diff --git a/computes/templates/computes/instances.html b/computes/templates/computes/instances.html
index c61739cc..dfceb80b 100644
--- a/computes/templates/computes/instances.html
+++ b/computes/templates/computes/instances.html
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@
                                 {% include 'instance_state.html' %}
                             </td>
                             <td data-sort="{{ instance.info.3 }}">{{ instance.info.3 }}</td>
-                            <td data-sort="{{ instance.info.1 }}"><p class="text-end">{% if instance.info %}{% widthratio instance.info.1 1024 1  %} MiB{% endif %}</p></td>
+                            <td data-sort="{{ instance.info.2 }}"><p class="text-end">{% if instance.info %}{% widthratio instance.info.2 1024 1  %} MiB{% endif %}</p></td>
                             <td class="text-nowrap">
                                 {% include 'instance_actions.html' %}
                             </td>
diff --git a/instances/templates/allinstances.html b/instances/templates/allinstances.html
index 0b8ebe41..e3d5e000 100644
--- a/instances/templates/allinstances.html
+++ b/instances/templates/allinstances.html
@@ -26,14 +26,18 @@
 
 {% block content %}
     {% if show_hosts %}
-        {% for compute in computes %}
-            {% if compute.status is not True %}
-                <div class="alert alert-danger alert-dismissible fade show" role="alert">
-                    {% trans 'Problem occurred with host' %} {{ compute.name }}: {{ compute.connection_error }}
-                    <button type="button" class="btn-close" data-bs-dismiss="alert" aria-label="Close"></button>
-                </div>
-            {% endif %}
-        {% endfor %}
+        {% if unreachable_computes %}
+            {# one alert for every host the panel cannot reach, each with why #}
+            <div class="alert alert-warning alert-dismissible fade show" role="alert">
+                <div class="fw-semibold">{% blocktrans count counter=unreachable_computes|length %}The panel cannot reach {{ counter }} host:{% plural %}The panel cannot reach {{ counter }} hosts:{% endblocktrans %}</div>
+                <ul class="mb-0">
+                    {% for compute in unreachable_computes %}
+                        <li><span class="fw-semibold">{{ compute.name }}</span>: {{ compute.connection_error }}</li>
+                    {% endfor %}
+                </ul>
+                <button type="button" class="btn-close" data-bs-dismiss="alert" aria-label="{% trans "Close" %}"></button>
+            </div>
+        {% endif %}
     {% elif own_hosts_down %}
         <div class="alert alert-warning alert-dismissible fade show" role="alert">
             {% trans 'A host of some of your virtual machines cannot be reached right now.' %}
@@ -41,11 +45,18 @@
         </div>
     {% endif %}
     <div class="col-lg-12">
-        {% if app_settings.VIEW_INSTANCES_LIST_STYLE == 'grouped' and request.user.is_superuser %}
+        {% if not instances.exists %}
+            <p class="text-center text-body-secondary py-4">{% trans "There are no VMs here yet." %}</p>
+        {% elif app_settings.VIEW_INSTANCES_LIST_STYLE == 'grouped' and request.user.is_superuser %}
             {% include 'allinstances_index_grouped.html' %}
         {% else %}
             {% include 'allinstances_index_nongrouped.html' %}
         {% endif %}
+        {# table_filter.js shows it while no row matches #}
+        <div id="no-match" class="text-center text-body-secondary py-4" hidden>
+            {% trans "No VM matches the search and the state." %}
+            <button type="button" class="btn btn-link" id="clear-filters">{% trans "Clear the filters" %}</button>
+        </div>
     </div>
     <div class="modal fade" id="find-address" tabindex="-1" aria-labelledby="find-address-title" aria-hidden="true"
          data-url="{% url 'instances:find_address' %}" data-failed="{% trans "The search did not go through. Try again." %}"
diff --git a/instances/templates/allinstances_index_grouped.html b/instances/templates/allinstances_index_grouped.html
index d68869b6..69a796ae 100644
--- a/instances/templates/allinstances_index_grouped.html
+++ b/instances/templates/allinstances_index_grouped.html
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
     <table class="table table-hover align-middle" data-sortable>
         <thead>
             <tr>
