How To Remove Search Bar From Taskbar In Windows 10
Jan 28, 2015
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We’ve seen Windows 10 evolve with each updated build that has been released and a very prominent, much talked about feature that was introduced was the new search bar added next to the start button. It takes up space on the Taskbar which we usually reserve for our frequently used apps and it is somewhat redundant since you can still search your computer from the Start Menu. Fortunately, there are two very simple ways to disable the Search bar so that it doesn’t appear on the Taskbar in Windows 10. Here’s how.
Both these processes are simple with one being quicker than the other. Right-click on the Taskbar and you will see a new option in the context menu called ‘Search’. It expands to reveal three options; disable, show search icon, or show search box. You’ve got plenty of choice as to how you want the search feature to appear. Select the Disable option to hide the search bar, icon and all.
The second, slightly longer and slightly inconvenient way to hide the search bar is to open the Taskbar’s properties. Right-click the Taskbar and select ‘Properties’. Go to the ‘Toolbars’ tab and from the ‘Search on taskbar’ drop-down select the disable option to hide it completely.
If you’re hiding the search bar to save space, you can have it show only the search icon. Even with search disabled, you can still use Cortana with the voice command and as stated earlier, the start menu has a perfectly functioning search feature that you can use to the same effect.
The only odd thing is that the disable feature, as well as the options to view either the icon or just the search bar are somewhat redundant in their current implementation.
How To Remove Search Box From Taskbar In Windows 10
Last Updated on April 7, 2021 by admin 6 Comments
Tip: You don’t need the taskbar search box to search your Windows 10 PC or web. Even after hiding the search box, open the Start menu (use Windows logo key) and start typing to search your PC/web.
The new search box is one of the first things you notice as soon as you start using Windows 10. The search box appears right next to the Start button, where we usually pin our favorite folders, programs, and drives, and the search box is capable of searching the web as well as your PC.
The other problem with the search box is that it takes a considerable amount of space on the taskbar, which isn’t an issue for large screen users, though. Those of you want to get rid of the search box to regain some space on the taskbar can configure Windows to show a small search icon on the taskbar instead of the default search box (check method 3 and 4 for instructions).
To remove the search box from Windows 10 taskbar, please follow the given below instructions.
Note that the search box will continue to appear as a taskbar search box whenever you click the Start button or press the Windows logo key on the taskbar.
Method 1 of 3
Remove the taskbar search box
Step 1: Right-click on an empty spot on the Taskbar, click Search and then click the Hidden option to remove the search box from Windows 10 taskbar.
Method 2 of 3
Disable the search box on the Windows 10 taskbar
This method is useful for those users who want to free up some space on the taskbar by placing a search icon instead of a massive search box.
Step 1: Right-click click on the taskbar, click Search, and then click the Show search icon option to show the search icon instead of the search box.
Method 3 of 3
Disable Windows 10 taskbar search box
UPDATE: This method no longer works as Microsoft has dropped the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog.
Step 1: Right-click on the empty space of the taskbar and then click Properties to open the Taskbar and Navigation Properties dialog.
Step 2: Here, under the Toolbars tab, in the box right next to Search on the taskbar option, select the Disabled option.
Windows search how to remove
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How can I remove Windows Desktop Search from the taskbar, or at least permanently hide it from the taskbar? In my original attempt I selected the following:
Start > Settings > Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs
Then I selected Windows Desktop Search and «removed» it. Then I rebooted my PC. When I rebooted, the Search Desktop interface appeared in the taskbar next to the tray. Now it doesn’t appear in the control panel.
Frankly it hasn’t been useful, and I don’t want it to take up the real estate in my taskbar. Microsoft, how can I get rid of it or permanently remove it from the taskbar? And, I shouldn’t have to hack around the registry to do this. Thanks.
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I want to totally remove Windows Desktop Search, not just turn off the toolbar for it. There is nothing in the Add/Remove software pane for Windows Desktop Search, so how does one actually get rid of this resource waster? Besides the CPU processing it wastes while indexing, it does not even search in the areas I want looked most of the time, since I am NOT looking in the documents areas that it does index. I want to get totally rid of it!
