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I cannot use my Outlook 2021 search engine as I always get an error message. I have tried to repair Office online but it never completes the repair. I have tried to uninstall Office 2021 Pro and reinstall it but I have the same problem that Office doesn't finish re-installing itself. I have run the DSIM tool but that didn't work.
The Office version is: Office Pro Plus and I have a similar problem on my notebook, which has Office Home and Business 2021.
The repair an Office application tool did not work as it didn't cover the 2021 version!
The openspec-* tags are dedicated to supporting issues related to open specifications. You can find open specifications here https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/openspecs/. Since your question does not pertain to one of these specifications, I've removed the openspecs tag and added the office-itpro tag. Hopefully this will get your post the proper attention.
Jeff McCashland
Microsoft Open Specifications
Hi @Richard Partridge ,
Have you verified that the Windows Search service is running?
Open the Start Menu, type services.msc in the search bar and press Enter.
Scroll down and select Windows Search.
Yes, I did that months ago and have checked it from time to time and it is always enabled.
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Hi @Richard Partridge ,
Welcome to our forum!
I cannot use my Outlook 2021 search engine as I always get an error message.
What exact error did you get? If possible, please provide the screenshot about the error for our better research. (In order to avoid the disclosure of your privacy, please remember to hide your personal information).
And do other users in your organization encounter the same issue?
As I know, there are many factors that cause the search to fail. Please refer to this article and find the corresponding troubleshooting according to your error: Troubleshooting Outlook search issues.
Hope to help you!
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Hi Christy,
Murphy's law, the search engine is working for the time being, so I can't give you a screen shot of the error message but this will change if I restart my PC. However, I do still get a message at the top of the search results, which is: "Something went wrong and your search couldn't be completed". Yet there are results under this message!
When I tried to use the Office uninstall support tool it couldn't complete the process as it asked for the version of my Office but in the drop down menu there was no Office Pro Plus 2021 option, so I cancelled the uninstalling tool.
All other Office apps are working fine.
I noticed the other day that a Windows update won't install and this may have something to do with the problem. The update is: 2022-10 Cumulative Update for Windows 11 for x64-based Systems (KB5018418) and the error message is: Install error - 0x800f0831.
Regards,
Richard.
Hi @Richard Partridge ,
Thanks for your reply!
Can you search successfully on web mail?
If so, in order to further confirm if the issue is related to windows Search, please try to disable Windows Desktop Search Service for Outlook and check if there're any differences:
If the issue disappears after that, please try to rebuild search index:
On the other hand, i noticed that you have tried to uninstall Office 2021 with uninstall support tool, it's suggested that you could try to uninstall office 2021 from control panel.
In addition, i noticed that you have encountered a windows update issue, please kindly understand that in our forum, a thread is only used to discuss an issue. In this regard, please post a new thread and add the corresponding tag to get professional advice.
I think the problem maybe as a result of the Windows update that fails to install. Here is a screen shot after I tried again to install it again.
I have tried all the suggestions, so I decided to try re-installing Windows in repair mode but when I tried to install the 2022-10 Cumulative Update for Windows 11 for x64-based Systems (KB5018418) update it failed again. Now there is another update that also failed to install! Please see screen shot.
Hi @Richard Partridge ,
Do you mean that you have confirmed that the issue is related to windows Search?