-                <th scope="col" data-sort-method="none"><a class="link-primary" href="#" id="hide-all-instances" onclick="hide_all_host_instances()">#</a></th>
+                <th scope="col" data-sort-method="none"><a class="link-primary" href="#" id="hide-all-instances" onclick="hide_all_host_instances(); return false;">#</a></th>
                 <th scope="col">{% trans "Name" %}<br>{% trans "Description" %}</th>
                 <th scope="col" class="d-none d-sm-table-cell">{% trans "User"%}</th>
                 <th scope="col">{% trans "Status" %}</th>
@@ -55,7 +55,8 @@
                         {% endif %}
                     </tr>
                     {% for instance in compute.instance_set.all %}
-                        <tr host="{{ compute.id }}">
+                        {# searched for its name, title and owners, not its buttons #}
+                        <tr host="{{ compute.id }}" data-search="{{ instance.name }}{% if instance.info %} {{ instance.title }}{% endif %}{% for owner in instance.userinstance_set.all %} {{ owner.user }}{% endfor %}">
                             <td></td>
                             <td>
                                 <a class="link-primary" href="{% url 'instances:instance' instance.id %}">{{ instance.name }}</a>
@@ -97,15 +98,20 @@
 <script>
 // a collapsed host's VM rows are hidden by its table body's class, so the
 // search (table_filter.js, the hidden attribute) can still hide them too
+function set_host_collapsed(tbody, collapsed) {
+    $(tbody).toggleClass('host-collapsed', collapsed);
+    $(tbody).find('span[id^=collapse_host_instances_]').toggleClass('bi-chevron-down', collapsed).toggleClass('bi-chevron-up', !collapsed);
+    $(tbody).find('span[id^=inst_count_badge_]').toggleClass('d-none', !collapsed);
+}
+// every host the same way: collapsed, unless all already are
 function hide_all_host_instances() {
-    $('tbody.searchable').toggleClass('host-collapsed');
-    $('span[id^=collapse_host_instances_]').toggleClass("bi bi-chevron-down ").toggleClass("bi bi-chevron-up");
-    $('span[id^=inst_count_badge_]').toggleClass("d-none");
+    var bodies = $('tbody.searchable');
+    var collapse = bodies.not('.host-collapsed').length > 0;
+    bodies.each(function () { set_host_collapsed(this, collapse); });
 }
 function hide_host_instances(host) {
-    $("span[id='collapse_host_instances_"+host+"']").closest('tbody').toggleClass('host-collapsed');
-    $("span[id='collapse_host_instances_"+host+"']").toggleClass("bi bi-chevron-down ").toggleClass("bi bi-chevron-up");
-    $("span[id='inst_count_badge_"+host+"']").toggleClass("d-none");
+    var tbody = $('#collapse_host_instances_' + host).closest('tbody');
+    set_host_collapsed(tbody, !tbody.hasClass('host-collapsed'));
 }
 </script>
 {% endblock %}
diff --git a/instances/templates/allinstances_index_nongrouped.html b/instances/templates/allinstances_index_nongrouped.html
index 85a4adf8..7e57119f 100644
--- a/instances/templates/allinstances_index_nongrouped.html
+++ b/instances/templates/allinstances_index_nongrouped.html
@@ -18,13 +18,14 @@
         </thead>
         <tbody class="searchable">
             {% for instance in instances  %}
-                    <tr>
+                    {# searched for its name, title, host and owners, not its buttons #}
+                    <tr data-search="{{ instance.name }}{% if instance.info %} {{ instance.title }}{% endif %}{% if show_hosts %} {{ instance.compute.name }}{% for owner in instance.userinstance_set.all %} {{ owner.user }}{% endfor %}{% endif %}">
                         <td>
                             <a class="link-primary" href="{% url 'instances:instance' instance.id %}">
                                 {{ instance.name }}
                             </a>
                             <br>
-                            {% if instance.info %}<p class="m-0 small font-italic">{{ instance.title }}</p>{% endif %}
+                            {% if instance.info %}<p class="m-0 small fst-italic">{{ instance.title }}</p>{% endif %}
                         </td>
                         {% if show_hosts %}
                             <td>
diff --git a/instances/tests/js/table_filter.test.js b/instances/tests/js/table_filter.test.js
index 5c0298be..cf5cf8d7 100644
--- a/instances/tests/js/table_filter.test.js
+++ b/instances/tests/js/table_filter.test.js
@@ -4,23 +4,24 @@ const {filterTable: filterInstances} = require(process.argv[2]);
 
