Windows Search Can’t Find any Applications

Problem: After I upgraded to Windows 10, from sometime after some update got installed recently on my PC, the Cortana’s search function fails to find any application in the system – even the Notepad or Calculator.

Solution: This problem basically arises in the Windows 10 update, but the current update (Threshold 2) will supposedly remove it. Till the update rolls out for everyone, you can follow the process below to solve the issue:

1. Click Ctrl+Alt+Del and choose ‘Task Manager’
2. Kill the process ‘Explorer.exe’
3. Press Win+R to open the Run dialog
4. Type “regedit” and press Enter
5. In registry editor, delete the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FolderTypes\{ef87b4cb-f2ce-4785-8658-4ca6c63e38c6}\TopViews\{00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}

6. In the Task Manager, go to File -> Run new task
7. Type in “explorer.exe” and press OK

If the problem still occurs in Cortana, then please do these:

1. Press Win+X and choose ‘Command Prompt (Admin)’
2. Type “start powershell” and hit Enter
3. Run the following command there:

Get-AppXPackage -Name Microsoft.Windows.Cortana | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml”}

4. The problem will be fixed within sometime – try searching now

While you are here, you should also consider disabling Cortana on Windows 10. It’s not that useful, consumes a lot of battery, and causes many problems such as the one we discussed above. I do this as soon as I get a new PC and you might also benefit from the same.