Alternative Windows 11 start menus

spapakons said:

I think you misunderstood. Open Shell classic start button and start menu are still working fine. There is one component, a "legacy" toolbar called Classic Explorer Bar which shows cut/copy/paste and other icons (can be customized) top left of a File Explorer window. See my screenshot in post #62. This toolbar disappears with every Windows 2026 update due to Microsoft turning off some "legacy" components in File Explorer. Using Vive Tool or otherwise we can issue commands that undo changes to File Explorer, so our "legacy" toolbars keep working (see my earlier posts to this thread). However that was the case until build 8037/8039. Newer builds, including 8246 have some new changes in File Explorer that there is no any workaround to undo them yet. Until there is another workaround, we either downgrade to 8037/8039 by uninstalling the latest Windows update, or we use File Explorer without the convenience of Classic Explorer Bar. I know there are alternatives for the start menu, but I haven't found a WORKING alternative for Open Shell's Classic Explorer Bar component. I tried QTTABBAR but this is also "legacy" toolbar and doesn't appear after upgrading to 8117 or newer build. I also tried Windhawk, but I didn't manage to create a custom toolbar with cut/copy/paste and other icons. It seems too difficult to use, unlike Classic Explorer Bar which is straightforward.

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cereberus said:

I use an alternative to all the alternatives. It called Windows Start Menu and it is built in to Windows.

I discovered decades ago, menus are pretty much an item only used for a minute or two at most in any day.

I never have to worry about menu alternative updates failing etc.

The KISS principle 100% applies.

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dacrone said:

1) i am providing copies of system32\ExplorerFrame.dll and syswow64\ExplorerFrame.dll from 25h2 26200.6901 (you can use any you have pre-kb5083769)

2) i used @LesFerch Right Click Tools and opened cmd as Trusted Installer (not necessary if boot from install media or safe and use cmd)

3) open cmd as trusted installer and run:

Code:

cd C:\Windows\System32

Code:

ren ExplorerFrame.dll ExplorerFrame.dll.bak

Code:

cd..

Code:

cd SysWOW64

Code:

ren ExplorerFrame.dll ExplorerFrame.dll.bak

Code:

copy (path to the .dll i supplied for system32) C:\Windows\System32\ExplorerFrame.dll

Code:

copy (path to the .dll i supplied for syswow64) C:\Windows\SysWOW64\ExplorerFrame.dll

Code:

taskkill /f /im explorer.exe

Code:

start explorer.exe

exit CMD

No logout or reboot required

this has survived a restart, hibernate, sleep and windows update (so far). i have had no explorer/file explorer crashes in hours now. if anyone @garlin or otherwise can tell me what i can test to be sure there are no terrible side-effects, i will do so but i have yet to run across any.



EDIT:
as a matter of fact, using windhawk to remove the win 11 command bar and using the fluent icons on this isn't half bad since you can make the custom commands and use ahk scripts to do anything you want...
View attachment 169811

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Stigg said:

The best alternative Windows 11 start menu is the one that you prefer.

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spapakons said:

I tried replacing the files in a virtual machine running Windows 11 Pro 25H2 build 26200.8246 and it didn't work. I did it a little different, but I don't think this was the case. I copied the files from my main PC (currently running build 8039 with working Classic Explorer Bar) in a temporary folder in the virtual machine. I then replaced the owner of C:\Windows\System32 and all subfolders and files from TrustedInstaller to Administrators, so I can modify the access rights. I then granted full access to the folder, subfolders and files to Administrators so I can replace the files. I did the same for the folder C:\Windows\SysWOW64. I then opened a Command Prompt as Administrator and terminated File Explorer from Task Manager. Using the appropriate commands, I navigated to the folders and replaced the two files. Classic Explorer Bar didn't work upon restarting File Explorer. I decided to run the Vive Tools commands and uninstall Open Shell. I restarted the virtual machine, reinstalled Open Shell, the Classic Explorer Bar still didn't work. I even replaced the file C:\Windows\SysWOW64\Explorer.exe with the build 8039 version, no change. Am I missing something?

Thanks in advance.

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Resource Redirect - Windhawk

Define alternative files for loading various resources (e.g. icons in imageres.dll) for simple theming without having to modify system files

windhawk.net

spapakons said:

Unless I did something wrong, replacing the files didn't work. As soon as I find a working workaround and confirm it in my virtual machine, I will let you know. In the meantime I am at build 8039 and I don't dare to upgrade my main PC to a higher build.

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spapakons said:

SOLUTION FOR BUILD 8117 AND ABOVE (REGISTRY FIX):

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# ---Take ownership and grant Administrators full control---
function Set-RegKeyPermissions {
    param(
        [string]$KeyPath
    )

    Write-Host "Processing permissions for: $KeyPath"

    # Take ownership
    $takeownCmd = "takeown /F `"$KeyPath`" /A /R"
    cmd.exe /c $takeownCmd | Out-Null

    # Grant Administrators full control
    $icaclsCmd = "icacls `"$KeyPath`" /grant Administrators:F /T"
    cmd.exe /c $icaclsCmd | Out-Null
}

# --- Registry base ---
$base = "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FeatureManagement\Overrides"

# --- Keys to remove ---
$key15 = Join-Path $base "15"
$keyA = Join-Path $key15 "1519792783"
$keyB = Join-Path $key15 "815149711"

# --- Fix permissions and delete ---
Set-RegKeyPermissions -KeyPath $keyA
Remove-Item -Path $keyA -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

Set-RegKeyPermissions -KeyPath $keyB
Remove-Item -Path $keyB -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

# --- Modify \8\815149711 ---
$key8 = Join-Path $base "8"
$key8Target = Join-Path $key8 "815149711"

# Ensure exists
if (-not (Test-Path $key8Target)) {
    New-Item -Path $key8Target -Force | Out-Null
}

# Ensure EnabledState set to 1
Set-ItemProperty -Path $key8Target -Name "EnabledState" -Value 1 -Type DWord

Write-Host "`nAll operations completed. Please restart your computer."

dacrone said:

Code:

# ---Take ownership and grant Administrators full control---
function Set-RegKeyPermissions {
    param(
        [string]$KeyPath
    )

    Write-Host "Processing permissions for: $KeyPath"

    # Take ownership
    $takeownCmd = "takeown /F `"$KeyPath`" /A /R"
    cmd.exe /c $takeownCmd | Out-Null

    # Grant Administrators full control
    $icaclsCmd = "icacls `"$KeyPath`" /grant Administrators:F /T"
    cmd.exe /c $icaclsCmd | Out-Null
}

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Skeptic Mike said:

Your code operates on the basis that you're running as Trusted Installer, so you already have full control.

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reg delete "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FeatureManagement\Overrides\15\1519792783" /f

reg delete "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FeatureManagement\Overrides\15\815149711" /f

reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FeatureManagement\Overrides\8\815149711" /v EnabledState /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f & reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FeatureManagement\Overrides\8\815149711" /v TelemetryFlags /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f