[SOLVED] Cortana "Type here to search" returns black square instead of programs?

optimizer1

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Sep 15, 2016
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Cortana "Type here to search". I normally enter the first letters of a utility I want to run and it returns a box above with various options normally including the utility as an option.
As of yesterday it pulls up the same size box, but it's black with nothing in it.
That Cortana Search box essentially no longer works.
Is there any news of M$ bungled updates or anything like that, and if they're going to roll back the bungle? There only seems to be one style of update on the update log around that date, but it's not one I feel would affect this part of windows.

I suppose, while I'm on, Notepad's been mangled for half a year or more - "find" suddenly started searching backwards by default instead of down. Does anyone know what on earth happened - did they add this as a feature or a bungle, and is there a MS knowledgebase for it (I never found one)?
 

optimizer1

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Sep 15, 2016
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Possibly this:
"Windows search went down for hours because of a Microsoft services outage"
https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/5/2...wn-blank-results-issues-microsoft-bing-outage
Thanks USAFRet,
That must be what was wrong. It's working now, although it was down for a lot more that the 3 hours in the article, more like 24 hours?
Article Quote: "Microsoft blames a 'third-party'"... lol.
That doesn't explain how the actual code in M$ Windows didn't have error checks allowing the operating system to function instead of break....
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
Thanks USAFRet,
That must be what was wrong. It's working now, although it was down for a lot more that the 3 hours in the article, more like 24 hours?
Article Quote: "Microsoft blames a 'third-party'"... lol.
That doesn't explain how the actual code in M$ Windows didn't have error checks allowing the operating system to function instead of break....
The OS was functioning. Just that one part was broken.