How To Remove Search Box From Windows 7 Start Menu

Whether you want to improve your privacy from other users of your PC or simply find the built-in Windows 7 search box redundant having installed a powerful application launcher such as Launchy, you may want to remove the search box from the Start Menu.

Here are the steps to disable and hide search box from Windows 7 start menu.

1. Go to Control Panel –> Programs.

2. Click on ‘Turn Windows features on or off’ in the ‘Programs and Features’ section.

3. In the ‘Windows Features’ dialog, scroll down the list to the bottom to find the check box titled ‘Windows Search’. Clear the checkbox and click ‘OK’.

4. You will see a message saying ‘Turning off Windows Search might affect other Windows features and programs installed on your computer, including default settings. Do you want to continue?’.

Click ‘Yes’.

5. Windows 7 takes a while for making the change.

6. Restart your PC to apply the changes.

That’s it. When you reboot your PC, you will notice that the search box is no longer available in Windows 7 start menu. Also you will find it missing from Windows Explorer, where it is normally present besides the address bar. Note that other search related features such as indexing will also stop working when you disable this feature.