Guide: Fix ‘Windows Search Bar Is Missing’ Issue
Windows 10 came with a lot of tweaks under the hood. A small feature was the search bar that was not available in previous versions. You had to open the Start menu to start the search. Apparently the Windows search bar is missing from their computers for some users. That can mean two things. The search bar is not active or an error has occurred. In both cases it is quite a job to search for something without the search bar clearly visible to you. Hence, we will examine both situations and find out which of the suggested solutions work for you. Let’s start.
1. Windows Search shortcut
The search bar takes up a lot of space in the taskbar, and some people don’t like it. It can be a problem if there are too many app icons and shortcuts next to it. Pressing the Windows key + S will open the search window with frequently used apps, recently used files and some useful shortcuts.
You no longer need the Windows search bar in the taskbar.
2. Turn off tablet mode
Is tablet mode enabled on your screen? That will remove the Windows search bar to save screen space to make room for everything else in tablet mode. Disable it from the action center.
You can start the Action Center with the Windows key + A keyboard shortcut.
3. Taskbar settings
Let’s go through the taskbar settings once to make sure everything is set up correct.
Right-click on the taskbar and make sure Show search box is selected under Search. If it is hidden then therefore the search bar is missing on your Windows 10 computer. I have selected Show search icon, which shows a small icon instead of the full search bar. It takes up less space and looks clean.
Right-click on the taskbar again and this time select taskbar settings. Deselect Use Small Taskbar buttons here because turning it on puts more strain on your eyes and will remove the search bar as well.
Are you using multiple monitors where the taskbar is missing from the second monitor? Scroll down a bit in the taskbar settings and make sure Show taskbar on all monitors is enabled.
4. Restart Windows Explorer
Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc on your keyboard to start Task Manager. Find the Windows Explorer process in the Processes tab, right-click on it and select Restart.
Note that all open windows will be closed, so save all work before proceeding. Restarting Windows Explorer can start many processes more quickly, including the taskbar and Windows Search button in the.
5. Windows Search Troubleshooter
Press the Windows key + I on your computer keyboard to launch the Settings app and search for Find and Fix Windows Search Problems. Click on the same to pop-up window.
Click Apply repairs automatically under Advanced and then click Next to continue. Windows will now look for known errors and bugs and try to fix them automatically if found.
After that, follow the onscreen instructions and restart your computer once to check if the Windows search bar is still missing or not.
6. Display the driver update
A Microsoft volunteer recommends updating display drivers to fix the missing Windows search bar issue. While he was unable to explain the reasoning, some research shows that outdated drivers can be responsible for a variety of issues. It doesn’t hurt to update them. You can always revert them if you don’t like them. Find and open Device Manager.
Double-click on Display Adapters and Monitors. Update the drivers of the respective devices by right-clicking and selecting Update driver software.
If you are not satisfied with the update, right click again to select Properties this time. On the Driver tab, click Roll Back Driver buttonRestart your computer once the process is complete.
7. Create a local user
Press the Windows key + I shortcut to open Settings and go to Accounts> Family & other users. Click on the ‘Add someone else to this PC’ option.
Select ‘I don’t have this person’s login details’ from the pop-upup that follows.
Now click on ‘Add a user without a Microsoft account’. This allows you to create a new local user account without creating a new Microsoft account. That means the local user account will share the same settings instead of different or default settings that come with a new Microsoft account.
Enter your desired username and password on the next screen and follow the onscreen instructions to create a new account.
To switch to the newly created local user account, press the Windows key and choose the new account name under your profile picture in the left sidebar.
If the problem with the missing Windows search bar is resolved, you can give this local account administrator rights. Go back to Settings and click once on the newly created local account name and select Change account type.
Choose Admin from the drop-down menu in the pop-upup that follows and save.
Done.
8. Registry Editor Hack
Press Windows Key + R to type regedit and press Enter to launch the Registry Editor.
Navigate to the folder structure below. HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionSearch Can you see the SearchboxTaskbarMode key in the right pane? If so, double click on it to open it.
If not, right-click there to select DWORD Value (32-bit) under New. Name this file SearchboxTaskbarMode.
The base hex value here must be 2 instead of 1. Save and exit. Check if Windows search bar is missing from taskbar error is resolved or not.
Find party
The Windows search bar is handy, but you can use the keyboard shortcut instead to make things even faster. But if you want the search bar and it is missing from the taskbar, you can get it back using any of the methods shared above. Make sure all settings are set as required. The next up: Do you want to search for images based on dimensions? Click the link below for a way to search for images not only by name, but also by length and width.
Fix ‘Windows Search Bar Is Missing’ Issue: benefits
Faq
Final note
I hope you like the guide Fix ‘Windows Search Bar Is Missing’ Issue. In case if you have any query regards this article you may ask us. Also, please share your love by sharing this article with your friends. For our visitors: If you have any queries regards the Fix ‘Windows Search Bar Is Missing’ Issue, then please ask us through the comment section below or directly contact us. Education: This guide or tutorial is just for educational purposes. Misinformation: If you want to correct any misinformation about the guide “Fix ‘Windows Search Bar Is Missing’ Issue”, then kindly contact us. Want to add an alternate method: If anyone wants to add more methods to the guide Fix ‘Windows Search Bar Is Missing’ Issue, then kindly contact us. Our Contact: Kindly use our contact page regards any help. You may also use our social and accounts by following us on Whatsapp, Facebook, and Twitter for your questions. We always love to help you. We answer your questions within 24-48 hours (Weekend off). Channel: If you want the latest software updates and discussion about any software in your pocket, then here is our Telegram channel.
