Notepad not opening from Start menu search Windows 10

After checking for corrupt files (sfc /scannow in cmd returning no corrupt files detected) and rebuilding the index from index option in the control panel, notepad does not open from the Start menu.

I type 'notepad' into the search in the Start menu, and the notepad icon appears:

However, then I click on the icon, nothing happens.

I noted that this also happens to some other apps such as Snipping Tool and Paint, and that all these apps are in the Windows Accessories folder.

However, I can open these apps if I scroll down through the Start menu and access them from the Accessories folder:

How do I make it so that Notepad and all those other apps can open when I search for them?

Thanks,

George

3 Answers

THIS works:

How for the love of GOD... TL;DR It's only when you disable "let apps run in the background" that search breaks.

I had the same problem, here is what I did, it was simple and very effective:

1. Type the Windows Button+I to open Windows Settings
2. Go top Apps
3. Under Apps & Features, choose Optional Features
4. Search for Notepad, and just uninstall it
5. The choose Add a feature, and reinstall Notepad

This worked for me, and also for Wordpad which was also acting weird. It will probably also work for the snipping tool and paint, and all other programs in Windows accessories.

Note: before you do this, make sure you have updated your Windows!

Ensure that the path is correct and the .exe is present in your System32 folder. You can check the path by right clicking and viewing the properties of the executable.

You can further check if this is malware by ensuring that the certificate is valid. Right click and navigate to the security tab and check the certificate validation dates, and types.