Windows Explorer Search broken

Hi,

I'm running Windows XP SP3. Up until yesterday, when I right-clicked a
folder in Windows Explorer I got the usual Search feature. Now today (don't
know whats changed) when I right-click, I get the attached JPG. If you
cannot see the JPG (or this newsgroup does not allow attachments), here's a
description of what I see:

* Title bar just has a "Open folder" icon and no writing
* "Back", "Forward" and "Up" buttons are disabled
* "Search" button is enabled, selected and depressed
* "Folders" button is enabled (but not selected)
* "Address" bar is totally blank
* Left hand pane just shows a gray background, no controls, no text at all
* Right pane is totally blank

If I now click on "Folders" and then "My Computer" in the left-hand pane,
everything starts to work again like a normal Windows Explorer.

I have chosen not to install Windows Search 4.0 and have turned off the
Indexing service (but those choices were made weeks ago so please do NOT
blame them - its been working fine till now).

I can still do searches from the command line as follows:
dir MyFile*.doc /s
which works fine.

I found this solution on another website:
Go to Start Run and copy and paste the following commands one by one in
the field:
regsvr32 urlmon.dll
regsvr32 jscript.dll
regsvr32 wshom.ocx
hit enter after each command

This has been tried, with absolutely no difference whatsoever. I have
rebooted several times.

How can I fix this, please?

Thanks,
Alain

Check to see if Windows Search 4.0 is installed in Add/Remove programs. This
might be a clue. If it is uninstall it to see if your search feature
returns, you can always reinstall Windows Search 4.0, even thought I don't
understand why anyone would want to...

--
Randem Systems
Your Installation Specialist
The Top Inno Setup Script Generator
http://www.randem.com/innoscript.html
http://www.rndem.com/installerproblems.html
http://www.randem.com/vistainstalls.html
http://www.financialtrainingservices.org


"Alain Dekker" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I'm running Windows XP SP3. Up until yesterday, when I right-clicked a
folder in Windows Explorer I got the usual Search feature. Now today
(don't know whats changed) when I right-click, I get the attached JPG. If
you cannot see the JPG (or this newsgroup does not allow attachments),
here's a description of what I see:

* Title bar just has a "Open folder" icon and no writing
* "Back", "Forward" and "Up" buttons are disabled
* "Search" button is enabled, selected and depressed
* "Folders" button is enabled (but not selected)
* "Address" bar is totally blank
* Left hand pane just shows a gray background, no controls, no text at all
* Right pane is totally blank

If I now click on "Folders" and then "My Computer" in the left-hand pane,
everything starts to work again like a normal Windows Explorer.

I have chosen not to install Windows Search 4.0 and have turned off the
Indexing service (but those choices were made weeks ago so please do NOT
blame them - its been working fine till now).

I can still do searches from the command line as follows:
dir MyFile*.doc /s
which works fine.

I found this solution on another website:
Go to Start Run and copy and paste the following commands one by one in
the field:
regsvr32 urlmon.dll
regsvr32 jscript.dll
regsvr32 wshom.ocx
hit enter after each command

This has been tried, with absolutely no difference whatsoever. I have
rebooted several times.

How can I fix this, please?

Thanks,
Alain

Nothing related to Windows Search 4.0 is installed (and certainly nothing
related to WS 4.0 has changed in the last week or so).

WS 4.0 does not appear in the Add/Remove program list and I've already
removed it weeks ago in any case. This is something new.

I had to search for some .BMP files just a few minutes ago - had to use the
command prompt again. Its ok, but I'd prefer to get my Windows Explorer
Search working again.

Regards,
Alain

"Randem" wrote in message
...
Check to see if Windows Search 4.0 is installed in Add/Remove programs.
This might be a clue. If it is uninstall it to see if your search feature
returns, you can always reinstall Windows Search 4.0, even thought I don't
understand why anyone would want to...

--
Randem Systems
Your Installation Specialist
The Top Inno Setup Script Generator
http://www.randem.com/innoscript.html
http://www.rndem.com/installerproblems.html
http://www.randem.com/vistainstalls.html
http://www.financialtrainingservices.org


"Alain Dekker" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I'm running Windows XP SP3. Up until yesterday, when I right-clicked a
folder in Windows Explorer I got the usual Search feature. Now today
(don't know whats changed) when I right-click, I get the attached JPG. If
you cannot see the JPG (or this newsgroup does not allow attachments),
here's a description of what I see:

* Title bar just has a "Open folder" icon and no writing
* "Back", "Forward" and "Up" buttons are disabled
* "Search" button is enabled, selected and depressed
* "Folders" button is enabled (but not selected)
* "Address" bar is totally blank
* Left hand pane just shows a gray background, no controls, no text at
all
* Right pane is totally blank

If I now click on "Folders" and then "My Computer" in the left-hand pane,
everything starts to work again like a normal Windows Explorer.

I have chosen not to install Windows Search 4.0 and have turned off the
Indexing service (but those choices were made weeks ago so please do NOT
blame them - its been working fine till now).

I can still do searches from the command line as follows:
dir MyFile*.doc /s
which works fine.

I found this solution on another website:
Go to Start Run and copy and paste the following commands one by one in
the field:
regsvr32 urlmon.dll
regsvr32 jscript.dll
regsvr32 wshom.ocx
hit enter after each command

This has been tried, with absolutely no difference whatsoever. I have
rebooted several times.

