Raphire
Windows search in Start Menu no longer working after running script
Checklist
- [x] I have searched for existing issues/discussions and didn't find any similar ones.
- [x] I haven't used any other scripts, tools or programs that might have caused this issue.
Windows version
Windows 11
Script mode/options
Custom
Describe the issue
Issue as described in description. Also, after startup, an error appears saying that a program cannot be run due to permission issues - it is not possible to ascertain what the program is due to the complete file path not being displayed on the error message
Steps to reproduce
.
Error output
.
Additional context
No response
Heya,
You can re-enable bing search to see if this fixes the issue you described. See here for instructions: https://github.com/Raphire/Win11Debloat/wiki/Reverting-Changes#re-enable-bing-web-search
Do you maybe have a screenshot of the error you mentioned?
Thanks....but [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer] - such an address does not exist on my machine. Win11Debloat > Regfiles > Undo - where is this to be found?
On Thu, 16 Oct 2025 at 18:34, Jeffrey @.***> wrote:
Raphire left a comment (Raphire/Win11Debloat#361) https://github.com/Raphire/Win11Debloat/issues/361#issuecomment-3412006536
Heya,
You can re-enable bing search to see if this fixes the issue you described. See here for instructions: https://github.com/Raphire/Win11Debloat/wiki/Reverting-Changes#re-enable-bing-web-search
Do you maybe have a screenshot of the error you mentioned?
— Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/Raphire/Win11Debloat/issues/361#issuecomment-3412006536, or unsubscribe https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/BY34XNKZFAZGHWWD3K757ID3X7JMDAVCNFSM6AAAAACJMS4XFSVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMZTIMJSGAYDMNJTGY . You are receiving this because you authored the thread.Message ID: @.***>
Thanks....but [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer] - such an address does not exist on my machine. Win11Debloat > Regfiles > Undo - where is this to be found? …
@Skylanderlad That's inside the script folder. You can also download it here: https://github.com/Raphire/Win11Debloat/blob/master/Regfiles/Undo/Enable_Bing_Cortana_In_Search.reg
Look for a small download icon:
Ok, I've downloaded and installed the registry entry as well as reinstalling Bing search and still no joy. By the way, the error message I previously mentioned that comes on starting windows is attached as a png
On Mon, 20 Oct 2025 at 19:39, Jeffrey @.***> wrote:
Raphire left a comment (Raphire/Win11Debloat#361) https://github.com/Raphire/Win11Debloat/issues/361#issuecomment-3423307859
Thanks....but [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer] - such an address does not exist on my machine. Win11Debloat > Regfiles > Undo - where is this to be found? … <#m_4828711863998557245_>
@Skylanderlad https://github.com/Skylanderlad That's inside the script folder. You can also download it here: https://github.com/Raphire/Win11Debloat/blob/master/Regfiles/Undo/Enable_Bing_Cortana_In_Search.reg
Look for a small download icon: image.png (view on web) https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/d0ca8470-bbb1-45ff-8150-f097470660b3
— Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/Raphire/Win11Debloat/issues/361#issuecomment-3423307859, or unsubscribe https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/BY34XNKPTI62CD4WVS4IP2L3YUT7LAVCNFSM6AAAAACJMS4XFSVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMZTIMRTGMYDOOBVHE . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: @.***>
@Raphire Sorry, I just replied to the email and added as an attachment - that mustn't have worked - I'll upload it here.
clean your intel by DDU (https://www.wagnardsoft.com/display-driver-uninstaller-ddu) and load new one from here https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/intel-driver-support-assistant.html
I guess you remove winapp related to intel
if not work next try this on shell admin Get-AppXPackage -allusers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}
clean your intel by DDU (https://www.wagnardsoft.com/display-driver-uninstaller-ddu) and load new one from here https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/intel-driver-support-assistant.html
Thanks, but other than the error message on windows, I don't notice any other issues with this - I'm reluctant to mess with things any further unless I know it will work. Plus, I am not sure this will help with getting the search on start menu working again? - which is my main issue
@Skylanderlad Those errors are very strange, from what I can find online it seems to be related to some kind of file corruption/permission issue. It's likely that any time Windows Search is trying to access them, but for whatever reason the permissions are messed up. I'm not sure how this could've been caused by Win11Debloat, as the programs mentioned are not touched by the script. Did you use any other tools or programs, or did you recently update windows by any chance?
