Vista - Windows Search shows unrecognized files

well, the domain name explains the OS, but I am fully patched with Windows Search 4.0 on my laptop. either way of searching for files 1) Start Search in the start menu 2) CRTL-F and doing a search Any and all files are unrecognized; yes...doc, docx, chm, exe, pdf, xls, xlsx, everything. If I double-click on any file it opens a dialog box asking which application i would like to open the file in...I select the application and click open and nothing opens, the dialog just goes away. I dont have any modifications to search of any kind. It was fine before I installed Search 4.0 when it was released, I have been too lazy to really look into it. It does however allow me to right-click any file and select Open Containing Folder and goes to the folder in Explorer where I can double-click any file and it will open in the correct application. Thoughts? Thanks Robert