Search Query and Site Settings Service is not running (SharePoint Server 2010)

Alert Name: Search Query and Site Settings Service is not running

Event ID: No event ID

Summary: The Search Query and Site Settings service is an Internet Information Services (IIS) service. By default, this service runs on each server that includes a search query component. The service manages the query processing tasks, which include sending queries to one or more of the appropriate query components and building the results set. At least one instance of the service must be running to serve queries.

Symptoms: All search queries fail.

Cause: The location provided for the index does not exist, or the application does not have rights to create a directory for the index at the location.

Resolution: Start the service on the server

1. On the SharePoint Central Administration Home page, in the System Settings section, click Manage services on server.

2. On the Services on Server page, next to Search Query and Site Settings Service, click Start if the service is not started.

Find servers that include query components

1. On the SharePoint Central Administration Home page, under Application Management, click Manage service applications.

2. On the Manage Service Applications page, click the name of the Search service application.

3. On the Search Administration page, in the Search Application Topology section, under Index Partition, record the names of the servers that include query components.

Resolution: Start the service on servers that include query components

1. Verify that you meet the following minimum requirements: See Add-SPShellAdmin.

2. On each server that includes a query component, on the Start menu, click All Programs.

3. Click Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Products.

4. Click SharePoint 2010 Management Shell.

5. At the Windows PowerShell command prompt, type the following command:

Get-SPEnterpriseSearchQueryAndSiteSettingsServiceInstance -Local | Start-SPEnterpriseSearchQueryAndSiteSettingsServiceInstance

For more information, see Get-SPEnterpriseSearchQueryAndSiteSettingsServiceInstance (http://technet.microsoft.com/library/f1438a74-92fb-498d-aac1-66743403f3bc(Office.14).aspx).

Resolution: Verify that the service account has sufficient permissions to the index folder

1. Verify that the user account that is performing this procedure is a member of the Farm Administrators group.

2. On the Central Administration Home page, click Application Management.

3. On the Application Management page, in the Service Applications section, click Manage service applications.

4. On the Service Applications page, click the Search service application

5. On the Search Administration page, in the System Status section, record the name of the Default content access account.

6. On the Search Administration page, in the Search Application Topology section, click Modify.

7. On the Manage Search Application Topology page, click the index partition query component, and then click Edit Properties.

8. In the Edit Query Component dialog box, in the Location of Index, record the path to the index folder. Click Cancel.

9. Navigate to that location and verify that the location exists.

10. Verify that the service account that you recorded in step 5 has read and write permissions on this folder.

Resolution: Refresh service credentials

1. Verify that you meet the following minimum requirements: See Add-SPShellAdmin.

2. Perform this procedure on each server in the farm.

3. On the Start menu, click All Programs.

4. Click Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Products.

5. Click SharePoint 2010 Management Shell.

6. At the Windows PowerShell command prompt, type the following command:

Repair-SPManagedAccountDeployment

For more information, see Repair-SPManagedAccountDeployment (http://technet.microsoft.com/library/42ea7573-8b34-49da-9d7f-ec7b8211a138(Office.14).aspx).