Vista - Windows Search Won't Start

I can't get Search running. Attempting to manually start the service yields
this Search error message:

"Windows could not start the Windows Search on Local Computer. For more
information, review the System Event Log. If this is a non-Microsoft
service, contact the service vendor, and refer to service-specific error code
-2147218141."

Any ideas?

--Nevet

Hi Nevet,

Try setting the Service to "Automatic" and then click Ok to apply. If it will not let you press the "Start" button now, then restart the computer to have the service "Start".

These are the services involved in Windows Search:
1. Windows Search.
2. Remote Procedure Call (RPC)
3. DCOM Server Process Launcher.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

Hello Shawn, Thanks for your reply.

Windows Search is already set to Automatic, but does not start when starting
Windows.

RPC and DCOM Server Process Launcher are running (and also set to
Automatic).

Windows Indexing is *not* running. In Control Panel, Indexing Options:
"Indexing is not running." The list of indexed locations is empty, "Modify"
and "Advanced" buttons are grayed out, leaving "Close" as the only option.

I'm also unable to index or search in Outlook 2007. ("A problem was
encountered while trying to change which data files to index." I've repaired
my PST files using SCANPST.EXE but that didn't help.) Is this connected to
the Vista issue?

Any other suggestions?

--Nevet


"brink" wrote:
>
> Try setting the Service to "Automatic" and then click Ok to apply. If
> it will not let you press the "Start" button now, then restart the
> computer to have the service "Start".
>
> These are the services involved in Windows Search:
> 1. Windows Search.
> 2. Remote Procedure Call (RPC)
> 3. DCOM Server Process Launcher.
>
> Hope this helps,
> Shawn
>

Ok,

Try the "Restore Default Settings" and "Rebuild" sections here to see if it helps.

Indexing Options

Shawn

Shawn, I can't get there; the "Advanced" and "Modify" buttons on the Indexing
Options dialog are grayed out. (I can send you a screen shot if that might
help provide clues.)

--Nevet

"brink" wrote:

> Ok,
>
> Try the "Restore Default Settings" and "Rebuild" sections here to see
> if it helps.
>
> Indexing Options
>
> Shawn
>

Nevet,

Under the "Index Location", do you have the location as "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft"?

The only other thing I can think to try is to run the "sfc /scannow" command from a elevated command prompt. You can see how here:

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/66...les.html?ltr=S

Shawn

Thanks again for your patience and suggestions, Shawn. Where is "Index
Location" specified? If you mean "Included Locations" (Control Panel >
Indexing Options), it's an empty list.

SFC looks useful. I ran "sfc /verifyonly" and it found a bunch of errors,
so I then ran "sfc /scannow," which created a 45MB log file with all the
details. This fixed a different problem I had (broken Windows Defender) but
not the Indexing and Search services.

--Nevet

"brink" wrote:
>
> Under the "Index Location", do you have the location as
> "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft"?
>
> The only other thing I can think to try is to run the "sfc /scannow"
> command from a elevated command prompt. You can see how here:
>
> http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/66...les.html?ltr=S
>
> Shawn

Nevet

That error message that you described in your original message indicates
that the folders associated with the Vista Search component are either
missing or that the search service cannot find them.

Open Windows Explorer and navigate to the
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Search\Data folder. There should also be about a
dozen sub-folders under the Data folder. Are these folders present in that
location?

Since you cannot access the Indexing Options, you need to check the location
that is defined for these folders using the Registry.

Go to Start and type: regedit
In the results, right click regedit.exe and select the Run As Administrator
option.

In the registry, navigate to the following location:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Search

With the Windows Search folder highlighted, look for the DataDirectory
value in the right side pane. The value should show the location path as:
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Search\Data

Let us know if this is what you are seeing.

--

Ronnie Vernon
Microsoft MVP
Windows Shell/User


"Nevet" <Nevet@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:AB57FAB1-1942-4B42-B9C1-ECA11FA9C307@microsoft.com...
> Thanks again for your patience and suggestions, Shawn. Where is "Index
> Location" specified? If you mean "Included Locations" (Control Panel >
> Indexing Options), it's an empty list.
>
> SFC looks useful. I ran "sfc /verifyonly" and it found a bunch of errors,
> so I then ran "sfc /scannow," which created a 45MB log file with all the
> details. This fixed a different problem I had (broken Windows Defender)
> but
> not the Indexing and Search services.
>
> --Nevet
>
> "brink" wrote:
>>
>> Under the "Index Location", do you have the location as
>> "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft"?
>>
>> The only other thing I can think to try is to run the "sfc /scannow"
>> command from a elevated command prompt. You can see how here:
>>
>> http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/66...les.html?ltr=S
>>
>> Shawn
>

Sorry Nevet,

That was in the Advanced area. Look in Event Viewer under the "Windows Logs" for the "System" log, and see if you can find any error message details for this specific item. You can use this link as a guide to see how to get there.

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/67...wer.html?ltr=E

Shawn

Ronnie, Thanks much! This is looking promising....

There are two folders under C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Search\Data, labeled
“Applications� and “Temp�. Both are empty. (I have Windows Explorer set to
show hidden files & folders and protected OS files.)

In RegEdit, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Search shows
DataDirectory as "%ProgramData%\Microsoft\Search\Data\", which appears
correct.
("SetupCompletedSuccessfully" shows a value of 0, is that related to my
issue? Can it be manually reset?)

Thanks, --Nevet

"Ronnie Vernon MVP" wrote:

> Nevet
>
> That error message that you described in your original message indicates
> that the folders associated with the Vista Search component are either
> missing or that the search service cannot find them.
>
> Open Windows Explorer and navigate to the
> C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Search\Data folder. There should also be about a
> dozen sub-folders under the Data folder. Are these folders present in that
> location?
>
> Since you cannot access the Indexing Options, you need to check the location
> that is defined for these folders using the Registry.
>
> Go to Start and type: regedit
> In the results, right click regedit.exe and select the Run As Administrator
> option.
>
> In the registry, navigate to the following location:
> HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Search
>
> With the Windows Search folder highlighted, look for the DataDirectory
> value in the right side pane. The value should show the location path as:
> C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Search\Data
>
> Let us know if this is what you are seeing.
>
> --
>
> Ronnie Vernon
> Microsoft MVP
> Windows Shell/User
>