If on searching in Vista, you get a message : Search Failed to Initialize , here are some troubleshooting steps to try :

Open Control Panel > System & Maintenance > Indexing Options. In the Advanced Options, Click on Restore Defaults and also Rebuild Index. Click OK.

Next, type 'service' in your Start Menu Search Bar, and start Services. Scroll down to the 'Windows Search Service', and ensure that it is set on Automatic and Running. Restart this Service. You will also have to ensure that RPC (Remote Procedure Call) is running and set on automatic.

But if you find that your Indexing is not running , or that the Advanced Button is grayed out and /or you get a message: Waiting to receive indexing status or Microsoft Windows Search Indexer Stopped Working And Was Closed. :

The the chances are that your following Registry key may have been corrupted :

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Search

Open Regedit and navigate to the above-mentioned key. In RHS Pane, double click on SetupCompletedSuccessfully. Ensure that the Value Data is 0 , that is, zero numeral. Click OK. Reboot.

Again, even if your Windows Search Service is set on Automatic, you are unable to Start the service; but instead you get the following error message : Windows could not start the Windows Search on Local Computer :

I suggest then that you see the Event Viewer to check for System Logs. To do so, simply just type even in the Vista start menu search bar and hit enter. On LHS side, click on System, to view the logs.

Note the Event ID and seek Event Log Online Help.

If all this doesn't help, you should try a System Restore. If still it doesn't work - Boot from your Vista DVD > Select System Recovery Option > Select Repair Computer > Choose your installation of Windows > Select 'Startup Repair' > Follow the instructions.

Incidentally, Locate32 is a good freeware which can be used to find files from your hard drives and other locations. it uses databases to store information about directory structures and uses these databases in searches. The use of these databases provides very fast searching speed. Locate32 can index 400 GB of data in under 2 minutes and can perform instant searches.