New Version of ExplorerPatcher


Reinstalled ep_setup 22621.1344.53.1 with KB5022906 still installed and all ok as far as I can tell as I only use it for W10 taskbar really.
Big thanks to Valinet, the updated ep_epatcher even remembered all the Toolbars I had before I uninstalled it. Great job Valinet.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Self Build
    CPU
    i9-10850k
    Motherboard
    MSI MAG B560 TORPEDO
    Memory
    32 GB Crucial Ballistix BL2K8G32C16U4R 3200 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    PowerColor Radeon RX 6700 XT HellHound 12GB
    Sound Card
    External Creative Sound Blaster GC7
    Monitor(s) Displays
    32" Agon Curved
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    480gb ssd, 2x1tb drives, 1xM.2 1tb, 1xM.2 500gb
    PSU
    Corsair 750 watt gold
    Cooling
    Corsair iCUE H60i RGB PRO XT water cooler
    Keyboard
    Logitech G910
    Mouse
    Cooler Master sentinell III
    Internet Speed
    63 mbs
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    AVG free
Thank you Valinet for the update, I installed the KB5022913 and then re-installed EP (I had uninstalled it just to be on the safe side) . It works well except the button for the task view (virtual desktops) on the Windows 10 taskbar. But because of this and because the latest update makes my system very slow I will uninstall the KB5022913 and wait that Microsoft stops serving us beta versions. Again a big thanks
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
As ExplorerPatcher does not work correctly in the latest build, I replaced this with StartAllBack, but I am struggling to get rid of the Recommended section from the Start Menu.
I applied the following change (1st post) Removing "Recommended" from Start Menu on Windows 11 22H2 Pro but it doesnt work well with StartAllBack. The Recommended section is gone, but the gap remains - it only disappears if I restart the process explorer.exe ~1-2 times.

I wonder if you are aware of any other workaround?

View attachment 53947

If StartAllBack is not enabled, then the gap is not shown.

I would like to keep an old taskbar and StartAllBack works good when it comes to this, but the only functionality I still need is the removal of the Recommendations.

Any ideas?
Hello, I've found an alternative method to remove the Recommended section on build 22621.1344 that is compatible with StartAllBack. It also eliminates the empty space you highlighted.

On the Reddit thread linked below, a user named hiranokite posted a batch script that sideloads the code to remove the Recommended section from explorer. The only problem is that this worked on builds prior to 22621.1344. With the latest version of ExplorerPatcher and a minor modification to hiranokite's script, you can get it working on your machine on the latest build.

Follow the steps exactly as hiranokite lists in the linked Reddit thread. After you copy the code to a new batch file on your desktop called 11SM-recommended.bat, change the following value near the end of line 28: 1869808 → 1827392. Run the script, press 1 to install, and you're good to go. Hold onto a copy of the batch script and ep_setup.exe as well. That way, you can reverse the changes ahead of future updates.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Reddit thread:
 

Attachments

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Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Build
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    ASUS TUF Gaming X570-Pro (Wi-Fi)
    Memory
    32 GB (8×4) Corsair Vengeance
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2060 WINDFORCE OC 6G
Meanwhile I see ExplorerPatcher has been updated this morning. I uninstalled the old version, installed the new version, and then the cumulative Windows update. Everything works ok and no more looping, but most of my taskbar is now transparent except near the tray area on the right. It used to be my accent color in the windows settings. I toggled the radio switches for Transparency, and the two that allow for for the color to be in windows, taskbar, etc., but that did not help
I found the problem. I had installed a bunch of programs with NiNite.com. One was Classic Shell, and the install was automated. I uninstalled it and installed open Shell and the taskbar is now the proper solid color. It was not an ExplorerPatcher issue, and I doubt it was a Classic Shell issue, I am guessing it installed with default settings. Anyway, my problem solved, and thanks again to the author of ExplorerPatcher for the quick update today!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
Valinet is awesome!
Completely disagree. He had a hissy fit and disabled the posting of ANYTHING by ANYBODY at the one repository where his software caused a worldwide meltdown -- all because he got emotional about a few people not meticulously reading certain README documents there before posting. Irresponsible, arrogant, and bad form.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    5800x
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime Pro B550
    Memory
    32gb DDR4 PC3600
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia 2070
    Screen Resolution
    UHD
  • Operating System
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    3600X
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime Pro X370
    Memory
    64gb DDR4 PC3600
    Graphics card(s)
    Nvidia 3060 12GB
    Screen Resolution
    UHD
Completely disagree. He had a hissy fit and disabled the posting of ANYTHING by ANYBODY at the one repository where his software caused a worldwide meltdown -- all because he got emotional about a few people not meticulously reading certain README documents there before posting. Irresponsible, arrogant, and bad form.

