothing once again. What is going on? This is a brand new laptop which was very expensive and can not use the basics on it???
Any idea?
Cheers


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## akofalvi (Dec 8, 2008)

*Re: Explorer Search finds nothing even after reindexing drive*

No one has any idea plz?


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## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

*Re: Explorer Search finds nothing even after reindexing drive*

RE-index again being specific which drive and or files: Windows 8.1 Search Not Finding Your Files? Here's a Fix


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## akofalvi (Dec 8, 2008)

*Re: Explorer Search finds nothing even after reindexing drive*

Thanks. In my first post I mentioned that the indexing had been rebuilt. In fact, more then once. I for superstition also changed the location of the index files from C: to the drive in question but this also failed to help. Search finds nothing outside the C: drive.


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## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

*Re: Explorer Search finds nothing even after reindexing drive*

Try the Microsoft FixIt: Fix Windows Desktop Search when it crashes or not showing results


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## akofalvi (Dec 8, 2008)

*Re: Explorer Search finds nothing even after reindexing drive*



spunk.funk said:


> Try the Microsoft FixIt: Fix Windows Desktop Search when it crashes or not showing results



Thank you!!! I tried it now. After running it it said: Windows search is crashing or failing: Not Fixed. Windows Search not showing any result: Not Fixed.

In fact, I tried to run a search outside the C: drive and a couple of items appeared, with the message: Search may appear slow because this drive is not indexed. Which is untrue. Then I changed the search term and Windows search now realized that it was an indexed drive, and returned no matching items. Well, bad luck... 
I hope in a later update there will be some improvement, because currently I hardly can work among te thousands of pdf and doc files...


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## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

*Re: Explorer Search finds nothing even after reindexing drive*

Try this: Open the Search and Indexing troubleshooter
How to search - Microsoft Windows Help
Search in Windows 8


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## shawnpb (May 30, 2010)

*Re: Explorer Search finds nothing even after reindexing drive*

Is Indexing turned on?


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## akofalvi (Dec 8, 2008)

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JackBauer_24 said:


> Is Indexing turned on?


Yes, of course. When I turn it off, Windows Search slowly finds some files outside the C: drive. However, it says that "search maybe slow, click turn on indexing"
So that is the problem: as soon as I turn on indexing search says "No items match your search". Right at the moment I re-index the drives again but it is n more than superstition because it won't work.


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## shawnpb (May 30, 2010)

*Re: Explorer Search finds nothing even after reindexing drive*

Is it also check marked here? Look at the image...


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## akofalvi (Dec 8, 2008)

*Re: Explorer Search finds nothing even after reindexing drive*



JackBauer_24 said:


> Is it also check marked here? Look at the image...


Thank you for the suggestion. It has a checkmark there.

As I said yesterday, I rebuilt the index file. I veryfied it now: more than 300,000 files have been indexed, and the windows.edb file is almost 2 Gb size. That is, 
1) indexing is working perfectly,
2) the files and folders are indexed all around in all drives,
3) Windows search believes that is uses the indexing service, but it does not use outside the C: drive, and so, it does not find anything outside the C: drive. That is the problem: how to force Windows search to use the indexing list outside the C: drive?
I am afraid that I have to move all my stuffs back to the C: drive where they intended to be by default (people at Microsoft believe that all wants to guard his/her files under "music", "photos", "videos", "documents", but I don't, and to avoid data loss in case if the system gets corrupted, I will always have another partition safe.


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## shawnpb (May 30, 2010)

*Re: Explorer Search finds nothing even after reindexing drive*

Is it also checked marked for your other HDD or partitions as the image shows in my last post?


Edit: Lets see if the Indexing Service is on Automatic.

Go to the bottom right of your screen and select "Search" type in "Services.msc" (without quotes) scroll down to "Windows Search"

it should be started and set on Automatic.


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## akofalvi (Dec 8, 2008)

*Re: Explorer Search finds nothing even after reindexing drive*



JackBauer_24 said:


> Is it also checked marked for your other HDD or partitions as the image shows in my last post?
> 
> 
> Thank you for calling my attention to these matters. In fact, I checked those before and now: the drives are allowed to be indexed and Windows Search is automatic. So I really can not think of much else than a bug affecting my laptop. My friend is the head system administrators at the university where I work. Neither he could figure this out and thus said: you install Windows 7 or Linux.  But for now I prefer to keep my Windows 8 system. I wanted to ask Microsoft, but for that I have to open an account which I am unable these weeks because there is always an error with opening a new account. I guess they block newcomers in order to control the tasks to resolve with the previous customers... Even logging in for the first time in my laptop was a day, because it wanted me to create the Microsoft Account which it could not, and after the third trial it gave up and created a "local account". But this is another story. I am for the time being patient with the Windows Search not working but just for 1-2 more weeks then I will install Windows 7.


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## shawnpb (May 30, 2010)

*Re: Explorer Search finds nothing even after reindexing drive*

Don't give up yet the others here on the Microsoft Support have not chimed in yet either they might have a better solution than I do. I will call them in here.


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## akofalvi (Dec 8, 2008)

*Re: Explorer Search finds nothing even after reindexing drive*

Thanks so much for being out there helping. Hope one day I could return.


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## akofalvi (Dec 8, 2008)

*Re: Explorer Search finds nothing even after reindexing drive*

Seems to be a dead case but I haven't given up yet! I noticed that poor Windows Search and Indexing services constantly use 80-100% of the disk. The only problem is that they don't work when I want to do a search among my files. So now I decided to unindex all my drives and stop Windows Search and Indexing services, so that to spare my HDD. It is just sad that there is no way to resolve this, and I have to remember all my files which is inpossible of course...


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## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

*Re: Explorer Search finds nothing even after reindexing drive*

Try this free 3rd party app Everything Search Engine it is much better the Microsofts.


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## akofalvi (Dec 8, 2008)

*Re: Explorer Search finds nothing even after reindexing drive*

Wow! I tried now! It is amazing! How does this work? Why does not Windows have such an inbuilt search software??? Thank you man!


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## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

*Re: Explorer Search finds nothing even after reindexing drive*

You are Welcome!
As you may or may not know, Microsoft has been slow on the draw including programs that actually _work_ in their OS. So, it's up to 3rd party vendors to take up the slack. 
Please mark this thread Solved in the Thread Tools at the top.


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