 // A minimal DOM: table bodies of rows; a VM row holds its state mark, a
 // group's header row is marked as one.
-function vm(text, state) {
+function vm(text, state, search) {
     const mark = {dataset: {state}};
-    return {textContent: text, hidden: false, hasAttribute: () => false,
+    return {textContent: text, dataset: search === undefined ? {} : {search}, hidden: false, hasAttribute: () => false,
             querySelector: (s) => (s === "[data-state]" ? mark : null)};
 }
 function hostRow(text) {
-    return {textContent: text, hidden: false, hasAttribute: (a) => a === "data-group-header", querySelector: () => null};
+    return {textContent: text, dataset: {}, hidden: false, hasAttribute: (a) => a === "data-group-header", querySelector: () => null};
 }
 function plainRow(text) {
-    return {textContent: text, hidden: false, hasAttribute: () => false, querySelector: () => null};
+    return {textContent: text, dataset: {}, hidden: false, hasAttribute: () => false, querySelector: () => null};
 }
 function group(rows, host) {
     return {dataset: host ? {host} : {}, querySelectorAll: (s) => (s === "tr" ? rows : [])};
 }
-function page(groups, text, state) {
+function page(groups, text, state, noMatch) {
     // a list without a state list (state undefined) has no such element
-    const inputs = {filter: {value: text}, "state-filter": state === undefined ? undefined : {value: state}};
+    const inputs = {filter: {value: text}, "state-filter": state === undefined ? undefined : {value: state},
+                    "no-match": noMatch};
     return {
         getElementById: (id) => inputs[id],
         querySelectorAll: (s) => (s === ".searchable" ? groups : []),
@@ -64,3 +65,17 @@ filterInstances(page([group(plain)], "(vda"));
 assert.deepStrictEqual(visible(plain), ["bob (vda) Blocked"], "a bracket is text there too");
 filterInstances(page([group(plain)], ""));
 assert.deepStrictEqual(visible(plain), ["alice Active", "bob (vda) Blocked", "carol Active"]);
+
+// a row with data-search is searched there only: its menus' words are not the VM's
+const menus = [vm("web-1 Active Force off Power cycle", "Active", "web-1 alice"), vm("db-1 Off Start", "Off", "db-1 bob")];
+filterInstances(page([group(menus)], "off", ""));
+assert.deepStrictEqual(visible(menus), [], "a menu's 'Force off' is not a match");
+filterInstances(page([group(menus)], "BOB", ""));
+assert.deepStrictEqual(visible(menus), ["db-1 Off Start"], "an owner is searched");
+
+// the page says so when nothing matches, and not otherwise
+const noMatch = {hidden: true};
+filterInstances(page([group(menus)], "nothing-like-this", "", noMatch));
+assert.strictEqual(noMatch.hidden, false, "no row: the message shows");
+filterInstances(page([group(menus)], "web", "", noMatch));
+assert.strictEqual(noMatch.hidden, true, "a row: the message goes");
diff --git a/instances/tests/test_list_rpc.py b/instances/tests/test_list_rpc.py
index 13de14d8..ac8c5b0e 100644
--- a/instances/tests/test_list_rpc.py
+++ b/instances/tests/test_list_rpc.py
@@ -65,12 +65,12 @@ class ListInfoCallTests(TestCase):
         self.assertEqual(response.status_code, 200)
         return response
 
