Kernel Data Recovery Blog

How to fix “Instant Search does not Display any Results” in Outlook?

Read time 8 minutes

Instant Search is an incredible feature included with Ms Outlook that allows users to search for specific emails, messages, calendar items, journals, etc. But, sometimes this feature doesn’t work properly or stops working. While using Instant Search in MS Outlook 2007, 2010, or 2013, users may get the following messages in the  Indexing Status dialog box:

One reason behind Outlook search not working could be a problem with Window Indexing service, which requires rebuilding the “Index” created by the indexing service.

Solution to fix “Instant Search does not Display any Results” in Outlook

Rebuilding the Index

The best method to solve this problem is rebuilding the index, which will automatically fix all other minor problems. So, to rebuild the index, you have to follow these simple steps:

The rebuilding process can take several hours for the completion. So, it’s better to keep the system at rest until the rebuilding process is completed.

Apart from rebuilding the index, some other alternatives are also available if you want to ignore the long process of rebuilding the index.

Removing Outlook from Windows Indexing

  1. Firstly open Microsoft Outlook and click on the File tab.
  2. Now go to Options, then to Search Setting and then Indexing Options.
  3. Hit on Modify.
  4. Now un-check the checkbox beside Microsoft Outlook.
  5. Close the Outlook also from Task Manager, if Outlook running, click on End Process.
  6. Lastly restart the Outlook and check whether the Outlook instant issue is fixed or not.

Remove the Window search feature and install again

One reason behind this problem can be the damaged Windows Search option. So, if the installation of Windows search got damaged, you can remove and reinstall it easily. If you’re using Windows 7, then follow these steps to reinstall the window search feature:

However, if you are using Windows 8 or 10, then you will not find “Windows Search” option in the programs. To disable “Windows Search” in Windows 8 or 10, follow these steps:

Ensure that Indexing is complete

The second option to solve this problem is to check if the PST file or mailbox are indexed or not. To check for index marking, you can follow these steps;

Check for corruption in PST files

If the Outlook is not displaying the correct results even after marking the PST file, it could be due to corruption in the PST file. In order to fix this, you have to repair your corrupted PST file. There are several methods to repair a PST file, but the simplest method is to use Kernel PST Repair Tool. This tool can help you repair any corrupted PST files.

Once the file is repaired, open Outlook and check for indexing. To check for indexing, follow these steps;
Open Outlook, click Tools>>Instant Search>>Indexing Status

However, if the size of PST file or Mailbox is too big, then it can take some time for the indexing. If it’s showing that the PST files and Mailboxes are indexed, then you’ll not face this problem again.

Reset the Index

Even after rebuilding the index, if the Instant Search does not display any results, then try restoring defaults. The difference between “Rebuild” and “Reset” is that apart from resetting all customize indexing settings, the reset method will also recreate the actual index files.

Follow these steps to reset the Index.

The four methods mentioned above are proved to be very useful in solving “instant search does not display any results” error.

The above discussed solutions are proved to be very useful in solving “instant search does not display any results” error.

Conclusion

Instant Search not working is a common problem faced by Outlook users, which often make users scramble through internet to look for solutions. But, it is not a big issue. In this article, we have mentioned some effective methods that can be used to fix ‘Instant search doesn’t display results’ error.