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So a few days ago i had a system crash and i had to reinstall my windows install. But since then whenever i go to the start menu and start typing it cannot find any installed apps, except the default windows ones such as calculator, paint, internet explorer. I tried looking over the internet found some methods like type something in the command line to fix cortana but still i can not get my search working. What can i do to get my search working again?

EDIT: I did reinstall all the apps right away after the recovery. I do not intend to look for apps that are not installed, or are left from a previous windows install. I can't find firefox nightly, total commander, steam Visual studio or any other apps by searching to their name. But searching for Calculator and other default windows apps show up in the result

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  • Where did you re-install windows from? e.g a backup image that contained all your other installed applications, or a brand new, fresh, no bloatware install? Also did you reinstall all your applications? What version of windows? Sorry but my experience in tech support tells me to never assume anything even if it sounds incredibly obvious.
    – Sc00T
    Commented Mar 14, 2017 at 19:10
  • Seriously, you need to reinstall all the apps and programs which you need and/or had previously that are not included with the Windows re-installation unfortunately. And that is truly your answer... classic case of needing data\system backups...
    – Vomit IT - Chunky Mess Style
    Commented Mar 15, 2017 at 4:07
  • I did reinstall my Windows from a recovery / system reset. I reinstalled all my apps but they do not show up in the start menu search.
    – Denes Belanyi
    Commented Mar 15, 2017 at 11:22
  • Yes i did reinstall everything, any newly installed app refuses to show up in the search results...
    – Denes Belanyi
    Commented Mar 15, 2017 at 12:01
  • I did reinstall all the apps right away after the recovery. I do not intend to look for apps that are not installed, or are left from a previous windows install. I can't find firefox nightly, total commander, steam Visual studio or any other apps by searching to their name. But searching for Calculator and other default windows apps show up in the result. So what i did, i downloaded the VS_Community installer, run the installer, restarted the computer. Opened start menu, typed Visul Studio, the only thing i get is a web search.. and not the installed app.
    – Denes Belanyi
    Commented Mar 15, 2017 at 20:44

2 Answers 2

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If you are on windows 10 then try updating it with all security and critical updates. If your on windows 8 try the same thing or use system restore.

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    Fine looks like you don't even read the question. Give it an another try?
    – Denes Belanyi
    Commented Mar 15, 2017 at 20:51
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Probably not a viable answer but there are tonnes of methods on this old superuser thread, see if any of these work for you: Windows 10 Search can't find ANY applications. Even calculator

Also, check your Windows indexing options and check it's running through the right directories, etc.

Okay so after our comments I tried something so this is just an updated answer because I had a small idea. Try this, if you haven't yet:

Start > Settings (Cog sign on the left) > Search: "Change how windows searches" then it will open up your indexing options > Click "Advanced" then under Troubleshooting where it says "Delete and rebuild index" press the "Rebuild" button and let us know if that works.

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  • Yeah, i've been already going through on these but couldn't get it working. No idea whats the problem :/
    – Denes Belanyi
    Commented Mar 15, 2017 at 20:52
  • Have you tried just disabling Cortana and checking to see if it searches that way? I'll also try go into my Win10 Virtual Machine to see if I can recreate the problem.
    – Jordan Savell
    Commented Mar 15, 2017 at 20:55
  • Also do your apps show in the menu when you press start then "All Apps" on the left?
    – Jordan Savell
    Commented Mar 15, 2017 at 21:02
  • Yes, i tried. If i disable Cortana then no search results show up still.
    – Denes Belanyi
    Commented Mar 15, 2017 at 21:09
  • And yes My apps do show up in the side menu, but not when i search.
    – Denes Belanyi
    Commented Mar 15, 2017 at 21:09

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