Forum Discussion
When you click the search icon on the taskbar, the search panel flashes briefly.
When I click the search icon on the taskbar, the search panel appears briefly and then closes automatically, preventing me from entering a search query.
The same issue occurs when I press the Win + S shortcut. Restarting File Explorer or restarting the computer provides a temporary fix, but the problem recurs from time to time.
1 Reply
Hi, since restarting Explorer only helps temporarily, I would look at the Search process and indexing components next.
Try these:
1. Open Task Manager and end `SearchHost.exe` or `SearchApp.exe`, then try search again.
2. Run the Search and Indexing troubleshooter.
3. Restart the Windows Search service.
4. Rebuild the search index from Indexing Options.
5. Install any pending Windows updates, then reboot.
If it still comes back, check Event Viewer under Application for SearchHost or ShellExperienceHost crashes at the same time the panel closes. That crash detail usually points to whether this is a search package issue, a shell extension issue, or a corrupted user profile.