On my WINXP computer under Add / Remove Programs, there is an entry for Windows Desktop Search 3.01. Trouble is, when I start the uninstall, it throws a list of over 100 programs that «could be affected by its removal» because they were installed after it. Well, I’m intimidated. Also doubly vexed with Microsoft, for not only is Windows Desktop Search a resource hog, but at this point it stands between me and the file search methods that I know.
Anybody out there have some better answers?
Hope y’all can help me out with some additional ideas on how to completely uninstall win desktop search. From what I can tell in the Add Remove Progs, Win Desktop Search v 02.06.5000.5378 is listed. When I attempt to uninstall I get error: «Update could not be removed because newer updates are installed. Please remove the newer updates first.» However Add Remove Progs does not list any other items that are recognizable as another update/version of win desktop search. I don’t want to have to pick files I think might be related and try to hit and miss uninstall one by one just to find it. Desktop search has not been useful at all for me, just as the Win Live Tool Bar for IE 7 was useless. I did uninstall the Win Live Tool Bar (not sure if/what may still be left behind). I’m tired of things like this eating up sys resources and items that auto boot with Win but are next to near impossible to find and disable. I’ve tried to use Sys Mech Pro 7 to uninstall progs that don’t show up in the Add Remove Programs list and the last time it just locked up. I’m currently trying out Security Task Manager that lists all running apps/processes and their locations. However the trial version has limited function and I’m not sure that it can help to uninstall programs completely or if selecting remove will simply remove that one component only and leave the rest of the program files lying around taking up space. So I’m also trying out some registry edit/cleaners. Trying out Karen’s Registry Pruner. Any ideas, suggestions, tips, & or pointers to help me accomplish my goal of cleaning out software I don’t find useful. — Especially Win Desktop Search.
But I could spend years sorting thru and not finding what I’m looking for as usual with any Win/MS issues I have tried to go to the MS sites for info on.
Thanks so much for your time and effort and any and all ideas/help you can provide!
No one, not even Bill Gates knows how to remove Live Desktop Search with Add/Remove.
How to remove Windows Desktop Search?
Which version of WDS do you have installed? Are you on XP or Vista? Do you see WDS listed in Add/Remove programs?
Normally there’s a simple uninstaller but some people have reported problems where this is not available
I have uninstalled WDS 3 times using various means. I have blocked it on the list of Windows updates, and I have used Autoruns to block its execution. Nothing I’ve done will permanently remove it or prevent its execution. This program is so persistent it’s difficult NOT to think of it in terms of malware.
I know there are well-meaning folks working on this project. I understand their desire to compete directly with Google for mindshare, but this is NOT the way to do it. I am embarrassed for Microsoft that they have allowed this type of thing to go on.
If anyone can figure out how to get rid of it for good, please let us know.
Windows Search 4 is an optional update on XP, as far as I know it isn’t installed unless you explicitly approve it in Windows Update, or you previously had Windows Desktop Search 3 installed. I’m not an expert on the full Windows Update system but I just took a clean XP machine and double-checked, and Windows Search 4 is not installed automatically.
Windows Search 4 does come with an uninstaller
So my three-step guide for removing WS4 from XP goes like this:
1. Check Add Remove Programs and try and uninstall there.
3. If there’s no C:\Windows\$NtUninstallKB940157$ directory do the following:
— A/ Delete the following reg keys if present:
This will make the installer believe no Windows Search 4 is on the system.
— B/ Reinstall Windows Search 4.
This will add the uninstall files back to C:\Windows\$NtUninstallKB940157$
— C/ Now the uninstaller should be present in Add/Remove Programs again and can be uninstalled as normal.
Most people who have had trouble uninstalling Windows Search have been able to do so using the above, although there are other threads on these forums with other approaches.
Add/remove programs did not work for me the other times I used it to remove WDS. I found the uninstaller (spuninst.exe) and used it, and that seems to have done the trick for now. However, it has been gone before and it come back. Only time will tell if this fix is permanent.
I really appreciate your followup and detailed response. I have never had problems with other Microsoft software like the kind I’ve had with WDS. It has been extremely frustrating.
Cool — let me know if you still have issues. I’m curious too why you have seen it re-install, and why the regular Add/Remove Programs uninstall was not working.
