How to remove the Windows 10 search bar or disable search

Many users are faced with the need to remove the Windows 10 search bar, especially after installing or updating the operating system. By default, Microsoft sets the search bar to expanded on the taskbar.

Search in Windows 10 is a useful system tool for quickly finding files, folders, settings, and apps on your computer. Search quickly searches for the desired data on the PC, offering results in a special window.

Windows 10 Search is located on the Taskbar, right after the Start menu. There are some issues with displaying the search bar in Windows 10.

The fact is that by default the search bar is expanded and takes up a significant amount of space on the taskbar. There can be a large number of icons on the Taskbar, and in the process of working on the PC, additional icons of running programs will appear.

Because of this, it will not be very convenient to work on a computer. Therefore, questions arise how to remove the search bar in Windows 10.

The search bar is not always on the taskbar. The “Show Search Box” option does not appear in the Taskbar Options menu under the following circumstances:

• screen resolution less than 1024 x 768;
• when placing the taskbar on top, left, or right.

How to remove the Windows 10 search box

First, we will understand how to disable the search bar in Windows 10. This is a safe operation that a user with any level of experience can perform.

In order to remove search from the Windows 10 Taskbar, follow these steps:

1. Right click on the Taskbar.
2. Select “Search” from the context menu.
3. The following menu offers three options for settings:

• Is hidden.
• Show search icon.
• Show search box.

4. Select the appropriate option to display the search or hide it from the taskbar altogether.

On my computer, I choose to show the search icon, in my opinion, this is the best option.

After we figured out how to disable the search bar in Windows 10 visually on the Desktop, next we will see how to disable Windows search in the system settings. Built-in Windows Search can replace the free Everything program, a powerful tool for finding data on your computer.

How to disable search in Windows 10

Now we will look at how to disable the Windows 10 search service using the operating system tool. This method also works in previous versions of Windows.

Go through the following steps:

1. Right click on the start menu.
2. Select “Computer Management” from the context menu.
3. In the Computer Management window, in the left area of ​​\u200b\u200bComputer Management (Local) click the checkbox next to Services and Applications.
4. Left click on Services.
5. Find the “Windows Search” service in the list of services.
6. Right-click on the service, select “Properties” from the context menu.

The Windows Search service is configured to start automatically after Windows starts. The service is responsible for indexing content, caching properties, and search results for files, email, and other content.

7. In the “Properties: Windows Search (Local Computer)” window, in the “General” tab, go to the “Startup type:” parameter.
8. Select the “Disabled” option.
9. Click on the “Stop” button.
10. After “Stopped” appears in the “Status:” option, click on the “OK” button.

Search indexing is disabled in Windows 10.

If you need to undo your changes, start the Windows Search service again to work in automatic mode.

How to disable the search process in Windows 10

In addition to stopping the system service, Windows Search components associated with search and the voice assistant remain running on the system. The process “SearchUI.exe” is running on the PC, which must be disabled.

In disabling this process, we will be helped by a third-party free program Unlocker , which has the ability to make changes to operating system files. After installation on a computer, the Unlocker program is built into the Explorer context menu.

Follow these steps:

1. Right click on the start menu.
2. In the context menu that opens, select “Task Manager”.
3. In the Task Manager window, click the Details tab.
4. Find the “SearchUI.exe” file, right-click on the file.
5. Select Open File Location from the context menu.
6. Right-click on the file “SearchUI.exe”, and in the Explorer context menu, click on “Unlocker”.
7. In the Unlocker program window, in the action selection field, select the “Rename” option.
8. In the “Select a new name for the object” window, add a letter or sign to the file name, click the “OK” button.
9. Restart your computer.

To undo this change, enter the location of the file, and then use Unlocker to rename the file name back to “SearchUI.exe”.

How to disable web search

The Windows 10 search engine is integrated with Bing search. We need to disable the ability for built-in search to interact with web search.

You can do this using the Local Group Policy Editor, which works in older versions of the Windows operating system: Windows 10 Pro (Professional) and Windows 10 Enterprise (Corporate).

You will need to make the following settings:

1. Press “Win” + “R” on your keyboard.
2. In the “Run” dialog box, in the “Open:” field, enter the command “gpedit.msc” (without quotes), and then click on the “OK” button.
3. Follow the path:

Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → Windows Components

4. Click on the “Find” folder.
5. In the “Status” area, look for “Prohibit Internet Search”.
6. Double-click the left mouse button on “Disable Internet Search”.
7. In the “Prohibit searching the Internet” window, activate the “Enabled” option, click on the “OK” button.
8. Do the same for the other two settings: “Do not search the web or show results from the Internet in search” and “Do not search the web or show results from the Internet in search when using metered connections.”
9. Restart your computer.

Disabling these settings is carried out as follows: in the settings of the Local Group Policy Editor, specify the “Not configured” parameter in each changed option.

Article Conclusions

A fairly large number of users are faced with the need to remove the Windows search bar from the Taskbar on the Desktop. Other users need to turn off the built-in search in Windows 10. The Windows operating system has settings to perform the listed actions with system search.