Windows Search and Indexing Broken

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  1. Posts : 42,634
    Win 10 Pro (22H2) (2nd PC is 22H2)
       #11

    Ok, I think you have some significant permissions issues to sort out.. hmm, could be tricky!
    Mine's a clean single user Win 10 install

    Suggest before changing anything you make a disk image so you can restore it if things get sticky.
    Aomei Backupper or Macrium reflect (free versions) + boot disk - don't forget to create it- plus external backup medium
      My Computers


  2. Posts : 28
    WIndows 10
    Thread Starter
       #12

    What do I have to do? Do I have to remove all Account Unknown users?
    When I try to apply the permissions for Administrator I get permission denied from Windows, Users, Program Files, Program Files (x86), pagefile.sys, Intel, $Recycle.bin, bootmgr, BOOTNXT, Config.msi etc.
    Is there a way to add Administrator and permissions in cmd from live boot while Windows is not running?

    Is it a good idea if I do a repair install of Windows? Would anything change?
      My Computers


  3. Posts : 42,634
    Win 10 Pro (22H2) (2nd PC is 22H2)
       #13

    I'm afraid I can't advise further on that.. clearly you can do what you can to make permissions match a good system, and you need to remove extraneous groups and user names. However, you then have the question of inherited permissions, and whether all the changes you might need to make will leave you with a useful bootable system.

    Perhaps someone who has more experience of this might be able to help, but realistically, I'd think you'd need to do a clean install.

    There are articles which try to address this to some extent, but there's absolutely no guarantee any one of them will specifically or completely resolve what you have, so I can't direct you to one.

    Example only:
    How to restore Default Security Permissions - Microsoft Community

    - and bear in mind that's Win 7, so you will be further limited on what might be available or applicable to Win 10.

    Have you created a disk image before hacking it? ... beware...!

    Two tools come to mind:
    subinacl.exe (you'll need to research it)
    and Tweaking.com's repair tool, which does have some repairs related to permissions, but may not be adequate for your case.
      My Computers


  4. Posts : 28
    WIndows 10
    Thread Starter
       #14

    Actually I managed to fix the indexing problem, but I got even major problem.

    I did something very stupid. I tried to add Administrator by hand and apply to all subfolders and files. Then stopped it halfway. That was my mistake.

    Then I found a free software called Permissions Time Machine. It's a great program that fixes permissions. There is an option to restore the default permissions. I chose to fix permissions for the whole drive c: It took me 10 hours.

    Windows Search and Indexing Broken-permissions.png

    As a result the permissions were fixed. Indexing was working. But because of my mistake earlier my start menu and cortana got ruined. They didn't work any more. I tried some solutions like fully reinstall windows apps through powershell and in the end lost them all. So I did a clean install of Windows.
      My Computers


  5. Posts : 42,634
    Win 10 Pro (22H2) (2nd PC is 22H2)
       #15

    Interesting find.. you've done the right thing, although you've inevitably some reinstalling/configuring to do.

    Little point proceeding with a damaged OS.
      My Computers


  6. Posts : 1
    Win 10
       #16

    microsoft outlook searching simply does not work.


    You can forget it. Outlook searching simply does not work. it does not work on my HP workstation, my HP laptop, my macPro, my Ipad.

    Try logging into exchange from webmail, then you won't have a problem

    zdzdz said:
    After upgrading to TH2 I had an issue with windows search. The service wouldn't start at all.

    I managed to run the Windows Search service.
    I had to delete the Key RebuildIndex and change value of key SetupCompletedSuccessfully to 1.

    Attachment 57258

    Now that the search service works I have another problem. The indexing is not working:

    Attachment 57259

    In Advanced options the Index Location is blank and the button Select New is grayed out.

    Attachment 57260

    When I run the troubleshooter I get : Incorrect permissions on Windows Search directories -- Not fixed

    Attachment 57261

    The owner of folders C:\Program Data\Microsoft\Search and C:\Program Data\Microsoft\Search\Data is SYSTEM. Administrator and my user name are added with Full Control.
    What could be the problem?
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 165
    Windows 10 Version 1511 (10586.164)
       #17

    I just wanted to report that I spent a few weeks trying to get 'Windows Search' to run. I had the 'Error: 3' issue. I did an in place Windows restore of Windows 10 Pro and that did not solve the issue. DISM and SFC reported no problems. I then found this post and did the following.

    I managed to run the Windows Search service.

    I had to delete the Key RebuildIndex and change
    value of key SetupCompletedSuccessfully to 1.

    That allowed the service to start but now I had the problem of 'Indxing Options' being missing from 'Control Panel.' So, I performed the following than rebooted. It solved my problem.

    Disable and re-enable the feature through dism.
    dism /Online /Disable-Feature /FeatureName:"SearchEngine-Client-Package"
    dism /Online /Enable-Feature /FeatureName:"SearchEngine-Client-Package"
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 1
    Windows 10
       #18

    Although I noticed this is an old thread, this issue is everywhere on the internet. Search in Outlook gets broken, all that is written in this discussion is occurring now, everywhere. I too went insane looking for a solution, and this thread helped me.

    Therefore I decided to replay anyway. The "Permissions Timeline Machine Lite" finally fixed the Outlook Search issues for me. I kept getting "Incorrect permissions on Windows search directories" error and after I have copied the Admin rights to my own user account using the Permissions Time Machine application it worked again! Finally!

    I thank you all and I have made an account just to let you know!


    zdzdz said:
    Actually I managed to fix the indexing problem, but I got even major problem.

    I did something very stupid. I tried to add Administrator by hand and apply to all subfolders and files. Then stopped it halfway. That was my mistake.

    Then I found a free software called Permissions Time Machine. It's a great program that fixes permissions. There is an option to restore the default permissions. I chose to fix permissions for the whole drive c: It took me 10 hours.

    Windows Search and Indexing Broken-permissions.png

    As a result the permissions were fixed. Indexing was working. But because of my mistake earlier my start menu and cortana got ruined. They didn't work any more. I tried some solutions like fully reinstall windows apps through powershell and in the end lost them all. So I did a clean install of Windows.
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 42,634
    Win 10 Pro (22H2) (2nd PC is 22H2)
       #19

    The links above to permissions time machine don't seem valid.

    Here's one:
    Download Permissions Time Machine Lite - MajorGeeks
      My Computers


 

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