Windows 10 Search not working

Question

This is probably going to get marked as a duplicate because there are similarities. Please give this a full read before marking it as so.

I am running Windows 10 education 64 bit x64 based processor.
OS verison 10.0.14393 Build 14393

The problem

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The Search bar doesn't take full input. For example when I click it, the search screen opens. After that I am able to input 2 sometimes 3 or 4 characters. However 4 is the max and that is not consistent. Once those characters are entered the process freezes, and doesn't allow me to type anything else. Eventually it closes on it's own or it allows me to click out of it to close it.

My attempts

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Rebooting: Naturally this was my first approach and that yielded no change

Stopping and restarting search: Tried that as well, no change

Setting search to autostart in services.msc: Tried that as well, no change and the process was already set to autostart

Rebuild indexing: Did this, and ran the troubleshooter, no issues found, no change

Making a new user account and testing: Did this and it works fine on that account doesn't fix my current account. If I copy the data from my current account to the new one and then try to open it I get the We can't sign into your account so this doesn't work either

My next attempt

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After posting my issue in here, the next thing I will do is try to copy all of my data to the new account and see if that fixes my problem. Given the trend here it probably won't but that's my next step.

This attempt also failed the second account gets instantly locked and I am given the We can't sign into your account message.

The question

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Is there any actual fix for this problem? What else can I possibly do?

Answer 1

Your troubleshooting procedures were quite thorough and methodical. It sounds like something became corrupt within your Windows user profile. On the rare occasions when that happens, there really isn't too much you can do about it.

I would proceed with copying your pertinent data files/folders to the new local account and testing it for a while. Personally, I always copy the contents within the pertinent user folders (Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Favorites, Music, Pictures, and Videos) from the source to the destination. I open two File Explorer windows and copy what is inside the source Desktop folder to the destination Desktop folder, then copy the original Documents folder contents into the target Documents directory, etc.

If all goes well and it remains stable for a few days, delete the problematic profile and if desired, covert your new account profile over to your Microsoft account:

1. Open Settings by pressing + I
2. Select the Accounts icon

3. In the subsequent window, select Sign in with a Microsoft account instead

   

4. In the ensuing window, type in the current password of your local account and select Next

5. Type in the email address and password of your Microsoft account and select Next
6. Select how you would like to get your security code for verification and select Next
7. Enter the code you received accordingly and select Next

8. At the final screen select Switch to complete the process

   

(Source: How to Switch to a Microsoft Account from a Local Account in Windows 10)