“Search Service is not running” – The search service is stopped or unreachable.

If the Search Service in SharePoint is not running or is unreachable, it means that the search functionality is completely broken. This issue can be caused by a misconfiguration, a stopped search service, permission problems, or even corrupted search components.

Below is a detailed and step-by-step troubleshooting guide to diagnose and fix this problem.

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Step 1: Identify the Problem Scope

Before troubleshooting, determine the extent of the issue:

1. Check if the issue is affecting all sites or just one.
   • If only one site is affected, the problem might be related to site search settings.
   • If all sites are affected, it’s likely a server-wide issue.
2. Try accessing the Search Service Application in Central Administration.
   • Go to Central Administration > Manage Service Applications.
   • Click Search Service Application.
   • If you get an error or the page doesn’t load, the service is likely stopped.
3. Check for error messages in the SharePoint logs (ULS logs).
   • Open ULS Viewer or check logs at: C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\16\LOGS
   • Look for errors related to Search Service or Crawl Components.

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Step 2: Verify That the Search Service is Running

The SharePoint Search Service must be started for search to work.

2.1: Check the Services on Server

1. Open Central Administration.
2. Go to System Settings > Manage Services on Server.
3. Look for Search Host Controller Service and SharePoint Server Search.
4. If they are stopped, click Start to restart them.

2.2: Check the Windows Services

If the search service does not start from Central Administration, try manually starting it via Windows Services.

1. Open Run (Win + R) and type: services.msc
2. Look for the following services:
   • SharePoint Server Search
   • Search Host Controller Service
3. If they are stopped, right-click and select Start.
4. If the service does not start, check for permission issues (Step 4).

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Step 3: Restart the Search Service Using PowerShell

If starting the service manually does not work, restart it using PowerShell.

1. Open SharePoint Management Shell as Administrator.
2. Run the following command to check the status of the Search Service: Get-SPEnterpriseSearchServiceInstance
   • If it shows Stopped, start it manually using:
   Start-SPEnterpriseSearchServiceInstance
3. Wait for a few minutes and check if the service is running.
4. If the service is stuck in “Provisioning”, restart the server.

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Step 4: Verify Search Service Account Permissions

Search services run under a specific service account that must have proper permissions.

1. Open Central Administration.
2. Go to Security > Configure Service Accounts.
3. Under Service Accounts, select:
   • Search Service Account (e.g., SP_Search).
   • Search Host Controller Service Account.
4. Ensure that both accounts have the following permissions:
   • Log on as a service (Check in Local Security Policy: secpol.msc).
   • Full control on the Search Service Application.
   • DB Owner role in SharePoint databases.

If the accounts are missing permissions, update them and restart the search service.

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Step 5: Ensure That Search Components Are Running

Search in SharePoint is composed of multiple components. If one of them fails, the entire search may stop.

1. Open Central Administration.
2. Click on Manage Service Applications > Search Service Application.
3. Go to Search Administration.
4. Look under Search Components:
   • Admin Component – Responsible for search management.
   • Crawl Component – Responsible for indexing content.
   • Query Component – Processes search queries.
   • Analytics Component – Analyzes search data.
   • Index Component – Stores the search index.
   • Content Processing Component – Processes crawled data.

If any component is showing an error, restart the search service using:

Restart-Service -Name OSearch15 -Force

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Step 6: Recreate the Search Service Application (If Needed)

If the Search Service is completely broken, you may need to delete and recreate it.

6.1: Delete the Existing Search Service Application

1. Open Central Administration > Manage Service Applications.
2. Select Search Service Application and click Delete.
3. Choose Delete data associated with this service application.

6.2: Create a New Search Service Application

1. Open Central Administration > Manage Service Applications.
2. Click New > Search Service Application.
3. Enter the following details:
   • Service Name: Give a name (e.g., Search_Service_New).
   • Service Account: Select an existing managed account or create a new one.
   • Search Database Name: Use a new database or keep default settings.
4. Click OK and wait for the application to be created.
5. Once created, restart search using: Restart-Service -Name OSearch15
6. Perform a Full Crawl to re-index content.

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Step 7: Verify SQL Server Configuration

If search still isn’t running, check the SQL Server settings.

1. Open SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS).
2. Expand Databases and look for:
   • Search Administration Database (Search_Service_Application_DB).
   • Crawl Database (Search_Service_Application_CrawlStore).
   • Analytics Database (Search_Service_Application_AnalyticsStore).
3. Ensure that the Search Service account (SP_Search) has:
   • DB_OWNER and DB_ACCESSADMIN roles.
   • If missing, add the roles manually.
4. Restart SQL Server and SharePoint Search Service: iisreset net stop osearch15 net start osearch15

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Step 8: Check Firewall and Port Settings

If the search service is unreachable, it may be blocked by a firewall.

1. Open Windows Firewall > Advanced Settings.
2. Ensure that the following ports are open:
   • TCP 1433 (SQL Server)
   • TCP 8080 (SharePoint Central Administration)
   • TCP 32843, 32844 (Search Components)
3. If ports are blocked, create inbound and outbound rules.

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Step 9: Check SharePoint Logs (ULS Logs) for Errors

If search is still not working, check detailed error logs.

1. Open SharePoint Management Shell.
2. Run: Get-SPLogEvent | Where-Object { $_.Category -eq "Search" } | Select-Object -First 20
3. Look for errors related to Search Service Application.

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Step 10: Restart the SharePoint Server

If none of the above steps resolve the issue, restart the entire SharePoint server.

Restart-Computer -Force

After restarting, check the status of the Search Service using:

Get-SPEnterpriseSearchServiceInstance

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