-    def assert_one_info_per_vm(self, response, memory="2048 MiB"):
+    def assert_one_info_per_vm(self, response):
         self.assertEqual(len(self.domains), 2, "one proxy per VM row")
         for domain in self.domains:
             self.assertEqual(domain.info_calls, 1)
             self.assertEqual(domain.xml_calls, 1, "only the title reads the XML")
-        self.assertContains(response, memory, count=2)
+        self.assertContains(response, "2048 MiB", count=2)
         self.assertContains(response, "Active")
 
     def test_nongrouped_index(self):
@@ -83,4 +83,5 @@ class ListInfoCallTests(TestCase):
 
     def test_compute_instances(self):
         # this page shows the maximum memory, as before
-        self.assert_one_info_per_vm(self.get(reverse("instances", args=[self.compute.id])), memory="4096 MiB")
+        # the VM's current memory, as on the Instances page, not its maximum
+        self.assert_one_info_per_vm(self.get(reverse("instances", args=[self.compute.id])))
diff --git a/instances/tests/test_states.py b/instances/tests/test_states.py
index 6c479b84..e4e2f723 100644
--- a/instances/tests/test_states.py
+++ b/instances/tests/test_states.py
@@ -133,6 +133,20 @@ class StateTests(TestCase):
         self.assertEqual([r.xpath("td[@data-sort]/@data-sort") for r in rows[1:2]], [["2", "2097152"]])
 
 
+    def test_rows_are_searched_for_their_vm_not_their_buttons(self):
+        # table_filter.js searches data-search: a menu's "Force off" would match "off" in every row
+        for style in ("grouped", "nongrouped"):
+            AppSettings.objects.filter(key="VIEW_INSTANCES_LIST_STYLE").update(value=style)
+            page = html.fromstring(self.get(self.admin, reverse("instances:index")))
+            searched = page.xpath("//tbody//tr/@data-search")
+            with self.subTest(style=style):
+                self.assertEqual(len(searched), len(self.vms))
+                for vm, text in zip(self.vms.values(), searched):
+                    self.assertTrue(text.startswith(vm.name), text)
+                    self.assertIn("st-owner", text)
+                    self.assertNotIn("Force", text)
+                self.assertTrue(page.xpath("//div[@id='no-match'][@hidden]//button[@id='clear-filters']"))
+
     def test_the_lists_show_the_vms_by_name(self):
         # the first VM made comes last by name: the database's own order is not the list's
         Instance.objects.filter(pk=self.vms[0].pk).update(name="st-vm-9")
@@ -211,3 +225,11 @@ class TemplateCloneTests(TestCase):
         self.assertEqual(allowed_actions(cloner, vm, 5), {"clone"})
         self.assertEqual(allowed_actions(admin, vm, 5), {"clone"})
         self.assertEqual(allowed_actions(owner, vm, 5), set())  # no clone permission
+
+
+class EmptyListTests(TestCase):
+    def test_a_user_without_vms_is_told_so(self):
+        self.client.force_login(get_user_model().objects.create_user("st-nobody", password="pw"))
+        response = self.client.get(reverse("instances:index"))
+        self.assertContains(response, "There are no VMs here yet.")
+        self.assertNotContains(response, "searchable")  # no VM table
diff --git a/instances/views.py b/instances/views.py
index 60d6cbef..a5dbb8eb 100755
--- a/instances/views.py
+++ b/instances/views.py
@@ -74,16 +74,16 @@ def index(request):
         utils.refr(compute)
     # each host's VMs by name: the database keeps no order of its own
     prefetch_related_objects(computes, Prefetch("instance_set", queryset=Instance.objects.order_by("name")),
-                             "instance_set__userinstance_set")
+                             "instance_set__userinstance_set__user")
 
