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Your Windows Operating system will have many processes running in the background. The purpose of which will vary, with most users having very little knowledge about their inner workings. For this reason, you may have reservations about these processes, why they are running and whether they are save. This brings us to the SearchApp.exe file, which powers the search feature in your Start Menu, Taskbar and File Explorer. In the past, this feature was integrated with Cortana under SearchUI.exe.
The primary function of this relatively low resource using process is to ensure that, when you click on the Start button, you’re able to find what you’re looking for. Additionally, it operates the Search Box next to the Start button.
As is the case with all processes, it runs in the background, and will use an unnoticeable amount of your systems resources. However, as is the case with Windows app, it does have its issues, with the following error message being the most common:
SearchApp.exe – Application Error
Is SearchApp.exe Safe?
If the question is whether the SearchApp.exe in your system is a genuine process belonging to Microsoft’s Windows operating system, then the answer is yes. In the vast majority of cases, you shouldn’t even know when the feature is running, however, there are instances when users have reported issues with it.
Given the importance of the process, it’s not uncommon for hackers to create viruses and name them after this particular file. This can potentially lead to you having a harmful SearchApp.exe masked as a legitimate process, lingering on your system. Such a file could provide backdoor access into your system.
If you think there’s a possibility this could be your situation, then there are methods you can use to check the authenticity of the SearchApp.exe file on your system – this, ultimately, will rule out it being a virus, spyware, Trojan horse, worm etc.
Determining the Authenticity of SearchApp.exe
Although SearchApp.exe is a legitimate file in of itself, many hackers like to disguise their virus files by using the name of this Window process. This could be the case in your situation.
One of the first ways to determine the authenticity of this file is by its storage location. You should ordinarily find it here:
C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.Search_cw5n1h2txyewy
To step-by-step instructions to verifying the legitimacy of SearchApp.exe on your system, is as follows:
1. First, ensure you’ve booted into your system as a full administrator.
2. Then press 
+ R, type C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.Search_cw5n1h2txyewy and click on OK.
3. This will bring up the Microsoft.Windows.Search folder, from here, click on the SearchApp.exe file and select Properties.
4. The SearchApp Properties applet should appear. Click on the Digital Signatures Tab, then click on Microsoft Windows under Name of signer, lastly, click on Details.
5. The Digital Signature Details applet should appear, click on View Certificate.
6. On the General Tab of the Certificate, it should provide you with the necessary information to authenticate the file.
Note: Such as, the Issued to, Issued by and Valid from information. Which should be Microsoft, the validation date should not have lapsed.
Should You Disable It?
Because SearchApp.exe is an integral part of your operating system, ideally, you wouldn’t want to disable it, as doing so can have adverse effects on your Windows experience. However, if you really most disable (or remove) this file, then be sure to establish a Restore Point, for contingency sake.
When discussing whether to disable this process, you’re reasoning must be valid. If you are getting high CPU usage problems with it then that could be a legitimate reason to disable it.
With that said; to disable this feature, the steps are as follows:
1. Boot into Windows as an admin.
2. Now, right-click on the Taskbar and select Task Manager.
3. On the Processes Tab, check the Search process, monitor its CPU and Memory usage, to determine whether or not it’s using more resources than it should.
Note: If the Process is using more than 50% of CPU and/or Memory, then it’s either a malicious file or it’s corrupted.
4. If it’s potentially malicious, then right-click on it and select End task.
How Do You Turn SearchApp.exe Off?
The method above, will simply close the process, however, the process will reload, either when you attempt to use the feature again or if you restart your system.
If you want to disable the SearchApp.exe process entirely, this is in fact possible.
The steps are as follows:
The first thing you will need to do is close SearchApp.exe. To do that, you can follow steps 1 – 4 of Should Your Disable It.
Alternatively, you can close the Process through Command Prompt, the steps are outlined below:
1. Boot into Windows as an Admin.
2. Next, press + R, type cmd and press CTRL + Shift + Enter.
3. When Command Prompt loads up, type the commands below, pressing Enter after each line:
cd %windir%\SystemApps taskkill /f /im SearchApp.exe
4. This will effectively close the SearchApp.exe process.
From this position, it is now possible to effectively disable SearchApp.exe. However, this will disable Search across your Windows operating system. For this reason, you should only do it, if you know for certain, you’re system is at risk.
The additional steps are as follows:
5. Type and press the additional commands below (in Command Prompt) and press Enter:
Move Microsoft.Windows.Search_cw5n1h2txyewy Microsoft.Windows.Search_cw5n1h2txyewy.old
6. This will make the Microsoft.Windows.Search folder inaccessible to Windows, effectively disabling the feature. However, by reversing the commands, it is possible to turn the feature back on.
Move Microsoft.Windows.Search_cw5n1h2txyewy.old Microsoft.Windows.Search_cw5n1h2txyewy
Use Internet Security Software
If you’re certain the file is malicious, then you should carry out a full scan of your system using your internet security software. If you don’t have an antivirus scanner, then you can use Windows built in solution, the steps are as follows:
1. Boot into Windows as a full admin.
2. Then type Windows Security into the Type here to search box and click on Windows Security.
3. When Windows Security loads up, click on Virus & threat protection.
4. This will bring up the Virus & threat protection page, from here, click on Quick scan.
Additionally, if don’t have your own solution and you’d rather not use Microsoft’s security solution, you could try the System Mechanic tool. Which is, amongst the very best antimalware tools in the digital marketplace right now.
Anyway, you can learn more about this powerful security suite from the link below:
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