Windows Search does not show installed applications, only web results or unrelated file types appear

Question

Windows Search does not show installed applications, only web results or unrelated file types appear and certain apps like Discord, NVIDIA App fail to open when launched — no error message, no crash dialog, nothing visible happens.

Affects all Windows user profiles on this PC, not just one

Steps already taken :

1. 1. SFC /scannow and DISM RestoreHealth — no corruption found/fixed
   2. WebView2 runtime reinstall
   3. WMI repository verification — confirmed consistent, not corrupted
   4. Checked GPU drivers, dxdiag, disabled GPU rendering for Discord — no GPU issues found
   5. Confirmed no third-party antivirus or "PC cleaner" software installed
   6. Checked Reliability Monitor — no crash entries logged for the affected apps
   7. Reviewed Event Viewer (Application log) — no errors tied to Discord or NVIDIA App launch attempts
   8. Rebuilt Windows Search index (Indexing Options > Advanced > Rebuild) — Start Menu and Users folder were already correctly included
   9. Re-registered all installed AppX packages via PowerShell (Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -Register...}) — no change
   10. Full in-place Windows repair install via Windows 11 ISO (Setup.exe, "Keep personal files and apps") — issue persisted afterward

and even did a full OS repair install and that also didnt fixed these issues.

It's been like this for some months now.

Answer 1

Hi Gagandeep Singh,

Based on the troubleshooting completed so far, this no longer appears to be a typical Windows Search indexing issue. The combination of Start Menu/Search failing to return installed applications, Discord and NVIDIA App not launching without any error messages, and the fact that the behavior is consistent across all user profiles suggests a deeper issue with Windows application registration, the app repository, or underlying operating system components rather than search indexing itself.

Since the issue affects all user profiles and persists even after an in-place repair installation, the operating system may have underlying corruption that cannot be fully resolved through standard repair methods. At this point, I recommend backing up all important data and performing a clean installation of Windows. This will provide a fresh operating system environment and is the most reliable next step to restore normal functionality.

Disclaimer: At this point, we have exhausted all troubleshooting and I recommend that we try to perform a clean install to get your computer back into a working condition. Please ensure that you backup any important data, including Documents, Pictures, Videos, and more. Windows 11 Clean Installation Process

If you have further information, please feel free to let me know.