     show_hosts = request.user.is_superuser or request.user.has_perm("instances.view_instances")
     own_hosts_down = False
     if show_hosts:
-        instances = Instance.objects.order_by("name").prefetch_related("userinstance_set")
+        instances = Instance.objects.order_by("name").prefetch_related("userinstance_set__user")
     else:
         instances = Instance.objects.filter(
             userinstance__user=request.user
-        ).order_by("name").prefetch_related("userinstance_set")
+        ).order_by("name").prefetch_related("userinstance_set__user")
         # other users get no host names or connection errors, only whether
         # a host of their own VMs is down
         own = set(instances.values_list("compute_id", flat=True))
@@ -94,6 +94,7 @@ def index(request):
         "allinstances.html",
         {"computes": computes, "instances": instances, "show_hosts": show_hosts, "own_hosts_down": own_hosts_down,
          "reachable_computes": [c for c in computes if c.status is True],
+         "unreachable_computes": [c for c in computes if c.status is not True],
          "states": [label for label, _color in STATES.values()] + [UNKNOWN[0]]},
     )
 
diff --git a/static/js/table_filter.js b/static/js/table_filter.js
index 49056bba..a7e1d759 100644
--- a/static/js/table_filter.js
+++ b/static/js/table_filter.js
@@ -1,14 +1,17 @@
 // The search box of a list page, and the instance list's state list.
 //
 // A row shows when its text contains the search, in any case: plain text,
-// not a pattern. With a state list, the row's [data-state] must be the
-// chosen state too. In a grouped list a search for a group's host shows all
-// of its rows, and its header row (data-group-header) shows while any of its
-// rows does. The search is remembered for a day, per page.
+// not a pattern. A row with data-search is searched in that text only, not
+// in its buttons and menus. With a state list, the row's [data-state] must
+// be the chosen state too. In a grouped list a search for a group's host
+// shows all of its rows, and its header row (data-group-header) shows while
+// any of its rows does. A page's #no-match shows while no row does. The
+// search is remembered for a day, per page.
 function filterTable(doc) {
     var text = doc.getElementById("filter").value.toLowerCase();
     var states = doc.getElementById("state-filter");
     var state = states ? states.value : "";
+    var anyShown = false;
     doc.querySelectorAll(".searchable").forEach(function (group) {
         var host = group.dataset.host;
         var hostMatches = host !== undefined && host.toLowerCase().includes(text);
@@ -19,14 +22,20 @@ function filterTable(doc) {
                 return;
             }
             var mark = row.querySelector("[data-state]");
+            var searched = row.dataset.search !== undefined ? row.dataset.search : row.textContent;
             row.hidden = !((!state || (mark && mark.dataset.state === state)) &&
-                (hostMatches || row.textContent.toLowerCase().includes(text)));
+                (hostMatches || searched.toLowerCase().includes(text)));
             shown = shown || !row.hidden;
         });
         if (header) {
             header.hidden = !shown;
         }
+        anyShown = anyShown || shown;
     });
+    var noMatch = doc.getElementById("no-match");
+    if (noMatch) {
+        noMatch.hidden = anyShown;
+    }
 }
 
 if (typeof module !== "undefined") {
@@ -44,5 +53,16 @@ if (typeof module !== "undefined") {
             filterTable(document);
         });
     }
+    var clear = document.getElementById("clear-filters");
+    if (clear) {
+        clear.addEventListener("click", function () {
+            search.value = "";
+            Cookies.remove(document.title + "_filter");
+            if (states) {
+                states.value = "";
+            }
+            filterTable(document);
+        });
+    }
     filterTable(document);
 }