On Friday my Windows 7 machine locked up. I restarted and got through the login and got to my desktop but couldn't open anything. I can move my mouse but that is it, I have to hold the power button in the shut down. The computer boots in safe mode, so I tried doing a system restore. Same problem. Then I started msconfig and stopped everything in "startup" and all non microsoft stuff in services. Same problem. Eventually I narrowed it down to the Windows Search service. I can enable every other service but this one. I installed SP1 and all other current updates but the problem persists. I tried uninstalling and reinstalling Windows Search but no luck there either. I really don't want go through a reinstall but I don't know what else to try. Can anyone help? Thanks.

Hi, Thanks for posting in Microsoft TechNet forums. Do you receive any error message? In Event log? At this point, I suggest rebuild Windows Vista’s Search Index first: Type Indexing Options in the Start Menu’s search box in Vista. Click on the Advanced tab and then click Rebuild. You can also try clicking on Restore Defaults if Rebuild does not work. If for some strange reason you are not able to select anything on this page, you can rebuild the searcher index manually by editing the following registry key: HKLM/Software/Microsoft/Windows Search/SetupCompletedSuccessfully to zero and then restarting the machine. Then, delete the Windows Search Index Program Folder: C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Search\Data\Applications\Windows C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Search\Data\Temp If you do not see these folders, you need to turn on viewing for hidden folders by going to Windows Explorer or My Computer and then choosing Tools, Folder Options. Go to the View tab and scroll down till you see “Show hidden files and folders“. You should now be able to see the ProgramData folder. Restart the computer to check it out. Best Regards Magon Liu TechNet Subscriber Support in forum. If you have any feedback on our support, please contact tngfb@microsoft.com Please remember to click Mark as Answer on the post that helps you, and to click Unmark as Answer if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.

Hi, Thanks for posting in Microsoft TechNet forums. As this thread has been quiet for a while, we assume that the issue has been resolved. At this time, we will mark it as ‘Answered’ as the previous steps should be helpful for many similar scenarios. If the issue still persists, please feel free to reply this post directly so we will be notified to follow it up. You can also choose to unmark the answer as you wish. BTW, we’d love to hear your feedback about the solution. By sharing your experience you can help other community members facing similar problems. Thanks for your understanding and efforts. Best Regards Magon Liu TechNet Subscriber Support in forum. If you have any feedback on our support, please contact tngfb@microsoft.com Please remember to click Mark as Answer on the post that helps you, and to click Unmark as Answer if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.