Well I have a problem!
Apparently the Windows Search Indexing thing stopped working sometime this morning and now I can't seem to fix it.

Symptoms: systems slows down and takes its sweet time while deleting files/folders and creating files/folders, Windows Search service doesn't want to start and keeps giving me the "Error 3: The system cannot find the path specified".



I already tried the Tutorial but that didn't work. I created the Config folder in the proper place and copied the 2 necessary files but still no solution.
So short of re-installing windows is there anything I can do to fix this?

Thanks Brink for the suggestion but system restore went out of the window when I disabled it after installation.

Oh well I'll endure this situation since I'm getting my Mobo from the shop in a few days. I'll format and reinstall then.
Lesson learned - System Restore may prove useful in the future.

Thank again Brink!

Did you try to rebuid the search index ?

@Shawn,

does the rebuild search index is included in those tutorials?
It may not work in this case, but worth a try before formatting

Link added by Brink :
Indexing Options

@ Brink:
Yup... those are the ones I checked.

@ Sydney:
Nah, I can't rebuild the index because all the options are greyed out. Even after the "reset" of the Index system that the tutorials should do.

Then, let's try to reset the index on a tricky way.
Run regedit and go to:
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\WindowsSearch\SetupCompletedSuccessfully
Set the value to 0 instead of 1 and reboot.
This will delete the indexer and it should start again.

So wait you disable system restore but not search indexing lol....

Originally Posted by sidney1st

Then, let's try to reset the index on a tricky way.
Run regedit and go to:
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\WindowsSearch\SetupCompletedSuccessfully
Set the value to 0 instead of 1 and reboot.
This will delete the indexer and it should start again.

I went to the registry to try it and found the value already at 0 so I guess we're back at square one.
Honestly other than the initial surprise and occasional file deletion it's not proving to be a major so I'll bear it for a few more days.

Originally Posted by candymancan

So wait you disable system restore but not search indexing lol....

And this helps how exactly?
At least the rest of the forum posters are smart and understand how to use computers.

What do you have in:
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Search\Applications\Windows ?