New Version of ExplorerPatcher

I remember once reading about a new version of Explorer Patcher and did the mistake to update it without installing Windows updates first. File Explorer would crash and could not load. I had to restart in Safe Mode and uninstall Explorer Patcher. Once I installed all Windows updates and reinstalled Explorer Patcher had no issues. So always update Windows before updating Explorer Patcher.

spapakons said:

I remember once reading about a new version of Explorer Patcher and did the mistake to update it without installing Windows updates first. File Explorer would crash and could not load. I had to restart in Safe Mode and uninstall Explorer Patcher. Once I installed all Windows updates and reinstalled Explorer Patcher had no issues. So always update Windows before updating Explorer Patcher.

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If you get a black screen with only a mouse cursor [that still responds to mouse movements], then press Ctrl+Shift+Esc, choose Run new task, type in explorer and press Enter.

If the above fails, then choose Run new task, type in %programfiles%\explorerpatcher\ep_setup /uninstall and press Enter. Confirm that you want to uninstall ExplorerPatcher. Then you can install Windows updates. Finally, you can reinstall ExplorerPatcher.

It's that simple.

My case was different I could see File Explorer trying to load and crashing, then again and again in an endless loop. The solution was to uninstall Explorer Patcher in Safe mode. I didn't know the command line you gave it. Good to know, although I doubt I will remember it when needed. Thanks anyway.

spapakons said:

My case was different I could see File Explorer trying to load and crashing, then again and again in an endless loop. The solution was to uninstall Explorer Patcher in Safe mode. I didn't know the command line you gave it. Good to know, although I doubt I will remember it when needed. Thanks anyway.

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To prevent Windows from automatically restarting the shell (aka the explorer process) after it crashes, apply this registry setting:
reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon" /v AutoRestartShell /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

Thanks, let's hope I won't need it.

hdmi said:

I don't know if it's true that you've been waiting, but if it's true, you've been waiting for false rumors to stop getting spread across the internet, which boils down to the same as waiting for Chistmas and Easter to coincide. lol

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You serious dude? I guess you got me. I lied about waiting to update windows because it's really beneficial for me to do that. I wanted to make sure that everybody reading this obscure thread and forum knew I'm a really cool person. But it's a stolen valour situation, because I pulled the wool over everybody's eyes! I actually updated windows, but said I didn't!

Is it really so unbelievable that somebody would wait to do one of the major Windows updates, even in normal circumstances, nevermind when they are using some really hacky workarounds like EP? There's a long history of awful updates without the added questions and conflicts that EP brings. I've had a handful of issues both with and without removing and/or updating EP, both before and after a windows update. Explorer crash loops where it just blinks my taskbar on and off. When that happened I just lived without it for a while, but I would have preffered if I had just waited to update. So a while back, when I had some important things to do, that's what I did. Then I let windows update itself, and for the first time, it actually didn't complete the update while EP was still installed. So I left it alone, and looked around. 24H2 seemed to have some issues, big surprise.

All that being said, I haven't reinstalled EP yet. I'm using the pin to start as a poor man's quicklaunch. Taskbar is ok enough. Right click menu isn't that awful thing that 11 started out with. Whether this has changed over the years officially, or if I am benefitting from some residual bits left over after EP uninstalled, I don't really care. It's good enough for now. If I change my mind I can probably install EP again. I have a feeling that I am just going to get used to the inferior experience that this newer taskbar offers.

expatchenjoyer said:

You serious dude?

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Who? Me?

I upgraded my System Two from Windows 10 to Windows 11 by using Microsoft Installation Assistant within only days after the official release. A few days after that, I installed ExplorerPatcher, and have been using it ever since. I upgraded to 24H2, within only days after 24H2 came out (early October last year), again by using the Installation Assistant. System One came with Windows 11 23H2. I installed ExplorerPatcher on it within only days after I got it (in March last year), and upgraded to 24H2 by using Installation Assistant a few months after 24H2 came out. For me, it works. I see no reason why it wouldn't work on 23H2 (or on 24H2, for that matter...).

Both the File Explorer with tabs and the Windows 11 taskbar still have bugs even today. Both used to be rife with bugs up until not so very long ago actually. Without ExplorerPatcher, the explorer process would crash often. With ExplorerPatcher's Taskbar > Taskbar style > Windows 10 and File Explorer > Control Interface > Windows 10 Ribbon, the explorer process never crashed on me excepting only if I didn't restart the computer after changing one of those specific settings that require to restart explorer like I earlier said.

After installing a new LCU through Windows Update, if I got the black screen with only a mouse cursor, all I had to do to fix it in next to no time is what I wrote in my replies to @spapakons. Only one time I had to re-download ep_setup.exe from GitHub before I could reinstall ExplorerPatcher. The endless boot loop was just a one-off that has been fixed in ExplorerPatcher a very long time ago, and that didn't affect me because I had already applied the registry setting to prevent automatic shell restart.

