Bringing back the windows search bar

Question

Hi there i recently got a new computer with windows 10. I was very exited only to be let down knowing that the windows search bar had been replaced with cortana. What? I tried and succeeded in disabling cortana (following this guide) . I then try to type some searches into the 'Search Windows' bar such as:

• Command Prompt
• Control Panel
• etc...

All that shows up is no results found. So cutting to the chase my question is how can i get the original functionality of the windows search bar in windows 10? It would also be nice if i could do so without any third party apps.

Answer 1

You should still be able to use Windows 7's search bar's functionality with Cortana - even the old "Tap WIN key and start typing"-behavior still works, even though you don't see the search bar until you start typing.

If you've gotten your PC only recently, Windows' search index might not be fully created yet. Instead of searching every single file on your PC, the search/Cortana bar relies on an index of files, apps and programs in your start menu, etc. You can check the progress of the index's creation via pressing WIN+R, entering "searchindexer.exe" and hitting enter.

The window coming up shows you handy information about the index's status and some options. At the top you can see how many files are indexed and if the indexing process is finished. Below that you'll find a list of indexed locations. Make sure at least the Start Menu is listed there, if it's not you probably want to include "C:/ProgramData/Microsoft/Windows/Startmenu".

If that still doesn't help, you'll find a link to Windows' own troubleshooting for the index at the bottom of that window.