Indexing turned off cannot search files on Windows 10 PC
TL;DR: Unable to search for any local files/applications due to Windows Search service not running (and consequently search indexing being non functional as well)
Recently (I think starting yesterday?) I tried to search for an application on my PC that I know 100% is currently installed. Instead of showing the application, I see that Settings and a notification at the bottom saying that "Search indexing was turned off" with an option to turn it on. When pressed, this option opens an "Indexing Options" window that shows "Indexing is not running."
I searched through countless online posts and guides, following through with a lot of steps that did not end up resolving my issue. I should mention that I tried all of the steps in the official Microsoft post which included resetting the Windows Search feature using the ResetWindowSearchBox.ps1 file linked in the post. I have also checked my disk using the command prompt, where sfc /scannow found corrupted files and repaired them (the issue still persists on PC startup).
I believe that I have found the root issue with indexing, but I am unable to fix the actual issue itself. When I ran the Search and indexing troubleshooter, it tells me that "Windows Search service [is] not running." I then went ran services.msc to potentially restart Windows Search, however, it's status is constantly set to "Stopping." I am unable to force stop or start the service as it is greyed out.
I believe this is the root cause of all my issues, which prevents me from searching anything except the basic Microsoft Settings app. I am now unsure how to proceed, as all other guides assume that the service is either currently running or stopped, with none describing an intermediate "Stopping" phase.