Windows 11 task search bar not working right.

Question

I made the upgrade to windows 11. And now lots of stuff dont seem to be working. A good example is I cant get to my "my pc" by typing in the search bar. I have tried
My pc
Computer
My computer
Pc

None of these work and wont bring up what I want
Stuff like "Downloads" Also wont bring up this option. How do I fix this? Did my download corrupt?

Answer 1

Hi,

To fix the issue, I suggest that you try the following:

Restart explorer.exe

On your keyboard, press Ctrl + Shift + Esc.

Go to the Details tab.

Scroll down and find explorer.exe.

Right-click on it and select End task.

In the menu bar, click File.

Click Run new task.

Type explorer.exe and press Enter.

Re-register all Windows apps

1. On your keyboard, press Ctrl + Shift + Esc
2. Click on File and choose "Run new task"
3. Type: powershell. Make sure to put a check on the "Create this task with administrative privileges" box
4. Copy and paste the command below then press Enter.

Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}

Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.Windows.ShellExperienceHost | foreach {Add-AppxPackage -register "$($_.InstallLocation)\appxmanifest.xml" -DisableDevelopmentMode}

Note: Please ignore any red errors and tet the process complete and then restart your PC.

Run SFC and DISM to fix corrupted system files.

https://support.microsoft.com/windows/using-system-file-checker-in-windows-365e0031-36b1-6031-f804-8fd86e0ef4ca

Restart your computer.

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If that fails, the next step is to try System Recovery without deleting your files and apps.

Click the Start menu > Settings > System > Recovery.

Choose Reinstall Now under the section labeled 'Fix problems using Windows Update.'

Once completed, your system will restart. Please check afterward.

Answer 2

Typing names like “My PC” or “My Computer” in Windows 11 Search will not open File Explorer by default because those legacy names are no longer used. Use the supported names and, if search is misbehaving more broadly, repair Windows Search.

1. To open “This PC” (your drives and main folders):
   • Press Windows key + E to open File Explorer directly, or
   • Open File Explorer and in the left pane select This PC.
   • In Search on the taskbar, type This PC (not “My PC” or “My Computer”) and select the This PC app result.
2. To open Downloads and other folders via Search:
   • Select Search on the taskbar and type Downloads.
   • In Windows 11, search results show files and folders from across the PC and OneDrive. To narrow to documents, use the Documents tab; for folders like Downloads, look under Best match or Folders.
   • You can also open File Explorer and select Downloads directly in the left navigation.
3. If search is not finding obvious items (like Downloads, apps, or documents):
   • Use the Search troubleshooter:
     1. Right-click Start > Settings.
     2. Go to Privacy & security > Search (or select the Searching Windows button if shown).
     3. Under Related settings, select Advanced indexing options.
     4. In Indexing Options, select Advanced.
     5. Under Index Settings, select Troubleshoot search and indexing and follow the wizard.
   • If search is still unresponsive or results are wrong, restart Windows Search-related services as described in the Windows Search troubleshooting article (for example, restart Windows Font Cache Service) and make sure Windows is fully updated.

These steps address a misconfigured or partially broken search index rather than a corrupt Windows installation.

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References:

• Find lost files after upgrading Windows
• Find your files and apps in Windows
• Fix problems in Windows Search
• Customize the Taskbar in Windows
• Troubleshoot problems updating Windows