This is the exception I get when I do a basic search:

CoreResultsWebPart::OnInit: Exception initializing: System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object. at Microsoft.Office.Server.Search.WebControls.CoreResultsWebPart.SetPropertiesOnQueryReader() at Microsoft.Office.Server.Search.WebControls.CoreResultsWebPart.OnInit(EventArgs e)

From what I see from various blog posts and articles this can be fixed with KB976462 hotfix but not for me. I can't install the hotfix because the installation doesn't even start and gives this message: "The update is not applicable to your computer".

Search service application is running smoothly and crawls without problems and over 40.000 items are all indexed.

What should I do?