Spotlight not working - OS Sonoma 14.6.1

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Level 1

53 points

Spotlight not working - OS Sonoma 14.6.1

Let me first clarify that I am working on an iMac 27" Retina 5K - 2020 (Intel- 3.6 GHz 10-Core Intel Core i9). 64 GB 2667 MHz DDR4 RAM. Just so I know we are talking "apples to apples" when and If someone replies.

About a month ago Spotlight began acting strangely (much like most everything involving Mac OS Sonoma). Sometimes Spotlight would find my search criteria on my computer (as well as any attached volumes) - sometimes it wouldn't.........wouldn't even find my search on "the Mac". I read somewhere in Apple Community that the "easy fix" was to simply change the shortcut keys for Siri from: Command+Spacebar to something else like Option+Spacebar. Well that didn't work!!! Since it seems that OS Sonoma doesn't allow one to set up custom Shotcut Keys for SPOTLIGHT..........(why am I not surprised - the goofiest operating systems Apple has EVER devised!!). Okay, if I go to Finder and type in my search criteria (let's say: 1929 Auburn Boattail Speedster) and entered this, Finder brings up all recently accessed files, folders, web sites, etc, etc, etc............pages and pages of crap that I an not looking for!!

If I come down in the morning and boot up this 2020 iMac and don't find anything not working correctly, I'm shocked! Absolute WORST most convoluted Operating System I have experienced in the 29 years of being a Apple/Mac user!!!!!

Would anyone have a solution to this Spotlight problem? (No, don't give me some off the wall thing like: "wipe your entire HD clean and reinstall a new operating system". (That would be like saying I have an ignition problem with my Chevy 396 ci engine and someone telling me to pull the entire engine and replacing it with another engine!)

Any reasonable, sensible help would be appreciated folks.

iMac 27″, macOS 14.6

Posted on Oct 13, 2024 2:54 PM

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Answer 1

Oct 14, 2024 11:31 PM in response to SergeantMac

tMac wrote:

Okay...........and how, pray tell, does one "get to" this panel that you are showing???

Left side panel-Systems Setting OS Sonoma:

https://discussions.apple.com/content/attachment/c22ac62e-59cd-4bdf-9144-0bc8b2823cf2

1) Click on Keyboard

2) Locate and click the "Keyboard Shortcuts" button:

3) Click Spotlight

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Answer 2

Oct 16, 2024 12:23 AM in response to SergeantMac

I am glad it is working. To clarify a bit, the point of that process is force the creation of a new and correct index. It seems counterintuitive maybe, but by first preventing search there, the old saved (and incorrect) inddx is thrown away. Then we you reenable search (by pressing “-“), a new index is created.

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Answer 3

AlWeir

Level 4

2,340 points

Oct 14, 2024 8:24 AM in response to SergeantMac

Rebuild the Spotlight index on your Mac

Rebuild the Spotlight index on your Mac - Apple Support (CA)

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Answer 4

SergeantMac Author

Level 1

53 points

Oct 14, 2024 4:57 PM in response to AlWeir

To: AlWeir

Thanks for the link. Haven't tried doing this yet...........but I keep thinking why am I having to constantly keep trouble shooting this **** Sonoma OS when, over the past 30 years using a multitude of Apple operating systems, I remember only one time having to trouble shoot a software problem. Since being plagued by OS Sonoma, it seems like every other week, some idiotic problem arises which requires my time trouble shooting another ridiculous software glitch. I still have a 2015 iMac running Mac OS El Capitan and it continues to run perfectly. All I want to do is just get back to my graphic design work and not have to deal with yet another problem with Sonoma.............

AlWeir wrote:

Rebuild the Spotlight index on your Mac

Rebuild the Spotlight index on your Mac - Apple Support (CA)

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Answer 5

SergeantMac Author

Level 1

53 points

Oct 15, 2024 9:40 PM in response to AlWeir

To: AlWeir

Follow up 10/15/24: For the present Spotlight search appears to be working correctly. As strange as it seemed to have been, the procedure described in the Apple article Rebuild the Spotlight index on your Mac - Apple Support (CA) that you referred me to, seems to have corrected the problem (for now, anyway.........I'm never 100% sure until a month or so goes by but right now everything to be A-OK. I still say OS Sonoma is the quirkiest operating system I have ever used. Thanks my friend.

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Answer 6

Oct 14, 2024 11:03 AM in response to SergeantMac

Please follow AIWeir's advice about resetting Spotlight.

About this:

"OS Sonoma doesn't allow one to set up custom Shotcut Keys for SPOTLIGHT."

Your assumption is incorrect, as you can easily check by looking at the picture below - yes, you can change the shortcut to invoke Spotlight. But changing the shortcut has NO EFFECT on what the search produces, so while it is possible, it is completely irrelevant for the present problem.

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Answer 7

SergeantMac Author

Level 1

53 points

Oct 15, 2024 4:22 PM in response to Luis Sequeira1

Thanks much Luis..........but could they have hidden this "little tidbit" any better??? (BTW - I found another way to reach this setting-equally as convoluted. Oh what a joy it is when I go back to my old iMac Mid 2017 and work with El Capitan. So simple, so easy.............so "common sense" like.

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Answer 8

SergeantMac Author

Level 1

53 points

Oct 15, 2024 4:44 PM in response to AlWeir

Hi Al,

Read the article and followed the exact instructions (which frankly make NO sense) The window states: "Prevent Spotlight from searching these locations". Prevent spotlight from searching these locations!!!! No, I don't want to PREVENT - I want to ENABLE to search these locations!!! Regardless how little sense this makes, I followed the instruction and entered a file where I store all my Graphic Art assets - called simply "Graphic Art assets" and then according to [ my ] interpretation of the instructions, I selected the folder that I just entered and pressed the - (minus) button. Makes NO sense to me but neither does anything else in Sonoma. So did this solve the Spotlight search problem? Basically NO. Meaning sometimes it works.............most of the times it doesn't! Maybe I'm the crazy one...........but Apple's instructions make NO sense to me. I do appreciate your valid attempt to help AlWeir but this is, without a doubt, the most goofiest OS I have ever had to use.

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Answer 9

SergeantMac Author

Level 1

53 points

Oct 14, 2024 4:01 PM in response to Luis Sequeira1

Okay...........and how, pray tell, does one "get to" this panel that you are showing???

Left side panel-Systems Setting OS Sonoma:

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Answer 10

AlWeir

Level 4

2,340 points

Oct 14, 2024 5:14 PM in response to SergeantMac

Let us know how it goes.

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