Microsoft’s latest Windows 10 update is now breaking search on some PCs

(Image credit: Future)

It looks like Microsoft’s latest update for Windows 10 is encountering yet more issues, with some users reporting that Windows Search no longer works.

This follows recent reports that the same update was causing an issue where Cortana was being particularly greedy when it came to CPU usage, impacting the performance on affected PCs.

Now, there have been several users taking to social media, forums, and the Windows 10 Feedback Hub app complaining that since installing the update, the built-in search tool in Windows 10 no longer works.

According to some users, while the search box remains in users’ Taskbars, when they try to search for something, a black box is displayed rather than their search results.

It looks like the issue could be to do with the Windows 10 KB4512941 update and the Group Policy or Registry entry for how Windows Search and Bing (Microsoft’s online search engine) work together – which was the issue with the high CPU usage problems that users were also reporting.

It looks like the way to fix this issue is to uninstall the update for now. You can do this by opening up Settings, clicking 'Update & Security', then clicking 'View update history'. Click 'Uninstall updates' then select the KB4512941 update and click 'Uninstall'.

Windows 10 KB4512941 installation error

Not only is the Windows 10 KB4512941 update causing issues for some people once it’s installed, there’s also reports that some Windows Insiders (who test out early updates for Windows before they’re made public) can’t even install the update, with the installation producing an 0x800f081f error code.

However, considering the issues plaguing this update, not being able to install it might be a blessing in disguise.

Microsoft claims it’s looking into the problems affecting the update, but it hasn’t released any official fixes or workarounds.

It’s not a great look for Microsoft, which has faced criticism in the past over issues with previous Windows 10 updates. The company has promised to overhaul the way updates are tested and rolled out in a bid to avoid future issues, but it appears not to be working so far.

Via Windows Latest

Matt Hanson
Managing Editor, Core Tech

Matt is TechRadar's Managing Editor for Core Tech, looking after computing and mobile technology. Having written for a number of publications such as PC Plus, PC Format, T3 and Linux Format, there's no aspect of technology that Matt isn't passionate about, especially computing and PC gaming. Ever since he got an Amiga A500+ for Christmas in 1991, he's loved using (and playing on) computers, and will talk endlessly about how The Secret of Monkey Island is the best game ever made.