Windows Search no longer recognizes paths like C:\ or C:\folder as commands

Question

Windows Search no longer recognizes paths like C:\ or C:\folder as commands

MrStavro 0

Hello, good day to everyone.
Straight to the issue: Windows Search in the Start menu used to let me open folders by typing a path such as C:\ or C:\foldername and pressing Enter. It recognized these as commands and showed an “Open” option. Recently this stopped working as Windows Search now treats these inputs as plain text and only offers web search or unrelated suggestions.

So far I have tried:

Changing Search to Enhanced instead of Classic
Rebuilding Index with whole C:\ disk
Resetting settings and caches to Default.
Restarting explorer
Rebooting
Usual fix commands (Such as sfc and dism)

Indexing is functional and not limited to any specific folder. No errors in Explorer, and double-clicking folders works normally. The issue is specifically within the Start menu’s handling of path queries.
This started happening after changing my language from Spanish (Argentina) to English (US), I updated to 25H2 recently and my settings were kind of mixed, then I changed everything to English for comfort, since then, this issue arose, along with some settings needing Spanish queries to find them on the search bar even though the result is in English.
Additional information:

Language settings: Everything set to en-US fully localized, preferred language has other ones installed but English (US) is at the top.
System: Windows 11 25H2 (26200.7171), NVMe SSD 2 TB (~75% free)
Edit: Resetting and Reinstalling Windows.Search through powershell was also done, to no avail.

Any help is appreciated.

MrStavro 0 Reputation points

2025-12-01T12:49:38.95+00:00

Clarification: User would like, if possible, to solve this problem without the need of reinstalling or restoring his system.

3 answers

Your answer

MrStavro 0 Reputation points

2025-12-01T12:49:38.95+00:00

Clarification: User would like, if possible, to solve this problem without the need of reinstalling or restoring his system.

Answer 1

Maurizio Focareta 0

I'm going mad from this morning for the same issue, and I did all the possible actions wihtou any result. Then I saw this thread. Windows 11 25H2 with all the recent updates (10.0.26200.7171).

I really hope this is not a feature/design change or whatever the hell you can call it but a stupid and unexpected bug because this really hurts productivity.

The most absurd thing is that this morning I didn't apply any kind of fix/patch/update, it started to do this behaviour after a simple reboot.

Please revert this abominion or search for a fix procedure that works.

0 comments

Answer 2

Restee Miranda 14,040 Independent Advisor

Here’s the PowerShell script you can run to re-register the Start menu components and reset Windows Search. It also restarts Explorer so changes apply immediately:

Download the script here.

Just right-click the file, choose Run with PowerShell, and let it complete. After that, test if typing C:\ in the Start menu works again. If it still doesn’t, let me know.

MrStavro 0 Reputation points

2025-12-01T16:52:26.4933333+00:00

Hi! The link just goes back to this question, it does not download anything.
Restee Miranda 14,040 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2025-12-01T16:57:13.6566667+00:00
I apologize about that, you may try to do these manually.

Here’s what you can try:

1. Use Run or Explorer as a workaround Press Win + R, type the path, and hit Enter. Or paste the path in File Explorer’s address bar. These still work normally.

2. Re-register Start/Search packages Recent updates introduced timing issues with XAML packages that affect shell components. Microsoft suggests re-registering them via PowerShell:

Add-AppxPackage -Register -Path "C:\Windows\SystemApps\MicrosoftWindows.Client.CBS_cw5n1h2txyewy\appxmanifest.xml" -DisableDevelopmentMode Add-AppxPackage -Register -Path "C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.UI.Xaml.CBS_8wekyb3d8bbwe\appxmanifest.xml" -DisableDevelopmentMode Add-AppxPackage -Register -Path "C:\Windows\SystemApps\MicrosoftWindows.Client.Core_cw5n1h2txyewy\appxmanifest.xml" -DisableDevelopmentMode

Then restart SiHost.exe or reboot. This workaround restores some Start menu behaviors broken by cumulative updates.

3. Reset Windows Search Run:

PowerShell -Command "Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.Windows.Search | Reset-AppxPackage"

Then restart Explorer.

4. Check language consistency Mixed language remnants can confuse search parsing. Go to Settings > Time & language > Language & region, ensure English (US) is set as display language, remove unused languages, and restart. If the issue persists, reinstall the language pack or run:

DISM /Online /Set-AllIntl:en-US

5. Keep Windows updated Microsoft is aware of shell and search bugs in 24H2/25H2 and is rolling out fixes in cumulative updates. Check for updates and install any optional patches.

If none of these restore path recognition, it’s likely a design change rather than a bug. In that case, using Run or creating shortcuts is the safest workaround until Microsoft reintroduces the feature.

Answer 3

Restee Miranda 14,040 Independent Advisor

Hi, I understand that it’s inconvenient when something that used to work suddenly changes. What’s happening here is that the Start menu search in Windows 11 no longer treats typed paths like C:\ as commands; it now interprets them as plain text, which is why you only see web results. This behavior started after recent updates and can be made worse by mixed language settings. First, try using Win + R to open paths as a quick workaround.

Next, check that English (US) is fully set as your display language and remove any unused languages. If that doesn’t help, you can re-register the Start menu and Search components using PowerShell commands, then restart Explorer. I can share a ready-to-run script for that if you’d like.

Can you confirm if your system is fully updated and whether the issue happens for all paths or just specific folders?

Regards,

Rez

MrStavro 0 Reputation points

2025-12-01T15:15:49.93+00:00

Hello Rez, yes, the system is fully updated, checked 10 minutes ago.
English US is fully set as the display language and the only paths that do work are the % ones, such as %localappdata% or %temp%.
I already did register the search again, but you can send me the script if you'd be so kind, maybe I got something wrong.

Share via

Windows Search no longer recognizes paths like C:\ or C:\folder as commands

3 answers

Your answer