I had this problem that is now fixed. I have a drive that has 14,000 files and search stopped working on Windows 8.1. I didn't get any help until I was able to describe the problem.
What do you do when Windows can index one drive but not another? Doesn't that seem weird?
1.Open Task Manager by pressing Ctrl+Shift+Esc
2.Optional: Sort by CPU
3.Find and Click "Microsoft Windows Search Indexer"
4.Click "End Task"
5.Go to the directory C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Search
6.Delete the folder "Data"
7.You will directly see a new folder named "Data"
8.You're done, now the issue is fixed
Source: windows 8.1 search not working? - Microsoft Community
I actually got the error message that the file data was in use so this helpful instruction confused me but if you disregard it, search will work again on your drive and you will be able to find your own files again.
You might not have this problem yet but you should make a mental note of it or save it as help for Windows 8.1 because you may face this problem in the future.
What do you do when Windows can index one drive but not another? Doesn't that seem weird?
1.Open Task Manager by pressing Ctrl+Shift+Esc
2.Optional: Sort by CPU
3.Find and Click "Microsoft Windows Search Indexer"
4.Click "End Task"
5.Go to the directory C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Search
6.Delete the folder "Data"
7.You will directly see a new folder named "Data"
8.You're done, now the issue is fixed
Source: windows 8.1 search not working? - Microsoft Community
I actually got the error message that the file data was in use so this helpful instruction confused me but if you disregard it, search will work again on your drive and you will be able to find your own files again.
You might not have this problem yet but you should make a mental note of it or save it as help for Windows 8.1 because you may face this problem in the future.
