If you find that the Search box is missing from your Windows 7 Start menu, it means that the search component is disabled by an administrator in your system, or may be disabled by default in your Windows 7 installation. Here is how to enable the Start menu Search feature in Windows 7.
Press WinKey + R to bring up the Run dialog, type OptionalFeatures.exe and press {ENTER}
Enable Windows Search checkbox, click OK.
Restart Windows.
Additional Information
(From What happens if I turn off Windows Search?)
- All the search boxes in Windows will disappear, including the search boxes in Windows Explorer, the Start menu, Control Panel, the Documents library, and other libraries.
- Programs that rely on Windows Search might not function properly.
- Internet Explorer won’t have enhanced search capabilities.
- Tablet PC handwriting recognition won’t work.
- Windows Media Center won’t have enhanced search capability.
- You’ll no longer be able to arrange your library views by metadata, and your column headers will only sort items, not stack or group them.
- Options that affect Windows Search functionality will be removed, including indexing in Control Panel and the Search tab in Folder Options.
- Windows will no longer recognize these search-based file types: search-ms, searchconnector-ms, and osdx.
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- How to Restore Start Menu Search Command in Windows Vista
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@Richard: Thanks for the heads up. Please use the Run dialog instead. Must’ve been a little bit careless when writing the article :)
How the heck is anyone meant to do the following. If they are hear trying to get the serach retored as broken they cant type OptionFeatures.exe in the search start menu field. ITS MISSIN
Come on guys your better than this!?
I have the feature on but no search bar/box in start menu, I’m missing the Windows Search service, what do I do, how do I install it? thanks