spotlight has stopped working. please help

[val]

hi there. i'm not such a computer wizard. the spotlight function on my macbook pro has suddenly stopped working. it will give me dictionary definitions but no other search. I've gone in to spotlight menu, every box is checked so it should look in all documents/folders. there is nothing in my "private"section. please help. super frustrated. cheers.
val

 

[Kaveman]

Restart with the S key held down
Then restart normally

 

[Mac Lifesaver]

Hi Val

One possible fix is to go back to Spotlight preferences
Add your whole hard drive (Macintosh HD or whatever you may have renamed it) to the Privacy list
restart
Then remove your hard drive from the Privacy list

You can also uncheck everything in the spotlight menu
Restart
Then recheck everything in the spotlight menu

May as well do both at the same time..

This will cause Spotlight to reindex and may fix your issues..


If not here is a good link to some other methods

http://osxdaily.com/2007/02/15/spot...otlight-menu-with-these-troubleshooting-tips/

Cheers

Mac Lifesaver

 

[oldscribe]

Hi Val,
Just a thought have you checked spotlight preferences and privacy settings? re my screen shot.