Windows 10 Search | Microsoft is playing with the search box REDUX

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I have two systems, side by side – both running the latest, fully patched versions of Win10 1909 x64 (including this week’s patches) and Office 365.

Yesterday, when clicking on the search box on one system – instead of the normal search options coming up, it was a ‘blank’ window with a progress circle and text along the lines of, ‘Taking too long to load.” And, no way to search!

Fortunately, I closed the search box, and re-opened and was able to immediately search, but found the search box to be a ‘historic’ version (a ‘2019’ build) of the search box (no pandemic update box, etc.)! Rebooting the computer got me back to a 2020 build (2020.05.13.6244575) – which in the past 2 minutes has been updated to 2020.05.13.6244608.

On the other computer, no such behavior, but the update to version 2020. … 608 took place upon reboot this morning  (or last night, cannot be certain). And, on the second system, the search box text now reads ‘Search for anything’ instead of the default ‘Type here to search.’

And on the first system that just updated to ‘608,’ moments ago, the search box text changed – before my eyes! – from ‘Type here to search’ to ‘Start a search.’

What the what?

Argh.

Anyone else seeing strange behavior with the Win10 search box again. I would have thought after the almost killed the search box a few months ago, MS would have learned their lesson.

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There have been reports of MS messing with (updating) the searchbox/toolbar in the background without going through Windows Update. If you search this site, there was a big topic about it in the last three months or so.

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Yes, I was the one who originally posted about the issue about four months ago! Since that ‘outbreak,’ things have been quiet on this front – until yesterday. So, it looks like Microsoft is pushing out strange/unnecessary changes once again.

On the one hand, this is a pretty minor issue. Except that …

1. It has already been shown that these changes can actually break search functionality (why is local search tied to whether or not the ‘search box’ can reach the mothership?), and
2. The text in the search box is, again, not really at issue. But I honestly don’t like that two nearly identical installs of Win10 have two different text strings displaying and I have no control over it. It’s like a subtle reminder that MS owns Windows, and can make changes without our knowledge or permission that impact our end-user experience.

I’m hoping we can get some kind of explanation as to why this background meddling is warranted, and/or at least give end-users some control so there are not just random changes.

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There’s a lot of talk about Explorer Search being broken in Win10 version 2004. I haven’t heard anything about Windows Search, but they’re related.

Remember that the Search box functions independently – as PKCano says, the behavior changes without any Windows updates being applied.

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Does File Explorer search in 1909/2004 automatically connect to MS, or is there a way to do a local search only?

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anonymous wrote:

Does File Explorer search in 1909/2004 automatically connect to MS, or is there a way to do a local search only?

File Explorer search is local only unless you click “Search again in … Internet” on the ribbon.

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[DriftyDonN]

Well, I need some clarification. One of the 1st things I did when getting win10 was disable cortana(maybe its just hidden?) and lose that “box” next to the start button. Now I don’t recall but perhaps they both disappeared at the same time BUT I use file explorer a lot and therefore search to me is usually from within that. I also use open shell so I sometimes use the search or run box there. So my ? is which search box has all the hub bub been about? I have had no issues with any of them…aside from long searches sometimes because I disabled Indexing too.

Ask.com is a good search starting point too but I’m sure you aren’t talking about that!

So, search box search bar, search box,Windows search or File search ?

win10 pro ver 1909 build 183.63.778

{I stay current when Woody says def con 3- go fer it!}

Perpetually confused,

DriftyDonN

• This reply was modified 4 years, 11 months ago by DriftyDonN.

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[DriftyDonN]

It appears cabin fever is active. ….

Windows Explorer has been renamed File explorer so that narrows it down a bit. The box I referred to as a search/run box looks in INDEXED locations only it seems and is /was? controlled by Cortana. Since I nixed Cortana via registry some time ago ( I may have used a 3rd party util, or the Group Policy editor with hand holding directions) the search/run box is very likely NOT the search box you all are referring to. This leaves Search in FILE EXPLORER.

Mine has never had an issue from ver 1803 to present=ver1909 version bld 18363.778…I checked when the issue first arose(from File Explorer) and since I had no problems but I sure saw a lot of folks saying they did. I thought maybe you (as experts) were using a different search function than I do. Hence my confusion

 

Answered my own ? but thanks for the time y’all.   BTW….

• This reply was modified 4 years, 11 months ago by DriftyDonN.
• This reply was modified 4 years, 11 months ago by DriftyDonN.

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Just to add to the telemetry (since I started this thread) …

I do not have any issues searching from the search box or from Explorer windows. Everything seems to be working as it should.

My ‘issue’ was that the search box itself was being messed with actively again by MS in the background. That is disruptive and disconcerting enough. Functionally, except for the 30 secs  when the search box (again) disappeared, I have not had any issues.

3 users thanked author for this post.

Elly, PKCano, b

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howardagoldberg wrote:

Fortunately, I closed the search box, and re-opened and was able to immediately search, but found the search box to be a ‘historic’ version (a ‘2019’ build) of the search box (no pandemic update box, etc.)!

/facepalm

There’s a pandemic update box, as part of the OS?

 

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