Explorer patcher

woldsweather · Dec 23, 2024

I am fololowing this:

Releases · valinet/ExplorerPatcher

This project aims to enhance the working environment on Windows - valinet/ExplorerPatcher

github.com

to install explorer patcher on Windows 11 24H2 pc. I have run the powershel script and turned off defender but it still says this cant run on theis machine.

What else do I have to do?

saltedm8 · Dec 23, 2024

A shot in the dark, but as its an easy one you could try changing the execution policy in PowerShell

Powershell:

Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -Scope CurrentUser

but remember to set it back to

Powershell:

Set-ExecutionPolicy restricted -Scope CurrentUser

once done

woldsweather · Dec 23, 2024

Sounds a bit technical for me

saltedm8 · Dec 23, 2024

woldsweather said:
Sounds a bit technical for me

If you're trying to follow that patchers' instructions, yet are unable to understand what I posted, I would highly recommend you don't try doing it since there are instructions, like this

Powershell:
Caution

You are downloading a file flagged as malware by Microsoft and very likely by other major antivirus vendors. We believe that this false flag indicates Microsoft's hatred against this software, not because this contains a virus or such.

Please include the following files and folders in your antivirus' exclusion list to prevent issues due to antivirus detections:

C:\Program Files\ExplorerPatcher

%APPDATA%\ExplorerPatcher

C:\Windows\dxgi.dll

C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.StartMenuExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy

C:\Windows\SystemApps\ShellExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy

For Defender, you can run the following script in PowerShell as an administrator:

Powershell:

Add-MpPreference -ExclusionPath "C:\Program Files\ExplorerPatcher" Add-MpPreference -ExclusionPath "$env:APPDATA\ExplorerPatcher" Add-MpPreference -ExclusionPath "C:\Windows\dxgi.dll" Add-MpPreference -ExclusionPath "C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.StartMenuExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy" Add-MpPreference -ExclusionPath "C:\Windows\SystemApps\ShellExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy"

If you are downloading from this page, please temporarily disable real-time protection or save to a folder excluded from antivirus scans.

Failure to exclude ExplorerPatcher's files may result in inability to install/uninstall EP and explorer.exe being unable to start.

If you do not trust this process, please refrain from using ExplorerPatcher and look for alternatives instead.

Microsoft, if you are reading this, please reconsider the detections as there are a lot of users who trust this program and that risks from future EP developers are a thing.

Issues related to antivirus detections will be closed immediately. Discuss this in #3228.

That would require you to do the same process.

woldsweather · Dec 24, 2024

saltedm8 said:
If you're trying to follow that patchers' instructions, yet are unable to understand what I posted, I would highly recommend you don't try doing it since there are instructions, like this

That would require you to do the same process.

Most of the exceptions were already there but added those that werent and ran the powershell scripot but app still wont run.

saltedm8 · Dec 24, 2024

Again, I don't recommend it, but the code I posted

saltedm8 said:
Powershell:

Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -Scope CurrentUser

but remember to set it back to

Powershell:

Set-ExecutionPolicy restricted -Scope CurrentUser

once done

You put that into powershell.. You run powershell as administrator (like you might at times with command prompt) and paste the first code in and pressing enter. Then try to install, once you've either succeeded or failed, put the other code into powershell the same way (as administrator) to revert the changes you made.

woldsweather · Dec 24, 2024

saltedm8 said:
Again, I don't recommend it, but the code I posted

You put that into powershell.. You run powershell as administrator (like you might at times with command prompt) and paste the first code in and pressing enter. Then try to install, once you've either succeeded or failed, put the other code into powershell the same way (as administrator) to revert the changes you made.

DOne but still get "This app can't run on this pc"

saltedm8 · Dec 24, 2024

woldsweather said:
DOne but still get "This app can't run on this pc"

Yeah, sorry, I did say it was a shot in the dark.. I don't think without looking into what the patch is doing, I'd be able to help further, that is the nature of custom scripts, that they use programs and resources sometimes that require a little creativity to bypass in regards to security and compatibility.

but don't forget to undo that code by using

Code:

Set-ExecutionPolicy restricted -Scope CurrentUser

woldsweather · Dec 24, 2024

Yes did that thanks for your help.

OAT · Dec 24, 2024

Strange, I had no issue installing nor running the program.

hdmi · Dec 24, 2024

saltedm8 said:
If you're trying to follow that patchers' instructions, yet are unable to understand what I posted, I would highly recommend you don't try doing it since there are instructions, like this

Firstly, those PowerShell commands are no longer needed, as Windows Defender no longer detects ExplorerPatcher as malware. Secondly, those PowerShell commands only apply to Windows Defender. Look at his specs. He is using Kaspersky.

