Windows Search Installation

Applies To: Windows Server 2008

Windows Search 4.0 (WS4) is released as a software package in a single, self-executing file. The naming convention for the Windows Search installation packages are the following:

  • Windows XP: WindowsSearch-KB940157-XP-x86-XXX.exe

  • Windows Server 2003: WindowsSearch-KB940157-Srv2k3-x86-XXX.exe

  • Windows Vista: Windows6.0-KB940157-x86.msu

In the file names for Windows XP and Server 2003, XXX is the placeholder for the language code. For example, WindowsSearch-KB940157-XP-x86-enu.exe is the file name of the U.S. English installation package.

The installation package name changes with each release of the product. Specifically, the "KB" number in the file name changes to reflect the Knowledge Base article that is associated with the release. This number may change or be completely removed from the filename.

Windows Search must be installed by a user who has administrator permissions on the computer. If prompted to restart the computer, we recommend that users do restart the computer. You may need to turn off or disable antivirus and anti-spyware when installing Windows Search 4.

When Windows Search is installed on Windows XP or Windows Server 2003, a shortcut is added to the Start menu and to the taskbar of all users of the computer, and the Windows Deskbar is automatically made available on all users' taskbars. The search engine creates the catalog (index file) and begins indexing the items within the specified scope.

The Windows Search installer for Windows XP and Server 2003 is based on the Windows package installer technology (formerly called Update.exe) that installs software updates for Microsoft Windows operating systems and components. If you are interested in learning more about the package installer, visit the Windows Installer page on MSDN (https://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/windowsserver2003/deployment/winupdte.mspx).

The Windows Search installer for Vista is based on the Windows Update Stand-alone Installer (Wusa.exe). If you are interested in learning more about this package installer, visit the Description of the Windows Update Stand-alone Installer page (https://support.microsoft.com/kb/934307).

This section includes information and advice on the following topics:

  • What’s Included in the Installation Package

  • What’s Installed During Installation

  • Finding the Latest Version of Windows Search

  • Installing Non-English Versions

  • Upgrading Between Versions

  • Uninstalling Windows Search

What’s Included in the Installation Package

Windows Search 4.0 includes the following major components:

  • Windows Search Indexer: Indexes more than 200 file types and content stores.

  • Windows Search ADM Template file: Enables Group Policy settings.

  • Indexing options (Control Panel): Lets you specify what to index, where to index, and more.

  • Windows Start Menu search integration (Windows Vista): Provide a search-as-you-type interface in the Start Menu.

  • Windows Deskbar (Windows XP and Server 2003): Provides a search-as-you-type interface in the Taskbar.

  • Desktop Search results view (XP and Server 2003): Displays search results and enables readers to preview, filter, and act on search results.

  • Search companion integration (XP and Server 2003): Upgrades the Search Companion or Search Assistant in the Windows XP and Server 2003 operating systems.

  • Windows Search Add-in for Files on Microsoft Networks (XP and Server 2003): Enables indexing and searching on Microsoft network shares.

What’s Installed During Installation

Windows Search 4.0 installs the following additional components:

  • Filters, implementations of the IFilter interface, which are used to extract text and property information for creating the index (as described in Microsoft Knowledge Base article 915800).

  • Windows Search ADM Template file that enables Group Policy settings.

  • For Windows XP and Server 2003, XmlLite, the light-weight, trimmed XML parser (as described in Microsoft Knowledge Base articles 915865 and 914783).

Network administrators must be able to manage and control the versions of the applications they support. To make this easier, Windows Search is fully supported by Windows Update. However, there are several methods that can be used to obtain the latest version of Windows Search:

To find out which version of Windows Search you're currently running on Windows XP or Windows Server:

  1. Open Control Panel.

  2. Click Add or Remove Programs.

  3. Find the entry for Windows Search and select Click here for support information. The version number is listed in the Support Info box.

To find out which version of Windows Search you’re running on Windows Vista or Server 2008, you must look the information up in the Registry:

  1. Open Regedit.

  2. Expand the view to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows Search\Current Version value.

For information on deploying Windows Search, see the Windows Search Deployment Options section of this guide.

Installing Non-English Versions

If your organization requires international versions of Windows Search for users who speak different languages, you can either deploy localized versions of Windows Search on Windows XP and Server 2003, or you can deploy a Windows Search Multilingual User Interface (MUI) pack with the English version. The MUI pack lets your users switch user interfaces based on their operating system language preference. To use the Windows Search MUI pack, the Windows operating system MUI pack must already be installed.

Note

On Windows Vista, there is no need to install localized versions of WS4 or separate Windows Search MUI packs. WS4 for Vista supports 36 languages using the same language resource that the Windows Vista operating system uses.

