How to Fix the Search Bar Crashing Issue on Windows 10/11?

It is inconvenient to open Windows utilities, especially if you rely on this utility the most, when the search bar crashing. Here are 5 useful troubleshoots in the following guide. You can read and follow the steps below to resolve your problem.

Fix 1. Restart the Windows Search Service

Windows users report the search bar crashing comes with an error message that SearchHost.exe is crashing. Sometimes, this error is triggered by small glitches that can be fixed by restarting the service.  

1. Press Win + R to open the Run window, then type services.msc and hit Enter.

2. Scroll down to find and click the Windows Search service.

3. Right-click on the service and choose Restart.

Fix 2. Repair Corrupted System Files

Corrupted related system files may be responsible for the search bar crashing in Windows. If your problem is caused by this reason, you can repair the corrupted system files to easily resolve it.

1. Press Win + R to open the Run window.

2. Type cmd into the dialog box and press Shift + Ctrl + Enter to run Command Prompt as administrator.

3. Run the following command lines in sequence and hit Enter at the end of each command.

• sfc /scannow
• DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /Restorehealth

Fix 3. Rebuild Search Index

Search indexing helps to collect, store, and analyze files and folders on your computer. It facilitates quick access to the file or utility you require. However, if the indexing service has issues, you may suffer from problems like the search bar crashing, search service lagging, etc. You can rebuild the search index to resolve the problem.

Before this, run the Search and Indexing troubleshooter to check and repair the possible issues: open Windows Settings > choose Update & Security > select Troubleshoot > click Additional troubleshooters > find and click Search and Indexing to click Run the troubleshooter.

If the problem still exists, follow the steps below to rebuild the search index.

1. Open the Control Panel on your computer and select Large icons from the View by menu.

2. Choose Indexing options. In the following window, you should choose one folder under the Index these locations section and select Advanced.

3. Click Rebuild in the Troubleshooting section.

4. When the process is completed, click OK then repeat the above steps to rebuild the index for other folders.

How to Reset and Rebuild Index on Windows 10/11?

What is index? When do you need to rebuild it? How to rebuild it on Windows 10/11? To get detailed information, keep reading this post.

Read More

Fix 4. Check Windows Update

If you encounter the search bar crashing issue after updating Windows, it is probable that there is something incompatible between the update and Windows Search. In this case, you can uninstall the recent update to see if this helps.

On the contrary, if you haven’t updated your Windows system for a long time, you need to check whether there is an update for your operating system. Update to the latest version to check if it helps fix the search bar crashing.

Fix 5. Perform In-place Upgrade

If the above methods don’t work in your situation, you can try this method as the last straw. An in-place upgrade on Windows helps to repair most computer issues without deleting personal data. For specific information on how to complete this task, you can read this post: Windows 10 In-Place Upgrade: a Step-by-Step Guide.

MiniTool Power Data Recovery FreeClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

Final Words

The search bar crashing issue has troubled Windows users for a long time. This post delivers five methods for you. Hope you can get useful information from this post.