Search doesn’t work

Al too common issue is that searchfunction i Sharepoint blows a fuse for unclear reasons.

Usually when migrating sites from one server to another.

Following situation has occurred with Search Server 2010 Express & Sharepoint Foundation 2010 and Sharepoint Server 2013.

Symptoms:

• Search returns “property doesn't exist or is used in a manner inconsistent with schema settings”
• Search throws an exception “Internal server error exception”
• Search just doesn’t find anything

This usually fixes it.

1. Create new page based on Enterprise template Basic Search Page. Give it a good name like intranet.com/searchcenter/
2. Try it if the search works there.
3. If it does map the main searchfunction to this new searchcenter instead.
1. Site Collection Administration> Search Settings
2.  
3. Change Search Center Url to /searchcenter/ and change results page url to the one you got when you search from the searchcenter. Usually results.aspx if someone hasn’t been fiddling.

If the Search Service Application shows any funny business, like not being able to resolve user names. Its usually better to create a new SearchService.

What to think about when creating a new Search Service:

1. Make sure to use an account that has full dbo to the contentdatabases.

2. Make a full crawl after its created, make sure that your sites are listed in the “Content Source>Local Sharepoint Sites” settings in the SearchService Application. It usually is.

3. Edit Web Application Service Connection to make sure that the new Search Service Application is associated. Remove the old one.