Windows Defender no longer detects the false positive, and the same also was true about the previous version of ExplorerPatcher. Just remember to always update ExplorerPatcher to the latest release or pre-release (whichever is the latest), and also make sure that it successfully downloaded the new symbols each time when Windows is updated to a new build number and each time when a new version of ExplorerPatcher is installed [either through its built-in updater or by manually downloading the new ep_setup.exe from GitHub].

ExplorerPatcher + Open-Shell works. ExplorerPatcher + Open-Shell + Windhawk works even better.

hdmi said:

Who? Me?

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The nice part about people like you is that your... unique attitude can be determined from just one post. The snarky assumptions, and then trying to big time somebody after the fact when that isn't what my rhetorical question was about. My point is that I have no reason to lie about what I said, and the fact that your first instinct was to think I was, is ridiculous. Have fun, thanks for trying to help in your own way.

expatchenjoyer said:

The nice part about people like you is that your... unique attitude can be determined from just one post. The snarky assumptions, and then trying to big time somebody after the fact when that isn't what my rhetorical question was about. My point is that I have no reason to lie about what I said, and the fact that your first instinct was to think I was, is ridiculous. Have fun, thanks for trying to help in your own way.

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I was just pulling your leg.

hdmi said:

ExplorerPatcher + Open-Shell + Windhawk works even better.

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You use all three? Together? No conflicts with one another?

What is Windhawk? What do you use it for?

spapakons said:

What is Windhawk? What do you use it for?

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cheaterslick said:

You use all three? Together? No conflicts with one another?

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I thought, most Win11 users use all 3.

Anixx said:

I thought, most Win11 users use all

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- The combination of Explorer Patcher and Open Shell workd fine
- The combination of Windhawk and Open Shell works fine too (that's my current configuration)

But the combination of Explorer Patcher and Windhawk is somewhat tricky, because they both are digging deep into the system.
I would not dare to use them both at the same time or to advise someone else to do so.
But it all depends on what you want to achieve, especially in Windhawk there are quite a lot of mods you can use or not.

Kees said:

- The combination of Explorer Patcher and Open Shell workd fine
- The combination of Windhawk and Open Shell works fine too (that's my current configuration)

But the combination of Explorer Patcher and Windhawk is somewhat tricky, because they both are digging deep into the system.
I would not dare to use them both at the same time or to advise someone else to do so.
But it all depends on what you want to achieve, especially in Windhawk there are quite a lot of mods you can use or not.

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For me, Windhawk is essential, EP is not, I can do just well with Windhawk only but EP adds some convenience in restarting Explorer. Also, EP Taskbar may be useful in the future, but it is not finished yet.

Anixx said:

...but EP adds some convenience in restarting Explorer...

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I have a simple batch for that.

taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
start explorer.exe

That's all!

Kees said:

I have a simple batch for that.

taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
start explorer.exe

That's all!

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If you do so, you also have to restart other utilities, such as Shellfolderfix

spapakons said:

What is Windhawk? What do you use it for?

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Windhawk is a pretty cool Windows modding app with a bunch of modules you most likely will not use or enable but there are some useful ones, for example , I have only one enabled .....

Transparent Screensaver Fix , this enables me to now use transparent screensavers of old like Bubbles or Hypnogenic Rain and am now able to see my desktop instead of getting a black screen when the screensaver executes. I know with today's monitors you don't need screen savers but I enjoy the aesthetics of the Hypnogenic rain screen saver.

This is the main reason I downloaded the app , I haven't been able to use the Hypnogenic rain screensaver since Windows 7 and have it work properly without getting a black or colored screen when it executed. Now it works as intended, when the screensaver comes on I can still see my desktop.

There are a lot more modules in the app that can be enabled .... or not , you just pick and choose which ones you want, be careful though and make backups before you dive into it.

IF I remember correctly, a bug prevents these screensavers to work properly. But if you copy the .scr file on a folder (such as your desktop) and you double-click to run, then it works properly! Weird! You can use a utility such as watch4idle to set it automatically load the screensaver (it is treated like an application) after set number or minutes.

spapakons said:

IF I remember correctly, a bug prevents these screensavers to work properly. But if you copy the .scr file on a folder (such as your desktop) and you double-click to run, then it works properly! Weird! You can use a utility such as watch4idle to set it automatically load the screensaver (it is treated like an application) after set number or minutes.

Watch 4 Idle 1.0

Freeware high quality Windows unique utilities and Windows fixes by LeeLu Soft

leelusoft.blogspot.com

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Exactly, only this Windhawk mod now allows the scr file load directly from the system32 folder as intended