In any case, we can try using some of Windows' built-in tools to fix the issue.
Check for corrupt system files
- Open Command Prompt as administrator. (Important)
- Copy & paste the command below, and hit Enter.
sfc /scannow
- Wait for the tool to find/fix any corrupt system files.
Fix Windows image issues
- Open Command Prompt as administrator. (Important)
- Copy & paste the command below, and hit Enter.
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
- Wait for the tool to find any issues. This can take a minute or two.
- If any issues are detected. Copy & paste the command below, and hit Enter.
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
- Wait for the tool to fix the issues.
Please report back if any of these tools find any issues.
If the issue is not resolved after trying these tools. You can try an in-place upgrade. This won't affect your files or apps. You can find a detailed guide here.
@Skylanderlad Heya, do you have any updates on your issue? Please check out my previous response if you haven't already.
@Skylanderlad Heya, do you have any updates on your issue? Please check out my previous response if you haven't already.
Hi, I just saw your last message now - didn't get a notification for it for whatever reason. I'll try the scans tomorrow and get back to you. Thanks.
@Raphire Sorry, I was ill for the last week. So, I ran the scan command and got "the component store is repairable", after which I ran the repair command which was successful but that has all made no difference - the errors remain.
I have already done an in-place upgrade (or what I call a repair install - assuming we are talking about the same thing - essentially reinstallling Windows whilst keeping apps and settings). That made no difference either.
I think I can help with this issue. I have used the debloat (thank you, it's great) on several PC's and I usually pick all the same options. No issues. However, on 2 PC's I decided to also remove MS Edge. Those 2 PC's now have the start menu search issue. When you type anything in there, it just does the busy animation and never stops; no results.
I have since tried to fix it with your suggestions here, and no luck. I also tried some other suggestion I found, like rebuilding the search index for the start menu. No luck. I even reinstalled Edge with winget, and no luck. I have done Windows updates on them also, and not sure if that caused the issue.
I am willing to try anything on these 2 PC's with the issue. Let me know how I can help. Thanks.
I think I can help with this issue. I have used the debloat (thank you, it's great) on several PC's and I usually pick all the same options. No issues. However, on 2 PC's I decided to also remove MS Edge. Those 2 PC's now have the start menu search issue. When you type anything in there, it just does the busy animation and never stops; no results.
I have since tried to fix it with your suggestions here, and no luck. I also tried some other suggestion I found, like rebuilding the search index for the start menu. No luck. I even reinstalled Edge with winget, and no luck. I have done Windows updates on them also, and not sure if that caused the issue.
I am willing to try anything on these 2 PC's with the issue. Let me know how I can help. Thanks.
@sereeds This does seem like a different issue. Do you know if you've disabled web search as part of the script?
@Raphire Yes, I definitely disabled web search on all of the PC's. I ran the "Enable_Bing_Cortana_In_Search.reg", rebooted.. and still have the start menu search issue.
UPDATE: So I did the "Repair Install Windows 11 using Windows Update" method. The start menu problem went away. I then ran the debloat again, picked my usual options, including removing web search from start menu, removed Edge too. And problem has not returned.
I wonder if the problem was created by doing a debloat first, then a major Windows update, like the 24H2 or whatever, after debloat. Not sure, just guessing why these 2 PC's had the issue but not others I did.. maybe others were already at latest Windows version.
@Raphire Yes, I definitely disabled web search on all of the PC's. I ran the "Enable_Bing_Cortana_In_Search.reg", rebooted.. and still have the start menu search issue.
UPDATE: So I did the "Repair Install Windows 11 using Windows Update" method. The start menu problem went away. I then ran the debloat again, picked my usual options, including removing web search from start menu, removed Edge too. And problem has not returned.
I wonder if the problem was created by doing a debloat first, then a major Windows update, like the 24H2 or whatever, after debloat. Not sure, just guessing why these 2 PC's had the issue but not others I did.. maybe others were already at latest Windows version.
Thanks for the update and sharing your solution, glad you managed to fix it.
I have been trying to reproduce this to no avail so far. I do remember encountering this a long while ago, but I haven't been able to find what exactly causes it.
It does seem like one of those weird Windows things like what you mentioned, hard to say for now. I'll leave this issue open to see if anybody has anything to add, but it is looking like a Windows issue that's not necessarily fixable on our end.
@Raphire Yes, I definitely disabled web search on all of the PC's. I ran the "Enable_Bing_Cortana_In_Search.reg", rebooted.. and still have the start menu search issue.
