Windows Search is Slow or Not Working? Here’s How to Fix It!

Are you facing a frustrating delay every time you try to use Windows Search? Maybe it hangs, doesn’t load results, or doesn’t open at all?

If you ran the troubleshooter and saw the message:

❌ “Incorrect permissions on Windows Search directories – Not fixed”

then you’re likely dealing with corrupted permissions that are blocking the Windows Search service from working properly.

Here’s a step-by-step fix to restore your search functionality without reinstalling Windows.

Symptoms

• Windows Search is slow or unresponsive
• The Search bar shows a loading spinner or is blank
• No results show up even when typing
• CPU usage spikes when searching
• Search indexing seems stuck or incomplete

✅ Step 1: Show Hidden Folders

1. Open File Explorer.
2. Click View → Show → Hidden items.
3. Navigate to C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Search.

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✅ Step 2: Reset Folder Permissions via Command Prompt

You’ll need to run a few commands as an administrator:

1. Open Command Prompt as Administrator (right-click → “Run as administrator”).
2. Run the following commands to grant correct permissions:

takeown /F "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Search" /R /D Y
icacls "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Search" /grant SYSTEM:(OI)(CI)F /T
icacls "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Search" /grant "Local Service":(OI)(CI)R /T

• takeown gives you ownership of the folder.
• icacls assigns correct permissions to the SYSTEM and Local Service accounts.

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✅ Step 3: Restart the Search Service

After fixing permissions, restart the Windows Search service:

net stop "Windows Search"
net start "Windows Search"

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🔁 Optional: Rebuild the Index

If you’re still having issues:

1. Open Control Panel → Indexing Options.
2. Click Advanced.
3. Click Rebuild under the Troubleshooting section.

This will force Windows to reindex your files.

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⚠️ Still Don’t See the Security Tab?

If you’re trying to manually edit folder permissions but can’t see the Security tab in the folder properties:

Fix it via Registry Editor:

1. Press Win + R, type regedit, hit Enter.
2. Go to:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

3. If you find NoSecurityTab, double-click it and set the value to 0, or delete it entirely.
4. Restart your PC.