Forum Discussion
Windows 11 Spotlight stopped working on one user profile – works on another profile
I am experiencing a Windows Spotlight issue on my Windows 11 laptop and would like assistance identifying the cause.
System information:
Windows 11 Home
Version 25H2
OS Build 26200.8973
HP Envy 17
Windows Spotlight stopped displaying new images on my original Windows user profile. The Spotlight image area remains blank and no new Spotlight assets are downloaded.
I have carried out extensive troubleshooting, including:
Confirmed BITS, Delivery Optimization and Windows Update services are running.
Confirmed connectivity to Microsoft's Spotlight-related endpoints over HTTPS.
Re-registered the Windows ContentDeliveryManager package.
Reset the ContentDeliveryManager package.
Confirmed the relevant Windows Spotlight registry settings are enabled.
Checked the ContentDeliveryManager and targeted-content cache.
Checked Windows event logs and BITS activity.
Confirmed that Windows is receiving Spotlight content metadata from Microsoft's content service.
One particularly important finding is that I created a completely new local Windows user profile on the same PC and same Windows installation. Windows Spotlight works correctly in that new profile and downloads the Spotlight assets normally.
This indicates that the Windows Spotlight infrastructure, network connectivity, Windows installation and ContentDeliveryManager system component are functioning correctly. The problem appears to be isolated specifically to the original Windows user profile.
The original profile receives Spotlight metadata, but the content returned includes an EmptyCreative entry rather than an actual image asset.
I would therefore like Microsoft to advise:
What user-profile component or database controls the Windows Spotlight subscription/creative state?
Is there a supported way to repair or rebuild the Spotlight state for the affected user profile without creating a new Windows profile?
Is there a Microsoft-supported diagnostic or repair procedure for this profile-specific Spotlight failure?
If this is a known Windows 11 25H2 issue, is there a corresponding fix or workaround?
I would prefer to repair the existing user profile rather than migrate to a new profile, as the existing profile contains my applications, configurations and personal files.
I can provide additional diagnostic information, event logs, registry information or screenshots if required.
Thank you.
9 Replies
I have done some additional testing and I believe the issue is occurring after ContentDeliveryManager is initialized. I deleted the Microsoft.Windows.ContentDeliveryManager_cw5n1h2txyewy folder and restarted Windows. Windows automatically recreated the folder, confirming that Windows 11 recognizes and restores the ContentDeliveryManager component correctly. However, the Assets folder remains empty because no Spotlight image is actually downloaded. Since the ContentDeliveryManager component is being recreated successfully, but no creative is being delivered to the Assets folder, could you please advise what controls the actual Spotlight content delivery/subscription for the affected user profile? This is particularly interesting because Spotlight works normally under another profile on the same Windows installation.
Leondup Thanks,
I have already carried out the cache and registry-related troubleshooting you mentioned.
Specifically, I reset the ContentDeliveryManager package using:
Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.Windows.ContentDeliveryManager | Reset-AppxPackage
I also re-registered ContentDeliveryManager using:
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers Microsoft.Windows.ContentDeliveryManager | ForEach-Object { Add-AppxPackage -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppxManifest.xml" -DisableDevelopmentMode }
I checked and confirmed the relevant Windows Spotlight registry settings under:
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ContentDeliveryManager
including RotatingLockScreenEnabled and ContentDeliveryAllowed, and also toggled the Spotlight setting off and back on.
After the reset, the Assets folder remained empty and Spotlight still did not download any images on my original profile.
The important finding is that when I created a new user profile on the same laptop and the same Windows installation, Spotlight immediately worked and populated the Assets folder with the required image files.
Therefore, the issue appears to be specific to the original user profile rather than the Windows installation, network connection, or ContentDeliveryManager system component.
Could you please advise what additional supported procedure can be used to rebuild the Spotlight state within the existing user profile without recreating the entire profile?
Rebuilding or resetting the cache (Assets folder) and registry entries is the supported way to repair this without recreating the entire profile.
I have done some additional testing and I believe the issue is occurring after ContentDeliveryManager is initialized. I deleted the Microsoft.Windows.ContentDeliveryManager_cw5n1h2txyewy folder and restarted Windows. Windows automatically recreated the folder, confirming that Windows 11 recognizes and restores the ContentDeliveryManager component correctly. However, the Assets folder remains empty because no Spotlight image is actually downloaded. Since the ContentDeliveryManager component is being recreated successfully, but no creative is being delivered to the Assets folder, could you please advise what controls the actual Spotlight content delivery/subscription for the affected user profile? This is particularly interesting because Spotlight works normally under another profile on the same Windows installation.
I have already tried this.
I reset the ContentDeliveryManager package, re-registered it, and checked/reset the relevant Spotlight registry entries. The Assets folder remained empty and Spotlight still did not work on the original profile.
However, Spotlight works normally on a new profile on the same laptop and Windows installation. So the issue appears to be specific to the original user profile.
Is there a supported way to rebuild the Spotlight cache/state within the existing profile without recreating the profile?
Would appreciate any code tip to use in PowerShell to solve this
Before making significant changes, back up important files and settings from your affected profile.
Any tip or help here ?
Your Spotlight state lives in two places: HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ContentDeliveryManager for the subscription flags, and %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.ContentDeliveryManager_cw5n1h2txyewy\ for the actual data, meaning LocalState\Assets and Settings. Resetting or re-registering the package rebuilds the app but leaves both of those completely untouched, so your stale state just gets handed right back. That's why it keeps failing on this profile and works fine on a new one.
Fix is to clear it properly. Lock screen to Picture, fully close Settings (it locks the files), empty out LocalState\Assets, rename Settings to Settings.old, reboot, then switch back to Spotlight. Back the reg key up first. Give it a few hours before you judge it sometimes it's 15 minutes, sometimes most of a day.
Worth knowing: there's no official Microsoft repair procedure for this, EmptyCreative isn't a documented error state, and it's not on the 25H2 known-issues list something to take a note.
