Windows search bar not functioning

Question

The search bar is showing a magnifying glass which i have set to search box and won't change and when I click on the magnifying glass it will not open a search. This happened after I created a new profile and transferred my old files to the new profile. All is working properly but I seem to be missing the search.exe.

Answer 1

Hi. I'm David, and I'm happy to help you.

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Please clarify the following:

What is the version and "OS Build" of your Windows 11?

• Press "Windows + R", type winver, and click OK.

If you prefer, share a screenshot. Use the shortcut "Windows + Shift + S" to use the screenshot tool.

Be sure to censor your email address if it appears. The Microsoft Q&A is public.

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Looking forward to your reply.

Answer 2

Could you tell me how to delete the %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.Search_cw5n1h2txyewy folder and where I go to do that.

Answer 3

The issue is likely with the Windows Search component and its profile data, not a missing search.exe file. Regenerating the Search app’s data and registry for the affected profile is the supported fix.

Follow these steps for the broken profile (Windows 10/11):

1. Sign in with another local/admin account (or use Windows Recovery Environment) so the affected profile is not in use.
2. In File Explorer, go to the affected user’s profile folder and delete the Search app data folder:
   • For Windows 10:
     • Delete: %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.Search_cw5n1h2txyewy
   • For Windows 11:
     • Delete: %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Packages\MicrosoftWindows.Client.CBS_cw5n1h2txyewy
   • On some earlier builds, this folder may be named Microsoft.Windows.Cortana_cw5n1h2txyewy.
3. Sign in to the affected account.
4. Open Registry Editor and navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search Delete the Search key.
5. Open an elevated PowerShell window and re-register the Search app package for the OS version:
   • Windows 10:

          Add-AppxPackage -Path "C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.Search_cw5n1h2txyewy\Appxmanifest.xml" -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register
     

   • Windows 11:

          Add-AppxPackage -Path "C:\Windows\SystemApps\MicrosoftWindows.Client.CBS_cw5n1h2txyewy\Appxmanifest.xml" -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register
     

6. Restart the computer and test the taskbar search again. This restarts indexing and recreates the Search registry key and AppData folder for the profile, which should restore the search box/magnifying glass behavior.

If Search still fails, create a brand-new local profile, confirm Search works there, and compare, but in most cases regenerating the Search package data resolves profile-specific search bar failures.

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References:

• Fix problems in Windows Search
• Find what you need with Microsoft Search