I don't know if Kaspersky currently detects ExplorerPatcher as malware, but it could be that. To add file/folder scan exclusions in Kaspersky,

Creating a scan exclusion

support.kaspersky.com

Based on the aforementioned PowerShell commands, here is the list of files and folders that might need to be excluded:

%ProgramFiles%\ExplorerPatcher
%AppData%\ExplorerPatcher
%WinDir%\dxgi.dll
%WinDir%\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.StartMenuExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy
%WinDir%\SystemApps\ShellExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy

Please note, I don't know if Kaspersky also detects the file ep_setup.exe as malware when you try to run it after you downloaded it from GitHub. Assuming that you are downloading the file to your Downloads folder, you could add an additional file exclusion in Kaspersky for this purpose:

%UserProfile%\Downloads\ep_setup.exe

However, before jumping to the conclusion that Kaspersky is indeed the one to blame, I would open an elevated command prompt and run:

dism /cleanup-image /online /restorehealth
sfc /scannow

Then if either command reported that it found (and was able to fix) corruptions, restart the computer and try running ep_setup.exe again.

If the issue persists, I would repair Windows with an in-place upgrade. That is, only if none of the above helps.

saltedm8 · Dec 24, 2024

hdmi said:
Firstly, those PowerShell commands are no longer needed, as Windows Defender no longer detects ExplorerPatcher as malware. Secondly, those PowerShell commands only apply to Windows Defender. Look at his specs. He is using Kaspersky.

I don't know if Kaspersky currently detects ExplorerPatcher as malware, but it could be that. To add file/folder scan exclusions in Kaspersky,

Creating a scan exclusion

support.kaspersky.com

Based on the aforementioned PowerShell commands, here is the list of files and folders that might need to be excluded:

%ProgramFiles%\ExplorerPatcher

%AppData%\ExplorerPatcher

%WinDir%\dxgi.dll

%WinDir%\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.StartMenuExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy

%WinDir%\SystemApps\ShellExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy

Please note, I don't know if Kaspersky also detects the file ep_setup.exe as malware when you try to run it after you downloaded it from GitHub. Assuming that you are downloading the file to your Downloads folder, you could add an additional file exclusion in Kaspersky for this purpose:

%UserProfile%\Downloads\ep_setup.exe

However, before jumping to the conclusion that Kaspersky is indeed the one to blame, I would open an elevated command prompt and run:

dism /cleanup-image /online /restorehealth

sfc /scannow

Then if either command reported that it found (and was able to fix) corruptions, restart the computer and try running ep_setup.exe again.

If the issue persists, I would repair Windows with an in-place upgrade. That is, only if none of the above helps.

The guidance to temporarily adjust the PowerShell execution policy was aimed specifically at facilitating the installation process, irrespective of the antivirus software being used. While Windows Defender may no longer flag ExplorerPatcher as malware (I can see no reason why I should know this for some obscure patcher that I have never heard of or used), the execution policy adjustment isn't exclusively for bypassing Defender’s restrictions. Many installation scripts for system modifications, can be blocked by PowerShell’s default settings regardless of the antivirus software. The suggestion to modify this setting temporarily was to try to get the script run smoothly during the installation, The OP claimed to have followed instructions so I assumed they would have done everything else it deemed necessary.

woldsweather · Dec 24, 2024

hdmi said:
Firstly, those PowerShell commands are no longer needed, as Windows Defender no longer detects ExplorerPatcher as malware. Secondly, those PowerShell commands only apply to Windows Defender. Look at his specs. He is using Kaspersky.

I don't know if Kaspersky currently detects ExplorerPatcher as malware, but it could be that. To add file/folder scan exclusions in Kaspersky,

Creating a scan exclusion

support.kaspersky.com

Based on the aforementioned PowerShell commands, here is the list of files and folders that might need to be excluded:

%ProgramFiles%\ExplorerPatcher

%AppData%\ExplorerPatcher

%WinDir%\dxgi.dll

%WinDir%\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.StartMenuExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy

%WinDir%\SystemApps\ShellExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy

Please note, I don't know if Kaspersky also detects the file ep_setup.exe as malware when you try to run it after you downloaded it from GitHub. Assuming that you are downloading the file to your Downloads folder, you could add an additional file exclusion in Kaspersky for this purpose:

%UserProfile%\Downloads\ep_setup.exe

However, before jumping to the conclusion that Kaspersky is indeed the one to blame, I would open an elevated command prompt and run:

dism /cleanup-image /online /restorehealth

sfc /scannow

Then if either command reported that it found (and was able to fix) corruptions, restart the computer and try running ep_setup.exe again.

