For the past several versions (since Windows Vista, I think), if you hit the Windows key and start typing, Windows will search for applications.

Since upgrading to Windows 10 with Cortana, she is only hit or miss at finding applications. And she doesn't do partial searches, either.

Some examples:

• WinKey + type "Paint" does not find "mspaint". Instead it suggests some applications from the store.
• WinKey + type "Excel" does not find Excel. Nor does typing "Word" find Word. However, typing OneNote finds OneNote.

What is the reason for this behavior and how I can get Cortana to find the applications installed on my machine again? Is there a setting I am missing?

If I browse to "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs" I can see that the shortcuts for these applications all still exist. But Cortana is not finding them. Everything from the Microsoft Office applications to IIS to Beyond Compare to hundreds of other applications I have installed.

Where can I set which folders Cortana indexes?

As you can see in the screen shot below, this Start Menu folder is, indeed, indexed:

However, none of these applications are coming back as search results from the "start" menu.

It may be related to this issue as well.

I did a brand new install of Skype (for desktop), and it shows up nowhere in the start menu. And typing in "Skype" to search for the application does not find it. But the shortcut to Skype is definitely in this location:

C:\Users\Patrick\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Skype

EDIT

The latest Windows 10 update (Threshold 2) has solved this issue for me. Cortana now finds all my files with no issues. Previously my only solution was to use Classic Shell, I've been able to uninstall that now and use the standard Windows Start menu.

For the past several versions (since Windows Vista, I think), if you hit the Windows key and start typing, Windows will search for applications.

Since upgrading to Windows 10 with Cortana, she is only hit or miss at finding applications. And she doesn't do partial searches, either.

Some examples:

• WinKey + type "Paint" does not find "mspaint". Instead it suggests some applications from the store.
• WinKey + type "Excel" does not find Excel. Nor does typing "Word" find Word. However, typing OneNote finds OneNote.

What is the reason for this behavior and how I can get Cortana to find the applications installed on my machine again? Is there a setting I am missing?

If I browse to "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs" I can see that the shortcuts for these applications all still exist. But Cortana is not finding them. Everything from the Microsoft Office applications to IIS to Beyond Compare to hundreds of other applications I have installed.

Where can I set which folders Cortana indexes?

As you can see in the screen shot below, this Start Menu folder is, indeed, indexed:

However, none of these applications are coming back as search results from the "start" menu.

It may be related to this issue as well.

I did a brand new install of Skype (for desktop), and it shows up nowhere in the start menu. And typing in "Skype" to search for the application does not find it. But the shortcut to Skype is definitely in this location:

C:\Users\Patrick\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Skype

EDIT

The latest Windows 10 update (Threshold 2) has solved this issue for me. Cortana now finds all my files with no issues. Previously my only solution was to use Classic Shell, I've been able to uninstall that now and use the standard Windows Start menu.

For the past several versions (since Windows Vista, I think), if you hit the Windows key and start typing, Windows will search for applications.

Since upgrading to Windows 10 with Cortana, she is only hit or miss at finding applications. And she doesn't do partial searches, either.

Some examples:

• WinKey + type "Paint" does not find "mspaint". Instead it suggests some applications from the store.
• WinKey + type "Excel" does not find Excel. Nor does typing "Word" find Word. However, typing OneNote finds OneNote.

What is the reason for this behavior and how I can get Cortana to find the applications installed on my machine again? Is there a setting I am missing?

If I browse to "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs" I can see that the shortcuts for these applications all still exist. But Cortana is not finding them. Everything from the Microsoft Office applications to IIS to Beyond Compare to hundreds of other applications I have installed.

Where can I set which folders Cortana indexes?

As you can see in the screen shot below, this Start Menu folder is, indeed, indexed:

However, none of these applications are coming back as search results from the "start" menu.

It may be related to this issue as well.

