The glitch was reported by hundreds of Windows users on February 5, 2020 (many of whom took to social media to complain). The issue with Windows 10 was due to part of the operating system’s core features stopping working. This meant that the Windows Search function was suddenly unable to locate files held on a computer.
This meant that when people keyed in a search term, instead of receiving the usual list of files (either in date order, file type or on the basis of relevance), Windows users found that when the desktop search was operated a blank box (gray in color) appeared with no files listed. The search bar is one of the most commonly used Windows features, and it is the general way by which people locate files and apps, as well as emails. The search bar is also useful for locating shared files where there is more than one user of a particular computer.
To address the problem in the interim, some users found that if they disabled Bing in the Windows 10 Start Menu, this temporarily fixed the problem. However, such a fix also limited the ability to use the Internet or will have directed users to opt for Google instead.
According to Warren Rumak of Autodesk, speaking to PC Gamer Magazine: “If I had to guess, I’d say that what happened here was that the desktop search experience was moved from the Windows team to the Bing web team, and they just don’t have the skills to build desktop programs with efficient C++. And, it looks like there is a mechanism to update the JavaScript code from a remote server, without actually upgrading the Search application itself.”
Within 24 hours, Microsoft has indicated that the problem has been fixed through the issuing of a Windows update. For this to work, computers need to be rebooted, according to BBC News.
According to Microsoft: “This issue has been resolved for most users and in some cases you may need to reboot your machine.”
While Windows 10 is used by over 800 million people, it is uncertain how many users of the operating system were impacted by the sudden error.
Some technology analysts have pointed out that the issue developed shortly after the U.S. National Security Agency reported on a ‘significant flaw’ with Windows 10, where hackers could use a portion of the operating system create malicious software.