One thing to check is that the earlier version WDS 3 has an uninstaller at a different location: C:\Windows\$NtUninstallKB917013$ so I wonder if that version is still partially installed in some way that makes Windows Update think it should try and upgrade you to the latest version. So if there is an uninstaller at that location I would try running it too.
Guess what showed up again this morning. So I did some digging, and I have to admit the mistake was mine.
Although I have auto-updates is turned off, and our patch management program (not MS) is configured to block the distribution of WDS via policy, my machine was NOT under any patch management policy. And since my machine is not a member of any policy, I’ve been getting all patches, feature additions, etc. WDS kept coming back because my patch management program was doing its job exactly the way I had it configured.
Please accept my humble apology, and thanks again for your quick and detailed responses. They were extremely helpful.
It also seems that this search feature does NOT do the job very well. Even after modifying it to search for every file extension it has listed, it would not locate a file I know is in a folder it was searching in.
After uninstalling this piece of week old carp, I had twelve hits on my search with the legacy Windows search feature.
Following are my efforts to uninstall it, and then the reasons for trying to uninstall it. Dave Wood please take notice.
1. Around a week ago, where this piece of ship-it is/was most particularly unbearable, I went to Control Panel — Add and Remove Programs, and selected to delete this one. On one computer, the dialog panel flickered for a moment and the Windows Search 4 item was no longer shown in the list of programs. However, the garbage is still running and still causing problems. On the other computer, the uninstaller actually ran, giving a list of several dozen other programs that this malware was threatening to break, but I told it to uninstall itself anyway. It almost obeyed. It didn’t tell me that a reboot was necessary, but my experience with Microsoft is long enough, I could figure it out. The problem is still the first PC where Add and Remove Programs no longer displays this garbage but it’s still running.
2. There is no C:\Windows\$NtUninstallKB940157$ directory. (There are directories to uninstall other later stuff, and I do display hidden and system files and the contents of system directories and protected system files and everything. This directory really doesn’t exist, unless a rootkit is hiding it.)
3. I DID download and reinstall Windows Search 4. This piece of ship-it did reinstall itself. It’s running and making a pest of itself the same as always. AND STILL there is no mention of it in the Add and Remove Programs list, AND STILL there is no C:\Windows\$NtUninstallKB940157$ directory.
4. I am considering deleting directory C:\Program Files\Windows Desktop Search. Of course that’s not the right way to delete a program. I expect that the right way is going to be FORMAT C and reinstall Windows. But meanwhile, does anyone really know how to do it?
Now here are the reasons why this piece of ship-it needs evacuation.
Every 5 minutes it puts up a focus-stealing dialog. It tells me it can save disk space by reorganizing my Outlook Express folders. Even if 5 minutes earlier it already did save a negative amount of disk space (i.e. actually increased disk usage) by reorganizing Outlook Express folders, it wants to repeat the process. If it steals focus while I’m typing from the keyboard, it might just steal keystrokes and ring a bell sound, or it might eat an Enter or Space keystroke and repeat its malicious operations.
The thing leaks resources. What resources, I don’t know, but it causes trouble for both itself and other applications. When the thing has leaked some degree of resources, attempts to open further Internet Explorer windows either display corrupt non-functioning windows or display nothing at all. When it leaks more resources, Outlook Express cannot even reply to an e-mail message, asserting a false reason that there isn’t enough memory. When it leaks enough resources it stops popping up focus stealing dialogs, and instead it makes a ringing sound like a doorbell every 10 seconds until I reboot. What a monopolizing pain.
Both PCs involved in this have 2GB of RAM. Typically 1GB are in use at any time, and around 1GB are in use when Outlook Express can’t reply to an e-mail message due to not having enough memory. So memory is not the problem. Both PCs have several tens of gigabytes of free disk space as well. One PC has a few gigabytes of e-mail but the other has less than one gigabyte of e-mail stored in their Outlook Express identities directories.
To add ship-it to ship-it, in Windows Explorer do a right-click on My Network and select Search for Computer. Try to search for a computer. That’s right, virtually the only search function that ever used to work has now been removed from Windows. The context menu entry hasn’t been removed, only the functionality has been removed.
Windows Desktop Search has got to go. Someone tell me how.
