KB5008212 causes abnormal search in Outlook

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KB5008212 is a routine cumulative update for December 2021 that applies to Windows 10 versions 20H1, 20H2, 21H1, and 21H2 at the same time. According to the latest support bulletin released by Microsoft, after installing this update, the search function of the Microsoft Outlook desktop version is abnormal, which makes it impossible to search recent emails.

“After you install update KB5008212, recent emails may not appear in search results,” Microsoft explains in a recently published Office support document. But this is not the problem of Microsoft Outlook itself, but an abnormal call to the Windows Desktop Search service, so it can be restored after disabling the Windows Desktop Search service. According to Microsoft, after disabling Windows Desktop Search, Outlook will use the built-in search function, which is not affected and can correctly find recent emails.

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Microsoft is not yet clear about the specific cause of the problem. It currently takes time to investigate. When the cause of the problem is determined, Microsoft will announce and fix it in time. As a temporary workaround, currently affected users can disable Windows Desktop Search, which invokes Outlook’s internal search when disabled. When the desktop search service is disabled, users will see a group policy prompt when looking for mail, and the search performance may also be affected when the Windows Desktop Search is disabled.

After Microsoft solves this problem, users can re-enable Windows Desktop Search to restore performance. For details, please wait for the official instructions and support announcements that Microsoft will release later.

You have to go through the following procedure to disable the Windows Desktop Search service for Outlook:

  1. In Windows, right-click Start, and then select Run. In the Open: box type regedit, and then click OK. This will open the registry editor.
  2. Find this subkey in the registry and then click it:
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows
  3. Click Edit > New > Key, and name the new key Windows Search.
  4. Select the new Windows Search key.
  5. Click Edit > New > DWORD Value.
  6. Type PreventIndexingOutlook for the name of the DWORD, and then press Enter.
  7. Right-click PreventIndexingOutlook, and then click Modify.
  8. In the Value data box, type 1 to enable the registry entry, and then click OK.
  9. Exit Registry Editor, and then restart Outlook.

Via: bleepingcomputer

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