I am totally on Valinet's side. The program description says loud and clear in several places that it is aimed only for the main releases and if it works for an optional D-release in between patch Tuesdays - consider it as a lucky bonus. Valinet could have waited until March 14th (next patch Tuesday) so yesterdays update was kind of a positive surprise.

Then half of the messages in this thread are about people complaining it's not working on their release preview version... sigh!

Most people today are too lazy to read instructions. They all want personalized feeds. I know because I was working in customer service for an IT company a couple of years ago where we took the drastic decision to close all telephone lines because people continued to ask the same questions over and over again even if things had clearly written public instructions.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Homebuilt Corsair Midi Tower
    CPU
    Intel i7-10700
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte B460 AORUS PRO AC
    Memory
    Kingston DDR4-2933 32 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS TUF-GTX1650S-4G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Nvidia
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Philips 2x27''
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    Samsung NvME 970-EVO 1 TB
    Samsung NvME 980 PRO 1 TB
    Samsung SSD 512 GB
    Seagate HDD 4 TB
    PSU
    Corsair TX-650
    Case
    Corsair
    Cooling
    Trad. Air cooling fans
    Keyboard
    Logitech G series
    Mouse
    Logitech G series
    Internet Speed
    1000/1000 Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox Developer Edition + Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Legion Slim 5 16APH8
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS
    Motherboard
    Lenovo LNVNB161216
    Memory
    32 GB DDR5 5600 MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Radeon 780M + Nvidia RTX 4070
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1600
    Hard Drives
    Samsung MZVL21T0HCLR 1TB
    Samsung 980PRO 1 TB
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Internet Speed
    1000/1000 Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox Dev Edition + Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Right-click over the taskbar crashes explorer on
Edition Windows 11 Pro Insider Preview
Version 22H2
Installed on ‎17/‎02/‎2023
OS build 25300.1000
Experience Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.25300.1000.0
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Insider (Latest)
    Computer type
    Laptop
change the following value near the end of line 28: 1869808 → 1827392.

Thank you for sharing this!
Could you tell me what the value actually changes and will I have to change the value for something else in upcoming updates?

Thank you
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W11

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home x64 Version 23H2 Build 22631.3296
Thanks. ExplorerPatcher is brilliant. Not only can I get small taskbar icons again, after KB5022913 broke Winaero, but also I can look at desktop icons in taskbar. Also taskbar is inline with small icons which wasn't the case with the now broken Winaero.

Until Microsoft stamp their clunking great boot on it.... You will conform... Resistance is futile...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus Zenbook
    CPU
    Core i7
    Memory
    16Gb
    Hard Drives
    1TB SSD
And being able to disable the Windows 11 context menu is pure heaven.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus Zenbook
    CPU
    Core i7
    Memory
    16Gb
    Hard Drives
    1TB SSD
My boot loop is simply arriving at the desktop and file explorer never loading, with a blinking screen.

Really annoyed by ExplorerPatcher's developer totally abandoning support and banning (emotionally) all interactions at Github such as bug reports like this, just because not enough people read his precious README demanding minutiae a la:

Also annoyed that StartAllBack is the only active alternative but demands money (sent to Russia no less). Anything else out there? It's notable that Microsoft itself only mentions these two culprits.
Completely disagree. He had a hissy fit and disabled the posting of ANYTHING by ANYBODY at the one repository where his software caused a worldwide meltdown -- all because he got emotional about a few people not meticulously reading certain README documents there before posting. Irresponsible, arrogant, and bad form.
You seem to continue coming up with totally nonsensical replies. I am getting tired of this pos attitude, the entitlement you show and so on... I'd advise to stop posting if you are to continue with this garbage, not only is it not bringing anything useful to the discussion, but it also pollutes it unnecessarily and generates a negative atmosphere.

Really annoyed by ExplorerPatcher's developer totally abandoning support
There wasn't any support actually to begin. The software is provided AS IS, no warranties. It is one of the reasons it is distributed free of charge, free of obligations - I do not have the time to commit to support, but rather approach it as best effort, striving to provide it when necessary. But there is no guaranteed support to speak of from the start, so I don't get where your entitlement for this comes from. Other reasons the software is free (and always will be) are mainly because I developed it for educational purposes, wanting to expand my knowledge and learn into certain areas, and also because I believe it is good to sometimes give back things to the public domain, and with my hope that it would generate a developer community around it, maintaining and improving it, thus improving the UI of Windows, which is a benefit for users.