I did a brand new install of Skype (for desktop), and it shows up nowhere in the start menu. And typing in "Skype" to search for the application does not find it. But the shortcut to Skype is definitely in this location:

C:\Users\Patrick\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Skype

For the past several versions (since Windows Vista, I think), if you hit the Windows key and start typing, Windows will search for applications.

Since upgrading to Windows 10 with Cortana, she is only hit or miss at finding applications. And she doesn't do partial searches, either.

Some examples:

• WinKey + type "Paint" does not find "mspaint". Instead it suggests some applications from the store.
• WinKey + type "Excel" does not find Excel. Nor does typing "Word" find Word. However, typing OneNote finds OneNote.

What is the reason for this behavior and how I can get Cortana to find the applications installed on my machine again? Is there a setting I am missing?

If I browse to "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs" I can see that the shortcuts for these applications all still exist. But Cortana is not finding them. Everything from the Microsoft Office applications to IIS to Beyond Compare to hundreds of other applications I have installed.

Where can I set which folders Cortana indexes?

As you can see in the screen shot below, this Start Menu folder is, indeed, indexed:

However, none of these applications are coming back as search results from the "start" menu.

It may be related to this issue as well.

I did a brand new install of Skype (for desktop), and it shows up nowhere in the start menu. And typing in "Skype" to search for the application does not find it. But the shortcut to Skype is definitely in this location:

C:\Users\Patrick\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Skype

EDIT

The latest Windows 10 update (Threshold 2) has solved this issue for me. Cortana now finds all my files with no issues. Previously my only solution was to use Classic Shell, I've been able to uninstall that now and use the standard Windows Start menu.

For the past several versions (since Windows Vista, I think), if you hit the Windows Key and start typing, Windows will search for apps.

Since upgrading to Windows 10 with Cortana, she is only hit or miss at finding apps. And she doesn't do partial searches, either.

Some exampels:

• WinKey + type "Paint" does not find "mspaint", instead it suggests some apps from the store.
• WinKey + type "Excel" does not find Excel. Nor does typing "Word" find Word. However, typing OneNote finds OneNote.

Can anyone explain this behavior and explain how I can get Cortana to find the apps installed on my machine again? Is there a setting I am missing?

EDIT If I browse to "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs" I can see that the shortcuts for these applications all still exist. But Cortana is not finding them. Everything from the Microsoft Office apps to IIS to Beyond Compare to hundreds of other apps I have installed.

Where can I set which folders Cortana indexes?

EDIT 2 As you can see in the screen shot below, this Start Menu folder is, indeed, indexed:

However, none of these apps are coming back as search results from the "start" menu.

Any suggestions would be great!

EDIT 3 May be related to this issue as well.

EDIT 4 Did a brand new install of Skype (for desktop) and it shows up nowhere in the start menu. And typing in "Skype" to search for the app does not find it. But the shortcut to Skype is definitely in this location:

C:\Users\Patrick\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Skype

For the past several versions (since Windows Vista, I think), if you hit the Windows key and start typing, Windows will search for applications.

Since upgrading to Windows 10 with Cortana, she is only hit or miss at finding applications. And she doesn't do partial searches, either.

Some examples:

• WinKey + type "Paint" does not find "mspaint". Instead it suggests some applications from the store.
• WinKey + type "Excel" does not find Excel. Nor does typing "Word" find Word. However, typing OneNote finds OneNote.

What is the reason for this behavior and how I can get Cortana to find the applications installed on my machine again? Is there a setting I am missing?

If I browse to "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs" I can see that the shortcuts for these applications all still exist. But Cortana is not finding them. Everything from the Microsoft Office applications to IIS to Beyond Compare to hundreds of other applications I have installed.

Where can I set which folders Cortana indexes?

As you can see in the screen shot below, this Start Menu folder is, indeed, indexed:

However, none of these applications are coming back as search results from the "start" menu.

It may be related to this issue as well.

I did a brand new install of Skype (for desktop), and it shows up nowhere in the start menu. And typing in "Skype" to search for the application does not find it. But the shortcut to Skype is definitely in this location:

C:\Users\Patrick\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Skype