If the issue persists, I would repair Windows with an in-place upgrade. That is, only if none of the above helps.

Are you suggesting I am using Kaspersky?

saltedm8 · Dec 24, 2024

woldsweather said:
Are you suggesting I am using Kaspersky?

in fairness your profile does indicate that..

woldsweather · Dec 24, 2024

saltedm8 said:
in fairness your profile does indicate that..

O right is that collected automatically> I dumped Kaspersky when they Russia) invaded Ukraine. I use Defender (wasn't aware I had a 'profile')

fixer · Dec 24, 2024

"wasn't aware I had a 'profile'"

Take a look at your system specs, created by you

hdmi · Dec 24, 2024

saltedm8 said:
The guidance to temporarily adjust the PowerShell execution policy was aimed specifically at facilitating the installation process, irrespective of the antivirus software being used.

The guidance, yes of course. But not the PowerShell commands. It states,
"For Defender, you can run the following script in PowerShell as an administrator:"
Emphasis in bold is mine.

saltedm8 said:
While Windows Defender may no longer flag ExplorerPatcher as malware (I can see no reason why I should know this for some obscure patcher that I have never heard of or used)

I wasn't trying to suggest that you should already know this BTW. But ExplorerPatcher is still a very long distance away from being obscure, as it is Open Source and hosted on GitHub. I think it's actually less obscure than the Star of Betlehem.

saltedm8 said:
, the execution policy adjustment isn't exclusively for bypassing Defender’s restrictions. Many installation scripts for system modifications, can be blocked by PowerShell’s default settings regardless of the antivirus software.

ExplorerPatcher does not use any installation scripts. It does not depend on PowerShell in any way, and, it does not modify any system files.

saltedm8 said:
The suggestion to modify this setting temporarily was to try to get the script run smoothly during the installation, The OP claimed to have followed instructions so I assumed they would have done everything else it deemed necessary.

Yes, but if the PowerShell commands failed to run and, for some reason, Defender started to detect ExplorerPatcher as malware again, then you could expect Defender's real-time protection would have popped up a notification to inform the user of that detection. That is, at least if these notifications are enabled (which, by default, they are).

LarsErikOsterud · Jul 23, 2025

I have a problem with my two Windows 11 PCs.
After updates failing and in.place upgrade fails I tried to uninstall Explorer patcher.
But then the taskbar is completly gone (start, no taskbar, no tray).
Why is this happening? How do I get the Windows 11 taskbar back?

starbuck · Sep 14, 2025

Is anyone having any issues with the Explorer address bar when using the Windows 10 Ribbon? It's misaligned and overlapping in a strange way. It's still functional, but a bit ugly and distracting.

I have been travelling the last month and not exactly sure when this problem started. I think it's probably come up after one of the recent Windows 11 cumulative updates. Perhaps it's not explorer patcher, but I've tried resetting everything I can think of to rectify it and so far nothing seems to fix it. Have also run SFC and DISM to be safe and that's all error free.

I also tried resetting graphics drivers and even forced a few display resolution changes to see if it would have any effect.

I'm on 24H2 26100.6584

hdmi · Sep 14, 2025

starbuck said:
Is anyone having any issues with the Explorer address bar when using the Windows 10 Ribbon? It's misaligned and overlapping in a strange way. It's still functional, but a bit ugly and distracting.

I have been travelling the last month and not exactly sure when this problem started. I think it's probably come up after one of the recent Windows 11 cumulative updates. Perhaps it's not explorer patcher, but I've tried resetting everything I can think of to rectify it and so far nothing seems to fix it. Have also run SFC and DISM to be safe and that's all error free.

I also tried resetting graphics drivers and even forced a few display resolution changes to see if it would have any effect.

I'm on 24H2 26100.6584

View attachment 145401

Known issues we will address in the short term:

Shrink address bar height results in unexpected dimensions on recent 24H2 builds.

For now, as a temporary workaround you can disable this option (in ExplorerPatcher settings > File Explorer). The misalignment is purely cosmetic, though. It has no additional consequences.

Explorer patcher

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