#Requires -Version 5.1 <# JbTecWiz Support Centre -- read-only diagnostic Fault : Outlook search returns nothing, or misses recent mail Source: https://jbtecwiz.com/support/win-office-outlook-search This script CHANGES NOTHING. It runs only the inspection commands from the write-up -- the Get-, Test- and Resolve- calls that establish which cause is in play -- and prints what each returned. Anything that writes, deletes, starts or stops is excluded by construction, not by judgement. Read the output alongside the write-up, then pick the fix that matches. Each fix has its own script on the same page. #> [CmdletBinding()] param([switch]$Transcript) $ErrorActionPreference = 'Continue' if ($Transcript) { $log = Join-Path $env:USERPROFILE ("jbtecwiz-win-office-outlook-search-" + (Get-Date -Format yyyyMMdd-HHmmss) + ".txt") Start-Transcript -Path $log | Out-Null Write-Host (' Saving a transcript to ' + $log) } function Write-Rule { param([string]$Text) Write-Host '' Write-Host ('-' * 70) -ForegroundColor DarkGray if ($Text) { Write-Host $Text -ForegroundColor Cyan } } function Probe { param([string]$Label, [string]$Fix, [scriptblock]$Command) Write-Rule (" " + $Label) Write-Host (" from: " + $Fix) -ForegroundColor DarkGray Write-Host '' foreach ($l in ($Command.ToString().Trim() -split "`n")) { Write-Host (" " + $l.Trim()) -ForegroundColor DarkGreen } Write-Host '' try { $out = & $Command 2>&1 | Out-String if ([string]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace($out)) { Write-Host ' (returned nothing)' -ForegroundColor DarkGray } else { foreach ($l in ($out.TrimEnd() -split "`n")) { Write-Host (" " + $l.TrimEnd()) } } } catch { Write-Host (" could not run: " + $_.Exception.Message) -ForegroundColor Yellow } } Write-Rule Write-Host ' Outlook search returns nothing, or misses recent mail' -ForegroundColor White Write-Host ' Read-only diagnostic -- nothing is changed.' -ForegroundColor Green Write-Rule Probe -Label 'Check the Windows Search service is running and set to start automatically.' -Fix 'Confirm the search service and that Outlook is not excluded' -Command { Get-Service WSearch | Select-Object Name, Status, StartType } Probe -Label 'Check for a policy that specifically excludes Outlook from the index.' -Fix 'Confirm the search service and that Outlook is not excluded' -Command { Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Search' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Select-Object PreventIndexingOutlook, PreventIndexingEmailAttachments } Probe -Label 'Confirm the OST is not on a location the index skips -- a removable drive or a network path.' -Fix 'Check what the index is actually told to cover' -Command { Get-ChildItem "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Microsoft\Outlook" -Filter *.ost | Select-Object FullName, @{n='GB';e={[math]::Round($_.Length/1GB,2)}} } Write-Rule Write-Host ' Diagnostic finished. Nothing was changed.' -ForegroundColor Green Write-Host '' Write-Host ' Compare the output above with the write-up, then run the' Write-Host ' script for the fix that matches:' Write-Host ' https://jbtecwiz.com/support/win-office-outlook-search' Write-Rule if ($Transcript) { Stop-Transcript | Out-Null }