Windows 10 vs Windows 10: This is a strange one. I have Win10 on two similar Dells. When I right-click on the start button and go to Search, the computers give me different results.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

This is a strange one. I have Win10 on two similar Dells. When I right-click on the start button and go to Search, the computers give me different results. One usually finds what's on my computer, but the other one finds virtually nothing. In both cases, entering the search word gives me results from the Web, so I click on My Stuff to find it on my computer. Basically, Search is not working on the computer with the Win10 clean install.

Any ideas?

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

jerryc41 wrote:

This is a strange one. I have Win10 on two similar Dells. When I right-click on the start button and go to Search, the computers give me different results. One usually finds what's on my computer, but the other one finds virtually nothing. In both cases, entering the search word gives me results from the Web, so I click on My Stuff to find it on my computer. Basically, Search is not working on the computer with the Win10 clean install.

Any ideas?

You can control what Search does/yields but damned if I remember where to toggle that stuff. They moved everything around and hide half the settings I always modify from factory. Win 10 runs great but is a Huge learning curve. Why your two PC differ, only God knows.

At the college I was attending for my Teaching Credential the Education Department had just set up a new computer lab. One of my classes was the first in the room to use any of the computers for the first time. There were about 20 identical computers all running the same O/S with the same applications software. The first couple uses everything was fine but after a few weeks of us and other edu students using the PCs, that had "evolved" to all be different from one another. Some much so that some files would only open or function the same on the same machine that created them initially. Various people had obviously altered various setting here and there.

So once they are out of the box, no two computers remain the same. Kind of like people. Remember even identical twins have different finger prints!

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

lamiaceae wrote:

You can control what Search does/yields but damned... (show quote)

Yes, I know what you mean.

Hankwt Loc: kingsville ontario

every time i search for something my wife points out that its right in front of my face !!

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

Hankwt wrote:

every time i search for something my wife points out that its right in front of my face !!

Yes, that too! :? :cry:

dcampbell52 Loc: Clearwater Fl

jerryc41 wrote:

This is a strange one. I have Win10 on two similar Dells. When I right-click on the start button and go to Search, the computers give me different results. One usually finds what's on my computer, but the other one finds virtually nothing. In both cases, entering the search word gives me results from the Web, so I click on My Stuff to find it on my computer. Basically, Search is not working on the computer with the Win10 clean install.

Any ideas?

Jerry, It took me months of use with Windows 10 to learn some basic stuff about it. Don't get me wrong, Windows 10 is a huge improvement over Windows 7 which was even better than Vista, Windows 98, and Windows 95 and especially Windows 3.1 (I liked DOS and really liked DrDos) lol. But I had either didn't know or forgot about the features of right clicking on the startup in Windows 10 for the "other options". I spent an hour and a half on the phone with Apple because (in Apples infinite wisdom) they installed Apple Cloud on my compute during an update of other Apple software. There is NO uninstall for I cloud. The Apple service rep was as much at a loss for a solution as I was and finally said, "maybe there is an uninstall in the install. So we re-downloaded the app and clicked on update / uninstall. After the fact, I found that the application uninstall feature for windows had been moved to the area in the right click of startup. LOL even now, I am still learning.. and so is the Apple Service tech.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Hankwt wrote:

every time i search for something my wife points out that its right in front of my face !!

I know. I've spent time looking for my glasses, which were on top of my head, and my cell phone, which was in my hand. MS should do better. :D

kubota king Loc: NW , Pa.

I DID A FRESH INSTALL OF WIN 10 PRO ON MY DESKTOP WITHOUT ANY PROBLEMS THAT i FOUND YET OF MISSING ITEMS . DO YOU HAVE THE UPDATE INSTALLED THAT CAME OUT THAT UPDATES THE VERSION OF WIN 10. iF THERE ARE OTHER MISSING ITEMS , YOU MAY WANT TO REINSTALL 10 , AND THEN MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE LATEST VERSION OF 10 THAT COMES THUR MICROSOFT UPDATES

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

Jerry,

Both the right click search and the search box to the right of Start, are "Cortana". It searches both your PC and the internet using MS's Bing. Until last week one could configure Cortana to use various search engines. (say Google, ...) However, Microsoft changed that option last week. I had Google set as my choice when using "Cortana", but last week I lost the option. Bing is now the only default available. You may have to do a non-destructive reinstall of Win 10 to solve the issue. (if I understand the problem?)