But as I said, I developed it mainly for educational purposes, it was a learning exercise - I could have kept it for myself, but seeing it may be useful for some people as well, I decided to share it with the world anyway.

his software caused a worldwide meltdown
The software is provided AS IS. You, as a user, are wholly responsible for everything you install or use on your machine. Not only this, but ExplorerPatcher has its source code published, so you can audit it at any point and evaluate how it works, what it does and what impact it may have on your workflow. No one forces you to use it, you didn't enter any contract with me. Furthermore, for the time being, EVERY time something major happened I tried my best to come up with a fix as quickly as the time allowed me to. Sometimes it takes time. Also, I do not receive Windows updates earlier than you do. When a preview update is released, there is indeed a window between when you install it and when I get to also install it and test against it and eventually fix any deal breaking problems, if any. You do realize that, right? Not to mention, OS preview updates are not pushed to users, you voluntarily choose to install them. Instead of your pos attitude, when such a situation occurs again, what is helpful is to first check what others reported, and if nobody reported anything, fire up a VM and test there, if you want to help. My time is as valuable as yours and as anyone else's. I do this pro bono, best effort, with all my passion and whenever I feel like to, but have no duty to fix anything or responsibility towards you and your stupid bitching. If not obvious (it seems a lot of things are not obvious to you, for some reason), I may not always have the time to jump on it right away.

disabled the posting of ANYTHING by ANYBODY at the one repository [...] -- all because he got emotional about a few people not meticulously reading certain README documents there before posting
Again, you clearly did not understand a thing, despite being forum posts where this has been discussed already. GitHub is a site for developers. A lot of the discussions on the forums there were, exactly as @Fredrik above said, personalized feeds for people not wanting to document themselves a bit, support tickets for things already resolved, trash talking like yours here, disregarding of some basic rules posted, incomplete reports and so on. With a few notable exceptions, it failed to generate any developer activity other than mine, unfortunately. So what was the point of it then? You know I get an email for every post made there, right? How do you think managing that looked like? It took me almost the entire day, and at some point I observed I do not have the time to dedicate to that and decided to shut it off, and instead direct the discussions to other places where other people moderate the talk etc. It is also fueled by GitHub's blatant lack of granular control over this - the site is poorly designed, not letting you fine tune what you want to restrict and not. When things will improve, I will reconsider my decision and reevaluate it based on the new situation.

Irresponsible, arrogant, and bad form.
You describe yourself there, right? To call me that, besides what I said, also considering that the software has its source code available, so you could always check it out, fix the problem and make a version for yourself is plain and utter bs. You have all the instruments to make the best out of it, I think I more than made my duty as a decent human being; sure, there are flaws, I may have not had the best attitude all the times, I may have made some mistakes, the program might have or had bugs that are my fault, as in not foreseeing them, right, but at all times I have acted in good will, so I consider your statements baseless, flawed and untrue.

Have a nice day!

PS.
Also annoyed that StartAllBack is the only active alternative but demands money (sent to Russia no less).
He "demands" money? Don't you think it's normal for people to be paid for the work they do? While big names today "demand" 10 bucks a month for every rubbish you can think of, $3 for a guy creating an app that no one forces you to use, that helps you workaround an issue, all while being a million alternatives out there (like switching to Windows 10, using the regular Windows 11 shell and so on, developing your own software - the knowledge is available, trust me) is too "demanding"... Also, you’re not financing Putin himself… what is the fault of regular people that happen to have been born or live in a country that is engaged in something wrong… that’s shortsighted to say the least. Labeling an entire population just because of bad leadership they have at a certain moment is ignorant.

PPS.
On a more positive note, I'd like to thank everyone who showed their support, understanding, and who shared their opinions and constructive feedback around here. I try my best to at least read most of the messages, and take everything into consideration. I know the software is not perfect, there is room for improvement everywhere, from the actual code itself to the documentation and everything in between, but rest assured that whenever I get to work on this, I do it with my best effort and always with good faith. Thank you.
 
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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
EP 22621.1344.53.1 on OS Build 22621.1344. Cheers for the latest patch release that saves lives.

One minor issue that i believe valinet would be interested to look into (if you hadn't) is that, the keyboard shortcuts Win+A (toggles the action center) and Win+B (cursor to the system tray) no longer works when "Taskbar style: Windows 10" is enabled. The action center itself still can be toggled by clicking the control center button (if one had it enabled in EP's system-tray settings), but the keyboard-way isn't working.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Nitro N50-610
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-10400F CPU @ 2.90GHz 2.90 GHz
    Browser
    Mozilla Firefox
EP 22621.1344.53.1 on OS Build 22621.1344. Cheers for the latest patch release that saves lives.

