Windows 10 search results empty unless filter applied

Question

When I search any term in the Start Menu, I never get local results:

That is, until I manually apply a filter to the search:

Then for some reason, it works properly. Does anyone have a fix? Haven't found one in any similar Super User question/online forum.

Disable internet searches and see if you have better results. — Ramhound, Apr 21 '17 at 20:14
@RadialApps all the files are properly indexed (as shown in results when a filter is applied) — pqn, Apr 23 '17 at 21:47
@Ramhound I've searched and installed gpedit.msc (I have Windows 10 Home), but the "Search" folder is missing in the editor — pqn, Apr 23 '17 at 21:48
@pqn That means you will have to apply the changes to the appropriate keys yourself — Ramhound, Apr 23 '17 at 21:53

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Apr 24 '17 at 15:45

Turn UAC back on. To verify if this is your problem, check the following logs in event viewer. Application

And

Applications and Services logs - Microsoft- Windows - Apps

If you see anything regarding Cortana or SearchUI that says "This application cannot be activated by the built-in Administrator" - It's because you've disabled either UAC or the Windows Firewall Service.

This will deny required permissions to Cortana - which happens to be a key component of Windows Search.

Windows 10 search results empty unless filter applied

1 Answers1