UPDATE: So I did the "Repair Install Windows 11 using Windows Update" method. The start menu problem went away. I then ran the debloat again, picked my usual options, including removing web search from start menu, removed Edge too. And problem has not returned.
I wonder if the problem was created by doing a debloat first, then a major Windows update, like the 24H2 or whatever, after debloat. Not sure, just guessing why these 2 PC's had the issue but not others I did.. maybe others were already at latest Windows version.
@sereeds I did Windows repair install via windows update about a week after the start menu issue began and it didn't sort it for me, unfortunately.
@Raphire Yes, I definitely disabled web search on all of the PC's. I ran the "Enable_Bing_Cortana_In_Search.reg", rebooted.. and still have the start menu search issue. UPDATE: So I did the "Repair Install Windows 11 using Windows Update" method. The start menu problem went away. I then ran the debloat again, picked my usual options, including removing web search from start menu, removed Edge too. And problem has not returned. I wonder if the problem was created by doing a debloat first, then a major Windows update, like the 24H2 or whatever, after debloat. Not sure, just guessing why these 2 PC's had the issue but not others I did.. maybe others were already at latest Windows version.
@sereeds I did Windows repair install via windows update about a week after the start menu issue began and it didn't sort it for me, unfortunately.
That's unfortunate. After looking at the errors again it seems like they both relate to Microsoft Store apps. the XMG Control Center (Is that correct?) and the Intel (Graphics) Command Center. My advise would be to attempt to repair these via the Windows Settings (See article here). If that doesn't work attempt to uninstall the apps and reinstall them from the MS Store. I also see other people, like here mentioning that the XMG control center has been buggy: https://www.reddit.com/r/XMG_gg/comments/1nf9efg/microsoft_store_update_possibly_breaks_control/
You should be able to reinstall both here
- https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9PLFNLNT3G5G
- https://download.schenker-tech.de/
@Raphire Yes, I definitely disabled web search on all of the PC's. I ran the "Enable_Bing_Cortana_In_Search.reg", rebooted.. and still have the start menu search issue. UPDATE: So I did the "Repair Install Windows 11 using Windows Update" method. The start menu problem went away. I then ran the debloat again, picked my usual options, including removing web search from start menu, removed Edge too. And problem has not returned. I wonder if the problem was created by doing a debloat first, then a major Windows update, like the 24H2 or whatever, after debloat. Not sure, just guessing why these 2 PC's had the issue but not others I did.. maybe others were already at latest Windows version.
@sereeds I did Windows repair install via windows update about a week after the start menu issue began and it didn't sort it for me, unfortunately.
That's unfortunate. After looking at the errors again it seems like they both relate to Microsoft Store apps. the XMG Control Center (Is that correct?) and the Intel (Graphics) Command Center. My advise would be to attempt to repair these via the Windows Settings (See article here). If that doesn't work attempt to uninstall the apps and reinstall them from the MS Store. I also see other people, like here mentioning that the XMG control center has been buggy: https://www.reddit.com/r/XMG_gg/comments/1nf9efg/microsoft_store_update_possibly_breaks_control/
You should be able to reinstall both here
- https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9PLFNLNT3G5G
- https://download.schenker-tech.de/
One of the errors went after I uninstall and reinstalled the graphics driver. I'm not sure what the XMG Control Centre is? The link you included has many variants on it - I'm confused.
Oh, that's good to hear. Making progress :D
The first image you posted showed a path that seems to relate to the XMG Control Center 3.0 app (as shown here), but it's possible it's something else.
What kind of pc/laptop do you have? XMG is a laptop manufacturer that I believe also goes by a few other names. See: https://www.xmg.gg/en/
Edit: Added link to app
Oh, that's good to hear. Making progress :D
The first image you posted showed a path that seems to relate to the XMG Control Center 3.0 app (as shown here), but it's possible it's something else.
What kind of pc/laptop do you have? XMG is a laptop manufacturer that I believe also goes by a few other names. See: https://www.xmg.gg/en/
Edit: Added link to app
My laptop is a custom build by pcspecialist.ie, base model is 17,3" Elimina® Pro. I don't recognise the XMG Control Centre App - I haven't seen that on my laptop (it's possible, but it's not familiar).