Installing Windows Search MUI Pack

On Windows XP and Server 2003, the Windows Search MUI pack works together with the Windows operating system MUI pack. Therefore, you must install the Windows operating system MUI pack before you install the Windows Search MUI pack. When you change the default language of the Windows, WS4 also updates to use the same language.

For best results, use the following steps when installing Windows Search and the Windows Search MUI pack:

  1. Install the Windows MUI pack.

  2. Install the Windows Search MUI pack (which includes the installation of Windows Search).

  3. Change the Windows Regional and Language options:

    1. In the Regional and Language Options item in Control Panel, click the Languages tab.

    2. In the Languages used in menus and dialogs list, choose the language you want, and then click OK.

  4. Log off and then log on as the same user.

The Windows Search user interface uses the language you selected in Regional and Language Options.

Important

You cannot install a standalone language installer (other than English) over a previously installed MUI package even if the operating system language matches the standalone language installer. Earlier versions of Windows Search MUI packages require an upgrade to a Windows Search 4.0 MUI package (which includes the standalone English installer). Non-English package upgrades require like packages.

To download the Multilingual User Interface pack for Windows Search 4.0 Preview, : visit these pages:

For more information about the Windows MUI packs, visit the Configuring and Using International Features of Windows Web page (https://www.microsoft.com/globaldev/reference/win2k/setup/default.mspx).

Upgrading Between Versions

If you upgrade from WDS 2.6.x, you can upgrade to WS 4 or later. When upgrading, WDS 2.6 is automatically uninstalled first. No settings migrate from the earlier to WS 4. After installation, Windows Search completely rebuilds the index. In addition, any 3rd party or Microsoft add-ins need to be reinstalled.

If you upgrade from WDS 2.5000.1119 or earlier, you should uninstall that version and install WS 4 or later. These older versions can be uninstalled with remote system management. No settings migrate from WDS 2.5 to WS 4. After installation, Windows Search completely rebuilds the index.

Note

Uninstalling the MSN toolbar suite and installing WS4 or later does not restore MSN Search Toolbar functionality. If a Web Search Toolbar is still required after Windows Search is installed, visit the Windows Live Toolbar page to download and install the latest version of Toolbar.

If you upgrade from WDS 3.x to WS 4, core settings migrate but the index is rebuilt. On Windows XP or Server 2003 machines, if the Add-in for Files on Microsoft Networks (UNC/FAT protocol handler) is installed with WDS 3.x, it is uninstalled and then reinstalled with WS 4 since it is included in WS 4 package itself. Other 3rd-party protocol handlers (like IE History) installed before the upgrade should continue to work as expected.

Note

If you upgrade from WDS 3.x to WS 4 on Windows XP or Server 2003 and then choose to uninstall WS 4, the uninstaller removes both WS 4 and WDS 3.x binaries. However, if you upgrade from Vista SP1 to WS 4 and then choose to uninstall WS 4, the uninstaller removes only WS 4 and retains the 3.x version that shipped with SP1.

If you are currently running Windows Vista, you should install Windows Vista SP1 and then install WS 4. WS4 will not install on Vista operating systems prior to SP1.

For Windows Search version information, see the Windows Search Version History table.

When uninstalling Windows Search from Windows XP or Server 2003, users can receive a generic warning that some programs may rely on Windows Search and could fail to function if the uninstall is completed. The Windows package installer keeps track of all the programs that it installs and when a user tries to uninstall one of those programs, Update.exe warns users with a list of programs were installed after the program being uninstalled. This is done to allow users to consider the possible dependencies between programs before uninstalling a program. Our testing has shown that such dependencies do not exist between Windows Search and other programs. You can continue to uninstall Windows Search without complications.

Uninstalling Windows Search 4.0 from Windows Vista SP1 reverts the search engine back to the 3.x version included in SP1, and the index is rebuilt.

A user’s favorite locations are stored as configuration files (.LNK) and are not removed when you uninstall Windows Search. After uninstalling, you can safely delete the .LNK files from this location:

%USERPROFILE%\Application Data\Windows Search\My Search Locations

See Also

Concepts

Windows Search Version History
Windows Search Deployment Options
Windows Search 4.0 Troubleshooting Guide

Other Resources

Windows Installer
Windows Update Stand-alone Installer
Windows Search MUI Pack download page
Windows Search 4.0 for Windows XP (KB940157)
Windows Search 4.0 for Windows XP x64 (KB940157)
Windows Search 4.0 for Windows Server 2003 (KB940157)
Windows Search 4.0 for Windows Server 2003 x64 (KB940157)
Windows Search 4.0 for Windows Vista SP1 (KB940157)
Windows Search 4.0 for Windows Vista SP1 x64 (KB940157)