How to fix broken Outlook search in Windows 11
If you are unable to use your mailbox because the Outlook search is not showing results, here troubleshooting tips to fix the issue.
1 How to fix broken Outlook search in Windows 111.1 Tweak registry settings1.2 Update Microsoft Office1.3 Check outlook index locations1.4 Rebuild search index1.5 Repair Microsoft outlook1.6 Repair Your Outlook Personal Folder File (.PST)1.7 Run search and indexing troubleshooter
Tweak registry settings
As discussed before With windows 11 outlook search uses windows search for fast search results. Let’s tweak the windows registry to disable the windows search and tell outlook to use its built-in search.
Press Windows key + R, type regedit and click ok to open registry editor,Locate the subkey HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\WindowsRight-click on Windows key, New > Key, and name the new key Windows Search.Now select and right-click on the Windows Search key, New > DWORD (32bit) Value and name it PreventIndexingOutlook.Right-click PreventIndexingOutlook, click Modify and type 1 to Value data box,
Finally, close everything and reboot your computer and check if the outlook search working or not.
Note: If you want to re-enable the Windows Desktop Search, you need to disable the PreventIndexingOutlook setting by typing 0 (zero) and clicking OK.
Update Microsoft Office
If your Windows or Microsoft Office is not up to date then it can cause such problems. Check and make sure to install the latest windows updates and update ms office as well. You can update windows 11 following steps below:
Press Windows key + I to open settings,Click on windows update then check for updatesIf any new updates are available download them and restart your PC to apply the changes.
To update Microsoft office
Start Outlook and go to File> Office Account.Under Office Account, click Office Updates, and then click Update Now.This will update the office, once you update the office, start Outlook and check the search is working fine or not.
Check outlook index locations
Indexing is the process of gathering information from files, emails, and other content on your PC and cataloging it in order. Indexing helps computers to search faster, when you search for any file on your PC, Windows Search will analyze the search and you will get the results faster.
Start Outlook and click File> Options.In the Outlook options on the left side, click on search and then click on Indexing Options.Under Indexing Options, click Modify, and under Indexed Locations, click Show All Locations.Then choose all the locations and then click OK.
Rebuild search index
Press Windows key + R, type control and click ok to open control panel,From the upper right corner, set the View by option to Large icons. Then find Indexing Options and click on it.Then under Indexing Options click Advanced, now you will get the Advanced Options window.Click the Index Settings tab, and under Troubleshooting, click Rebuild.This will rebuild the search index, it will take some time depending on the speed of your computer and the number of files on your system.
Repair Microsoft outlook
Press Windows key + R, type appwiz.cpl and click ok to open programs and features window,Scroll down and select your MS Office version and click Change from the top menu.Now you will get a pop-up window with two quick and online repair options.Try Quick Repair first if that doesn’t fix the problem, then choose Online Repair.Let the process complete, then restart your system
Repair Your Outlook Personal Folder File (.PST)
Another effective solution is to repair your Outlook personal folder file (.PST) using the Inbox Repair tool. You need to open the scanpst.exe dependent on your Outlook version.
32-bit Office 2016 and newer: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\64-bit Office 2016 and newer: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office16\64-bit Outlook 2016 and newer: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\Office 365 (2016 package): C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\office16\32-bit Office 2013: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office15\64-bit Office 2013: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office15\64-bit Outlook 2013: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office15\Office 365 (2013 package): C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\office15
Also need to know the location of your PST file. Outlook 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and users of newer versions should find their personal folder file at:
C:\Users\YOURUSERNAME\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook
Found everything? Right-click on the scanpst.exe and select Run as administrator.
Run search and indexing troubleshooter
In addition, run the build-in search and indexing troubleshooter that automatically finds and fixes problems prevent outlook display search results.
Open the Start menu, type in troubleshoot settings, and press Enter.Select Other troubleshooters then Scroll down to locate Search and IndexingClick on the Run button and follow the on-screen instructions to begin troubleshooting.
Did the above solutions help fix Microsoft outlook search not working on windows 11? Let us know on the comments below. Also read:
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