Good luck,
Mark

1Feathercrest Loc: NEPA

If Window 10 is supposed to be so great, why is there such an elaborate learning curve? I HATE trying to navigate it on my two new computers. The older Operating Systems may have been slower, but they were relatively easy to learn without the obtuse new language and protocol. Repeat...I want the OS to be simple to learn and navigate. I spend far too much time trying to get to things that were only a click away on my old computers.

dcampbell52 Loc: Clearwater Fl

1Feathercrest wrote:

If Window 10 is supposed to be so great, why is there such an elaborate learning curve? I HATE trying to navigate it on my two new computers. The older Operating Systems may have been slower, but they were relatively easy to learn without the obtuse new language and protocol. Repeat...I want the OS to be simple to learn and navigate. I spend far too much time trying to get to things that were only a click away on my old computers.

You had similar learning curves on the older computers when the OS was newly released. It is just that this version is so much more powerful and has so many bells and whistles that it (at first) seems overpowering. It really is a good OS, it is just that (as with many situations) we users over think the issue and add to the kayos. If you ( and I am, as I stated in an earlier post), react to the problem and don't stop and research it until you fully understand the OS, of coarse it is going to bite you.

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

I appreciate your frustration. Did you go to the Microsoft website for help topics? For a week, I spent many hours researching Win 10. I installed it about 2 weeks after the free upgrade was announced. I also knew I could revert back to Win 7 Pro by several means - internally in Win 10 and by my backup files via Acronis. I never looked back, but I also realized I had some learning to do before I would be comfortable. (true with ALL technology).

Here is a link to help topics at Microsoft website. I read all of this right after installing Win 10. It should be "must read" for all Win 10 users. It is helpful.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/support

Mark

If Window 10 is supposed to be so great, why is there such an elaborate learning curve? I HATE trying to navigate it on my two new computers. The older Operating Systems may have been slower, ......

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

markngolf wrote:

Jerry, br br Both the right click search and the ... (show quote)

Yes, ""luck" is what I need. :D

I left-click on magnifying glass in the TaskBar and enter ASCII_2.jpg. It can't find it, although that exact file is on my D drive. Basically, it can't find anything on my computer, even when I tell it to look in "My Stuff" and use File Explorer. Win7 and Win8.1 work perfectly when searching.

My other computer has Cortana active, and I left-click on the white circle and get the same result - nothing.

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

You are right about Cortana. However, If you open "File Explorer' and search, I believe it will find "stuff" on your PC. it's also interesting - if I type Photoshop or Lightroom in Cortana search, it will open the programs.(whoops - sorry, "apps") I still have my Programs head on.
Mark

jerryc41 wrote:

Yes, ""luck" is what I need. :D

I left-click on magnifying glass in the TaskBar and enter ASCII_2.jpg. It can't find it, although that exact file is on my D drive. Basically, it can't find anything on my computer, even when I tell it to look in "My Stuff" and use File Explorer. Win7 and Win8.1 work perfectly when searching.

My other computer has Cortana active, and I left-click on the white circle and get the same result - nothing.

1Feathercrest Loc: NEPA

No, the learning curve on the older operating systems did not seem to be similar, and I had no trouble going from XP to Vista to 7. Why new terminology and a slew of unwanted apps with all opaque means to get to a function that was plain in the older systems. I am not a geek. I am a senior who prizes familiarity above new terminology and process. I do not find new, for the sake of uniqueness to be a plus.
I have not found Cortana to be of any use as it does not answer my basic questions of searches. Gadgetry for the sake of itself is of little value to me.