Sonoma - Folder Search Not Working - 'This Mac' Search Works

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Level 1

31 points

Sonoma - Folder Search Not Working - 'This Mac' Search Works

I have both a MacBook Air M2 and a new iMac M3 both with Sonoma 14.2.1 and it appears I have the same issue as hundreds of other Sonoma users.

When I try to search a folder, e.g. Documents, Photos, etc. using the search field in the upper left corner and even when I use a + sign to add more search parameters, NOTHING shows up. BUT, if I switch to "This Mac" the search works as desired. This also fails when I try to create a Smart Folder (same interface).

I've tried all the recommended Apple "fixes", e.g. rebuild the Spotlight index by blocking and then unblocking the target folders. The Terminal solutions don't work either as ".Spotlight-V100" doesn't exist or I don't have permissions or something.

Does anyone know how to fix this?

iMac 27″, macOS 10.13

Posted on Jan 21, 2024 9:50 AM

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Answer 1

DonnieM51 Author

Level 1

31 points

Jan 21, 2024 10:48 AM in response to Luis Sequeira1

Copied and pasted your command, entered the password, and got this (the same thing I got before with the same commands). I couldn't manually navigate to Volumes and can't find Data at all (hidden???).

Maybe you know what that means? And how to get around it? Probably has something to do with the issue???

rm: /System/Volumes/Data/.Spotlight-V100: Operation not permitted

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Answer 2

DonnieM51 Author

Level 1

31 points

Jan 23, 2024 5:47 AM in response to etresoft

Actually, I tend to agree with you about hacks. But I blame Apple for all of this. Didn't Apple test Finder Search before release? Doesn't someone at Apple monitor the forums? For this widespread issue they can only come up with a hack on their support pages that doesn't work? And their MacOS support call desk's only answer is to reinstall the OS? I did report this to Feedback Assistant but that's a black hole that is ALWAYS a waste of time.

This hack with .Spotlight-V100 did work (eventually once permissions were worked out) within minutes.

And yes, "left" was a typo (or more likely a brain fart).

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Answer 3

etresoft

Level 9

59,224 points

Jan 23, 2024 7:53 AM in response to DonnieM51

DonnieM51 wrote:

I blame Apple for all of this.

Blamestorming is not a path to a solution.

Didn't Apple test Finder Search before release?

Obviously Apple does test software before release. But it is also obvious that Apple doesn't test software very thoroughly.

Doesn't someone at Apple monitor the forums?

No one knows for sure. But again, it should be obvious that if anyone at Apple is monitoring the forums, their efforts aren't resulting in a very good user experience.

For this widespread issue they can only come up with a hack on their support pages that doesn't work?

I don't know what support page you are referring to. It would be better to include a link to such page if you would like to ask a specific question about it.

And their MacOS support call desk's only answer is to reinstall the OS?

This is not the macOS support call disk. We can't do anything about their policies or procedures.

I did report this to Feedback Assistant but that's a black hole that is ALWAYS a waste of time.

No lie there.

This hack with .Spotlight-V100 did work (eventually once permissions were worked out) within minutes.

That's great then. Unfortunately, none of those hacks have worked when I've had Spotlight problems.

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Answer 4

Barney-15E

Level 10

125,284 points

Jan 23, 2024 11:54 AM in response to DonnieM51

DonnieM51 wrote:

Actually, I tend to agree with you about hacks. But I blame Apple for all of this. Didn't Apple test Finder Search before release?

It appears very few people have this problem, so it may have not been present.

Doesn't someone at Apple monitor the forums?

Not for that type of stuff. There are only moderators.

For this widespread issue they can only come up with a hack on their support pages that doesn't work?

It isn’t a widespread problem, and Apple didn’t come up with the “hack.” I did.

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Answer 5

Barney-15E

Level 10

125,284 points

Feb 7, 2024 7:23 AM in response to ikir

ikir wrote:

Yes Terminal needs Tull disk access! 🔝

Good catch. I originally used Recovery to delete the folder as I thought deleting the "live" folder would be a problem. People noted it wasn't a problem, so I changed it. Terminal has "full disk access" in Recovery, so I wasn't aware of the issue. I'll add that to the Tip.

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Answer 6

Mar 26, 2024 2:38 AM in response to BrianVT

BrianVT wrote:

To clarify what I just tried was manually deleting ".Spotlight-V100".

To clarify even more, what was the exact command you used? Did it produce any error message? Did you try restarting after deleting?

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Answer 7

DonnieM51 Author

Level 1

31 points

Mar 26, 2024 7:27 AM in response to BrianVT

Just jumping in here because I cannot tell what you actually tried among all the static from other posts. I posted a solution that worked for me in my post on Jan 23, 2024 3:39 AM in response to Luis Sequeira1 that doesn't involve Terminal or other hacks (well, my "solution" is a hack using a trick to fix Apple's problem with Sonoma).

If that doesn't work for you, then I have not a clue.

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Answer 8

Barney-15E

Level 10

125,284 points

Jan 21, 2024 12:49 PM in response to DonnieM51

/Volumes is not the same as /System/Volumes

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Answer 9

DonnieM51 Author

Level 1

31 points

Jan 21, 2024 1:17 PM in response to Barney-15E

So where is /Data?

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Answer 10

DonnieM51 Author

Level 1

31 points

Jan 22, 2024 7:56 AM in response to Barney-15E

rm: /System/Volumes/Macintosh HD/.Spotlight-V100: No such file or directory

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Answer 11

Jan 22, 2024 8:21 AM in response to DonnieM51

I am not sure, but since you have an Apple Silicon mac, you may have to do this while running Terminal in Recovery - and I think the path to the Spotlight-V100 is a little different then.

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