How to Fix Fix Error 0x80070485 — Windows Search Service Error on Windows
Getting error 0x80070485 when using Windows Search? Search indexing failing? "The search service is not available" error? Search results missing or incomplete? Fix this Windows Search service error.
Symptoms
You might be experiencing this problem if you notice:
- •Windows Search returns no results or partial results
- •Search indexing stuck or failing with error 0x80070485
- •Cortana or Search bar shows "Something went wrong"
- •Indexing Options shows 0 items indexed
- •Start menu search not finding installed apps
- •File Explorer search not finding files that exist
Common Causes
- ⚠Windows Search service stopped or crashed
- ⚠Search index database corrupted
- ⚠Indexing scope misconfigured (not indexing important locations)
- ⚠Windows Search service dependency failure
- ⚠Antivirus interfering with search indexer
- ⚠Corrupted search index after disk errors or sudden shutdown
Solutions
Solution 1: Restart and Rebuild Search Index
- 1First try restarting the Search service:
- 2CMD as Admin:
- 3net stop WSearch
- 4net start WSearch
- 5If that doesn't fix it: rebuild the entire index:
- 6Settings → Privacy & security → Searching Windows
- 7Click "Advanced indexing options"
- 8Click "Advanced" button → "Rebuild" under Troubleshooting
- 9This deletes and rebuilds the search index from scratch
- 10Indexing may take several hours depending on file count
- 11Search will work partially during rebuild
Solution 2: Fix Search Index Database
- 1If rebuild doesn't work: manually delete corrupt index:
- 2CMD as Admin:
- 3net stop WSearch
- 4Delete the index folder contents:
- 5del /s /q "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Search\Data\Applications\Windows\*"
- 6net start WSearch
- 7Windows will automatically create a new index
- 8Also run the Search troubleshooter:
- 9Settings → System → Troubleshoot → Other troubleshooters
- 10Click "Run" next to "Search and Indexing"
Solution 3: Check Indexing Scope and Dependencies
- 1Ensure important locations are being indexed:
- 2Indexing Options → Modify
- 3Ensure these are checked: Start Menu, Users folder, AppData
- 4Add any custom folders you need searchable
- 5Check Search service dependencies:
- 6services.msc → Windows Search → Properties → Dependencies
- 7Ensure "Remote Procedure Call (RPC)" is running
- 8Ensure "Background Tasks Infrastructure Service" is running
- 9If Outlook search affected:
- 10Indexing Options → Advanced → File Types
- 11Ensure ".pst" and ".ost" are in the list with "Index Properties and File Contents"
- 12sfc /scannow if system files may be corrupted
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