Registry Path |

Remove the “Download Windows Search” Prompt in Internet Explorer 8 Address Bar

Issue: You may see “Download Windows Search to improve history and favorites results” message while entering the website address as shown in the below screen shot:

Cause: This is not an issue and is by design. You may proceed with the download and install Windows Search. If you don’t want to install the Windows search, you may proceed with the solution provided below. However, when you install the Windows search, it will remove the prompt in a week days.

Solution: To remove the “Download Windows Search” Prompt, you have to modify the registry. The following steps will guide you modifying the same.

However, it is always recommended to backup the Windows registry before making any changes as incorrect changes may cause stability to the Operating system and you may need to reinstall the Operating system.

Click Start, type Regedit.exe and press ENTER
Navigate to the following registry path:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER Software Microsoft Internet Explorer Main WindowsSearch

Right-click in the right pane and select New option.
Select REG_DWORD value and name it as ShowPrompt
Click OK which will default the value to 0.
Exit the Registry Editor.
Reopen Internet Explorer.

If you still see the prompt, perform the following:

Go to registry editor and navigate to the following path:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SOFTWARE Microsoft Windows Search