One minor issue that i believe valinet would be interested to look into (if you hadn't) is that, the keyboard shortcuts Win+A (toggles the action center) and Win+B (cursor to the system tray) no longer works when "Taskbar style: Windows 10" is enabled. The action center itself still can be toggled by clicking the control center button (if one had it enabled in EP's system-tray settings), but the keyboard-way isn't working.

Yes, actually WIN+W (widgets) as well (if one is into such stuff)...
I am looking at the source code myself but I bet Valinet will beat me with a solution.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Homebuilt Corsair Midi Tower
    CPU
    Intel i7-10700
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte B460 AORUS PRO AC
    Memory
    Kingston DDR4-2933 32 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS TUF-GTX1650S-4G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Nvidia
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Philips 2x27''
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    Samsung NvME 970-EVO 1 TB
    Samsung NvME 980 PRO 1 TB
    Samsung SSD 512 GB
    Seagate HDD 4 TB
    PSU
    Corsair TX-650
    Case
    Corsair
    Cooling
    Trad. Air cooling fans
    Keyboard
    Logitech G series
    Mouse
    Logitech G series
    Internet Speed
    1000/1000 Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox Developer Edition + Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Legion Slim 5 16APH8
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS
    Motherboard
    Lenovo LNVNB161216
    Memory
    32 GB DDR5 5600 MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Radeon 780M + Nvidia RTX 4070
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1600
    Hard Drives
    Samsung MZVL21T0HCLR 1TB
    Samsung 980PRO 1 TB
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Internet Speed
    1000/1000 Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox Dev Edition + Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
I am looking at the source code myself but I bet Valinet will beat me with a solution.
Four eyes see better than two. Keep looking regardless.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 All /Debian/Arch
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. TUF Gaming FX705GM
    CPU
    2.20 gigahertz Intel i7-8750H Hyper-threaded 12 cores
    Motherboard
    ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. FX705GM 1.0
    Memory
    24428 Megabytes
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel(R) UHD Graphics 630 / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060
    Sound Card
    Intel(R) Display Audio / Realtek(R) Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Integrated Monitor (17.3"vis)
    Screen Resolution
    FHD 1920X1080 16:9
    Hard Drives
    2 SSD SATA/NVM Express 1.3
    WDS500G2B0A-00SM50 500.1 GB
    WDCSDAPNUW-1002 256 GB
    PSU
    19V DC 6.32 A 120 W
    Cooling
    Dual Fans
    Mouse
    MS Bluetooth
    Internet Speed
    Fiber 1GB Cox -us & ADSL Bouygues -fr
    Browser
    Edge Canary- Firefox Nightly
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    VMs of Windows 11 stable/Beta/Dev/Canary
    VM of XeroLinux- Arch based & Debian 12
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Insider Canary
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS X751BP
    CPU
    AMD Dual Core A6-9220
    Motherboard
    ASUS
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    AMD Radeon R5 M420
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3
    Screen Resolution
    1600X900 16:9
    Hard Drives
    1TB 5400RPM
Does any of you have a problem with an overlap between the notifications/notification panel and the taskbar on the latest version of EP?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W11
Hello VALINET

I appreciate your work. I want to report a bug. It is very annoying. If I choose the windows 10 start menu style, all UWPs disappear from the app list. Even settings and other system preinstalled UWPs. Then, if I choose windows 11 start menu style, I can see all UWP apps again, settings included.

You can find some screenshots attached. E.g. whatsApp UWP is not present in app list although installed, and so do other UWPs such as settings, Xbox, Xbox Game bar ecc..

This bug also affects your prior stable release (22621.608.51.6). I tried both versions in windows 11 22h2 build 22621.1250 and latest 22621.1344.

Thank you for your work.
 

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My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Huawei Matebook 16
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 5800H
    Memory
    16GB DDR4 3200MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Vega 8
    Monitor(s) Displays
    16" 2K IPS
    Screen Resolution
    2520x1680
    Hard Drives
    SSD 512GB M.2 PCIe
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 21H2 LTSC
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Assembled
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-9600K
    Motherboard
    Asus PRIME Z390M-PLUS
    Memory
    16GB DDR4 2666 MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    AMD Radeon 5500XT 8GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    27" Hannspree IPS 10bit QHD
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    SSD 512GB M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4
    PSU
    Corsair CX550
    Case
    Sharkoon MicroATX
    Cooling
    Corsair H60 Hydro 120mm
    Internet Speed
    200 Mbps DOWN / 20 Mbps UP
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
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