Troubleshoot QuickBooks Search Not Working Issue

Go ahead step by step and at the end of the article, you can easily solve the error QuickBooks search not working. QuickBooks search sometimes freezes and does not respond. If the search option is not working user is unable to search files, customers, transactions, etc. It may take a quite long time to search manually.

Symptoms and Causes QuickBooks Search Not Working

If you’re having trouble finding a specific item in your QuickBooks Desktop account, you may not have the correct search terms. At this point, you will know at what instance an error can come and how to identify it.

• When you restart your QuickBooks
• When you are trying to index
• While checking firewall settings
• At the time of QuickBooks reinstallation

Why QuickBooks Search Doesn’t Work

The error “QuickBooks Search not working” generally comes while QuickBooks Desktop is being updated on your computer when the updating of software is not done properly. There could be many reasons behind the error QuickBooks search not working. Some common reasons are mentioned below.

• While updating the QuickBooks Desktop version you took the wrong steps to update
• Third-party QuickBooks
• There could be a damaged search index in QuickBooks
• Registry error with PC windows
• Interruption of Firewall Windows

Troubleshoot QuickBooks Search Not Working Issue

There are many methods to troubleshoot this QuickBooks search not working issue. However, some of the most successful and common methods are given below.

Method 1 – Change QuickBooks Search Index File Name

First of all, it is required to check the name of the index file and if there is a problem with that, then need to change the QuickBooks File.

• Open your QuickBooks then close your company file
• Go to the Start menu by pressing the window button
• Now, search for file .search index which is available inside the folder Programs and files.
• Doing this step will get the file into the computer’s folder and drive.
• Now follow the path C:\Users\UserName\Public\Documents\Intuit\QuickBooks\Company File.
• You will get the file with your company file name XXXXXXXXXX.QBW at this location.
• Search the file named with qbw.SearchIndex, rename it with .OLD at the end of the filename
• Go to the left-side corner and by clicking on that option update the search information
• Let the information update, click ok if you receive any notification message while the update process
• Once the update is done, retry to search for any file in QuickBooks
• Now again check if the problem persists or not. If yes go to the next method.

Method 2 – Disabling Firewall Temporally

• To close the firewall protection, simply go to the start button
• Get the Control panel option >> Get the firewall option and switch off it.
• Once the firewall is disabled try to open QuickBooks and again check for search features.

Method 3 – Fixing Windows Damaged Registry Files

• As above mentioned this error also comes due to a damaged Windows registry in the Windows operating system.
• If this happens then you are required to repair the damage.

Method 4 – Use Incognito Window

If still, you are still unable to use QuickBooks, try using the incognito window. You can use any web browser. Below are some shortcuts mentioned for different web browsers to open the incognito window.

Browser Name – Keyboard Shortcuts

• Safari– Command + Shift +N
• Mozilla Firefox– Ctrl+Shift+P
• Google Chrome– Ctrl+Shift+N
• Internet Explorer– Ctrl+Shift+P

Method 5 – Clear Browser’s Cache

If still, you are unable to use QuickBooks you can clear your web browser’s cache. The steps are given below for the Google Chrome browser.

• Open your Google Chrome browser.
• Now, go to the top right corner and click on the three dots icon.
• Now, choose the “More tools” option from the given list.
• Go to More tools >> “Clear browsing data” option.
• Adjust the period for which you want to delete the browsing data
• You can select basic, advanced cache, and history as per the requirement.
• To clear all cache, and unnecessary history go to the advanced tab >> checkmark all the boxes.
• Now click “Clear data“. At this point, the system may take some time to finish according to data size.
• Once the process is done your cache is deleted.

Hope that by using the above rules you have fixed your issue, if not, then do this second method.

Method 6- Manually Update QuickBooks

Some steps help you to update the QuickBooks to the latest release manually. These steps are as follows:-

• Close all the applications including QuickBooks
• Go to the Start menu then search for QuickBooks
• Then right-click on it and choose the option Run as Administrator
• You open up QuickBooks with No Company Open window
• Click on the Help menu option
• Further, choose the Update QuickBooks Desktop to 2024
• The updated QuickBooks window opens up
• Select the Options tab
• In this, click on Mark All and then click on the Save button
• In the tab Update Now, you have to tick mark the Reset Update checkbox
• After that, click on the Get Updates button to start downloading updates
• Restart your QuickBooks Desktop software and it installs the updates.

Method 7 – Uninstall and Reinstall QuickBooks

In this method first, you need to uninstall QuickBooks Desktop by using the below steps.

• To uninstall QuickBooks Desktop press the Start button
• Now, go to the Control Panel
• Click the options program and features
• Select QuickBooks Desktop then click on uninstall
• Once the program is uninstalled, download a new QuickBooks package through the official website.
• After downloading the complete file, double-click on it and follow the steps to get the installation done.

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Frequently Asked Questions