Some installed apps don't show in search for Win10

I re-installed Windows about 2 weeks ago and have been having this issue since then. Some apps show up when I search for them in the win10 start menu. Some apps don't. I have Program Files and Program Files (x86) selected under Indexing Options from Control Panel. Index is fully completed.

Examples of apps that don't show up:
- Virtualbox
- Plex
- League of Legends
- Battle.net launcher
- Overwatch
- Origin

Apps that do show up:
- Chrome
- Steam
- Malwarebytes
- 7zip

I tried re-indexing last night. It did not solve the problem.

Does anyone have a solution?

dalchina said:

Hi, I can't give you an immediate solution.
Do the programs you can't find by searching actually appear when you view the start menu?
Are their shortcuts present in
C:\Users\<your user id>\AppData\Roaming
or
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu
?

Is there a difference if you install a program just for you as the user, compared with for all users?

See e.g. these threads for ideas:
&quot;All Apps&quot; Doesn't Show All Apps Installed
installed program not showing in start menu
Start menu search not finding applications?

Some programs in AppData\Roaming do not show up in the search menu. For example, Discord, is in Roaming, but does not show up when I search for it. Many apps that I have installed are also not in Roaming.

Same goes for \Start Menu. Lots of apps listed, some show up in search, some do not.

All applications were installed on my main account. The second account was not created until very recently. I'll look through the threads you listed now.

The following solution has worked for me. Actually it' s the only one that did the magic.

Just completely delete the following Cortana directory and let Windows rebuild it:
C:\Users\[Your User Name]\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.Cortana_cw5n1h2txyewy

To do so:
1. Start Windows in "Troubleshoot" mode, "Advanced Options" and choose "Command Prompt"

At the prompt type:
2. rd C:\Users\[Your User Name]\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.Cortana_cw5n1h2txyewy /s
It will remove the directory including subdirs.

I suggest you prepare a cmd file with this line in it, after replacing [Your User Name] by... well, your user name:)

3. Restart Windows.

On restart, Windows will take some time to boot as it will recreate, reset and repair all the search mechanism. This will also purge annoying leftovers i.e. ghost-links of long time uninstalled programs.

Enjoy!
Bob

RobertJay said:

The following solution has worked for me. Actually it' s the only one that did the magic.

Just completely delete the following Cortana directory and let Windows rebuild it:
C:\Users\[Your User Name]\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.Cortana_cw5n1h2txyewy

To do so:
1. Start Windows in "Troubleshoot" mode, "Advanced Options" and choose "Command Prompt"

At the prompt type:
2. rd C:\Users\[Your User Name]\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.Cortana_cw5n1h2txyewy /s
It will remove the directory including subdirs.

I suggest you prepare a cmd file with this line in it, after replacing [Your User Name] by... well, your user name:)

3. Restart Windows.

On restart, Windows will take some time to boot as it will recreate, reset and repair all the search mechanism. This will also purge annoying leftovers i.e. ghost-links of long time uninstalled programs.

Enjoy!
Bob

Well Bob. I tried reinstalling Cortana and some other things to no avail, but this actually worked. Thanks :)

3 years later - it still works like this.
Update:
The directory was renamed by Microsoft, so the path is now
C:\Users\[Your User Name]\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.Search_cw5n1h2txyewy

Made an account just to say THANK YOU!!! Worked for me as of today. Had to do some extra steps though:

To get into "Troubleshoot Mode" on windows 10, simply hold shift and while holding, restart your computer from the start menu

Once you're in your cmd from troubleshoot mode, you may notice your letter drive has changed. Here's a link to help you locate the POTENTIALLY re-assigned letter drive, so that you can find your C: again. (Note: for me, my C: was re-assigned to D:, simply because of how the boot session works I guess)
windows 7 - Access entire C drive from X source boot? - Super User

Thank you!

Nice to read from you Superkimchi. Glad I could help :)

All the best!

Thanks a lot for the tip !
I did same as superkimchi, created an account just to say thank you. I would have saved a lot of time if I found this post in first place, hope it might help some other people, definitely a great thing to try.

Ademine said:

Thanks a lot for the tip !
I did same as superkimchi, created an account just to say thank you. I would have saved a lot of time if I found this post in first place, hope it might help some other people, definitely a great thing to try.

Glad I could help !