Oh, that's good to hear. Making progress :D The first image you posted showed a path that seems to relate to the XMG Control Center 3.0 app (as shown here), but it's possible it's something else. What kind of pc/laptop do you have? XMG is a laptop manufacturer that I believe also goes by a few other names. See: https://www.xmg.gg/en/ Edit: Added link to app
My laptop is a custom build by pcspecialist.ie, base model is 17,3" Elimina® Pro. I don't recognise the XMG Control Centre App - I haven't seen that on my laptop (it's possible, but it's not familiar).
I see, did you get any software installed with this machine, it's very likely some kind of control center/control panel software. You may be able to find it here on their website if you enter an order nr: https://www.pcspecialist.ie/drivers/
Oh, that's good to hear. Making progress :D The first image you posted showed a path that seems to relate to the XMG Control Center 3.0 app (as shown here), but it's possible it's something else. What kind of pc/laptop do you have? XMG is a laptop manufacturer that I believe also goes by a few other names. See: https://www.xmg.gg/en/ Edit: Added link to app
My laptop is a custom build by pcspecialist.ie, base model is 17,3" Elimina® Pro. I don't recognise the XMG Control Centre App - I haven't seen that on my laptop (it's possible, but it's not familiar).
I see, did you get any software installed with this machine, it's very likely some kind of control center/control panel software. You may be able to find it here on their website if you enter an order nr: https://www.pcspecialist.ie/drivers/
Yes, there were a couple of control panels, but I don't remember seeing anything by XMG. Anyway, even if there were such a control panel missing, I doubt that would have any impact on the start menu search crashing which is my main concern. I'm also unable to create new windows user accounts - that crashes too although I cannot definitely relate that to Debloat but I'm assuming it is related.
@Skylanderlad I dont know if it's missing but it's related to this error. Windows is trying to access something related to this control center when it's loading in, which is the cause of the issue. Reinstalling the intel graphic center seemed to fix the issue for the other error.
I can't think of any reason this permission issue or the account creation issue are directly related to the script, both are not touched in any way by the script.
@Skylanderlad I dont know if it's missing but it's related to this error. Windows is trying to access something related to this control center when it's loading in, which is the cause of the issue. Reinstalling the intel graphic center seemed to fix the issue for the other error.
I can't think of any reason this permission issue or the account creation issue are directly related to the script, both are not touched in any way by the script.
Ok, I'll take a look at that in a bit. That said, the error message is not bothering me so much but if I can sort it, I will. The start menu search crashing is my primary concern.
@Skylanderlad I dont know if it's missing but it's related to this error. Windows is trying to access something related to this control center when it's loading in, which is the cause of the issue. Reinstalling the intel graphic center seemed to fix the issue for the other error. I can't think of any reason this permission issue or the account creation issue are directly related to the script, both are not touched in any way by the script.
Ok, I'll take a look at that in a bit. That said, the error message is not bothering me so much but if I can sort it, I will. The start menu search crashing is my primary concern.
I understand, but I believe the error is the reason that the search is crashing. It's trying to access something related to the app, but can't because of a file/folder permission issue, which seems to just stop the whole search in its tracks.
@Skylanderlad I dont know if it's missing but it's related to this error. Windows is trying to access something related to this control center when it's loading in, which is the cause of the issue. Reinstalling the intel graphic center seemed to fix the issue for the other error. I can't think of any reason this permission issue or the account creation issue are directly related to the script, both are not touched in any way by the script.
Ok, I'll take a look at that in a bit. That said, the error message is not bothering me so much but if I can sort it, I will. The start menu search crashing is my primary concern.
I understand, but I believe the error is the reason that the search is crashing. It's trying to access something related to the app, but can't because of a file/folder permission issue, which seems to just stop the whole search in its tracks.
Okay, possibly, but having given the components of Control Centre adminstrator permissions (as well as the whole Windows Apps folder in Program Files), the error message still appears at startup. I have also disabled the Control Centre running at startup and then, obviously, the error doesn't occur. As the Control Centre doesn't seem linked to Windows functioning nor is it in any way neccessary to have it running (it is purely an app for optimising gaming performance - and I'm not a gamer so I'm happy to leave it off at startup.) I have also uninstalled and reinstalled the Control Centre App - no difference. I kind of doubt it has anything to do with search not working, to be honest, I don't see how it would.
For some reason I was under the assumption that the errors occurred when opening search, sorry about that. Did you do the repair install before or after doing the repair install? For sereeds the issue was fixed after re-enabling the search and then doing a repair install.