All of a sudden the search function has stopped working. Nothing happens when i type in a search string- not even "file not found" - ive tried the various fixes found through google - didnt help. System restore didnt help either - have no idea what caused the fubar :\

Have you tried clearing and rebuilding the Index in the Indexing Control Panel?

Don't forget Windows Search 4 was available last week from Windows Update & would have installed if your PC is set to auto update. You can uninstall it in Add/Remove Programs.

indexing is off - was off before search stopped working.
i dont see Search 4 installed on the pc but if i try to manually install the update it says it doesnt apply to your system as if it's already installed

Sorry Windows Search 4 can be uninstalled in XP as it's an add on, but you are right in Vista it just integrates with what you've got already. I was updating a Vista & XP dual boot PC when it appeared hence I got my wires crossed. Guess you could go back to early July with System Restore if you haven't installed much else this month.

did that to date before ws4 was installed - still broke :(

update: changed the start menu back to vista default and noticed when i typed in a search it said "search failed to initialize" - googled around and no fix works except that search works fine if i create a new account - okay - so if i could only figure out what's wrong with MY account... ?

http://www.winvistaclub.com/t24.html

If all else fail, run a repair installation as suggested at the bottom of that page.

Jabbering Idiots: Everywhere You Look!

I have this same exact problem and I tried these steps here: http://www.winvistaclub.com/t24.html and when I tried to do a start up repair using the vista OS disc it just says there are no errors or problems.