How can I fix this, please?

Thanks,
Alain

On Fri, 5 Dec 2008 08:18:21 -1000, Randem wrote:

Check to see if Windows Search 4.0 is installed in Add/Remove programs. This
might be a clue. If it is uninstall it to see if your search feature
returns, you can always reinstall Windows Search 4.0, even thought I don't
understand why anyone would want to...

Sometimes, third parties do a better job than Microsoft. I use:

Pegasus Mail (instead of MS Outlook Express).
40tude Dialog (instead of MS Outlook Express).
Opera (instead of MS Internet Explorer 7).
Copernic Desktop Search (instead of Windows Desktop Search).

I removed WDS 3.0 (when I installed Copernic); and, thus, was never updated
to WDS 4.0.

--
Norman
~Oh Lord, why have you come
~To Konnyu, with the Lion and the Drum

Alain Dekker wrote:
Hi,

I'm running Windows XP SP3. Up until yesterday, when I right-clicked a
folder in Windows Explorer I got the usual Search feature. Now today (don't
know whats changed) when I right-click, I get the attached JPG. If you
cannot see the JPG (or this newsgroup does not allow attachments), here's a
description of what I see:

* Title bar just has a "Open folder" icon and no writing
* "Back", "Forward" and "Up" buttons are disabled
* "Search" button is enabled, selected and depressed
* "Folders" button is enabled (but not selected)
* "Address" bar is totally blank
* Left hand pane just shows a gray background, no controls, no text at all
* Right pane is totally blank

If I now click on "Folders" and then "My Computer" in the left-hand pane,
everything starts to work again like a normal Windows Explorer.

I have chosen not to install Windows Search 4.0 and have turned off the
Indexing service (but those choices were made weeks ago so please do NOT
blame them - its been working fine till now).

I can still do searches from the command line as follows:
dir MyFile*.doc /s
which works fine.

I found this solution on another website:
Go to Start Run and copy and paste the following commands one by one in
the field:
regsvr32 urlmon.dll
regsvr32 jscript.dll
regsvr32 wshom.ocx
hit enter after each command

This has been tried, with absolutely no difference whatsoever. I have
rebooted several times.

How can I fix this, please?

Thanks,
Alain

Here are two you didn't mention trying.. one's a slight variant though.

Click Start, Run and type:

regsvr32 %Windir%\srchasst\srchui.dll
regsvr32 /i urlmon.dll

(From a post by Ramesh)

--
Joe =o)

Thanks Elmo, tried that but didn't work. Haven't rebooted yet, but will
reboot machine later and see if the combination of registering those COM
dlls worked or not (they both got confirmation messages).

Regards,
Alain

"Elmo" wrote in message
...
Alain Dekker wrote:
Hi,


DELETED TEXT

I found this solution on another website:
Go to Start Run and copy and paste the following commands one by one in
the field:
regsvr32 urlmon.dll
regsvr32 jscript.dll
regsvr32 wshom.ocx
hit enter after each command

This has been tried, with absolutely no difference whatsoever. I have
rebooted several times.

How can I fix this, please?

Thanks,
Alain

Here are two you didn't mention trying.. one's a slight variant though.

Click Start, Run and type:

regsvr32 %Windir%\srchasst\srchui.dll
regsvr32 /i urlmon.dll

(From a post by Ramesh)

--
Joe =o)

Just to let you know that a reboot did not cure that. Search is still
totally broken in Windows Explorer.

Works from command prompt.

Thanks,
Alain

"Elmo" wrote in message
...
Alain Dekker wrote:
Hi,

I'm running Windows XP SP3. Up until yesterday, when I right-clicked a
folder in Windows Explorer I got the usual Search feature. Now today
(don't
know whats changed) when I right-click, I get the attached JPG. If you
cannot see the JPG (or this newsgroup does not allow attachments), here's
a
description of what I see:

* Title bar just has a "Open folder" icon and no writing
* "Back", "Forward" and "Up" buttons are disabled
* "Search" button is enabled, selected and depressed
* "Folders" button is enabled (but not selected)
* "Address" bar is totally blank
* Left hand pane just shows a gray background, no controls, no text at
all
* Right pane is totally blank

If I now click on "Folders" and then "My Computer" in the left-hand pane,
everything starts to work again like a normal Windows Explorer.

I have chosen not to install Windows Search 4.0 and have turned off the
Indexing service (but those choices were made weeks ago so please do NOT
blame them - its been working fine till now).

I can still do searches from the command line as follows:
dir MyFile*.doc /s
which works fine.

I found this solution on another website:
Go to Start Run and copy and paste the following commands one by one in
the field:
regsvr32 urlmon.dll
regsvr32 jscript.dll
regsvr32 wshom.ocx
hit enter after each command

This has been tried, with absolutely no difference whatsoever. I have
rebooted several times.

How can I fix this, please?

Thanks,
Alain

Here are two you didn't mention trying.. one's a slight variant though.

Click Start, Run and type:

regsvr32 %Windir%\srchasst\srchui.dll
regsvr32 /i urlmon.dll

(From a post by Ramesh)

--
Joe =o)

Try this, you'll have to edit the registry

In regedit, Go to

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoFind

If "NoFind" has the value "01 00 00 00" change it to "00 00 00 00".

You will need to restart