New Version of ExplorerPatcher

valinet · Mar 2, 2023

alias said:
Does any of you have a problem with an overlap between the notifications/notification panel and the taskbar on the latest version of EP?

Yeah, I saw that on my test VM as well. Has to be investigated, something changed…

sardanus said:
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.

Thanks, I know about this bug, it has been mentioned here a couple of times already. The Windows 10 Start menu is Microsoft’s implementation, as it still ships buried in Windows 11’s system files. As such, I am not intimately familiar with the undocumented architecture they have, so everything has to be meticulously studied in order to understand how it works and come up with a fix. Unfortunately, yeah, I am not there yet. I know about the problem, but what can I do more than this…? Not saying it on a war tone or against you, but rather as an acknowledgment of the problem and that, as always, if I find a solution, I will update the software to include it.

There are many thing on the backlog; those 2 mentioned above, the WinA/WinW shortcuts not working, the weather widget having some problems sometimes, I also would like to develop a crash detection mechanism so that we do not get into explorer restart loops when things go wrong, but rather crash once and then EP asks to disable itself for the time being, in order not to lock the user out of the computer… I also want to start modularizing everything, moving away from this monolithic design where everything is baked in, to having a core module that hooks explorer and performs initial injection, while the user installs additional modules that enable various things in safe ways: the “ep_extra” infrastructure, there are 2 commits I pushed yesterday of work I have done some time last year where I developed a module loader, and a demo module that, alongside the AltTab.dll from Windows 7, it enables the window switcher from Windows 7. This way everyone has a personalized install, with only what they require, and it kind of enables things like sws to live standalone, as I also saw someone here begging to have a standalone sws compiled so he can use it without the entire EP. But yeah, it needs time, wise and thoughtful planning, and then actual coding and we’ll get there, and hopefully more people join in and help along the way.

Thanks.

Johnboy200 · Mar 2, 2023

I see Valinet has posted and I completely agree with what he says.

Some people here should realise that ep_patcher is free and also it's been said time and time again that there is no guarantee on the stabilty for preview builds of Windows and is also in the hands of Microsoft causing/introducing code that is no longer compatable with it.

Nobody is forced to use it the same as no one is forced to use preview builds of Windows.

You use ep_patcher because it's free, a good addon and limited support and as such should be thankfull it gets the support it does.

I've beeen using ep_patcher since it first got released and this is the first time there has been a major issue/conflict with Windows where I've actually uninstalled ep_patcher and resigned myself to having to using the crap W11 taskbar.

I would suggest to some of you that you download ep_setup from HERE and rename it ep_uninstall, put it in the root directory on the C: drive and then it makes it easy to uninstall if you have problems but can get to the Task Manager so you can run it.

sardanus · Mar 2, 2023

Johnboy200 said:
I see Valinet has posted and I completely agree with what he says.

Some people here should realise that ep_patcher is free and also it's been said time and time again that there is no guarantee on the stabilty for preview builds of Windows and is also in the hands of Microsoft causing/introducing code that is no longer compatable with it.

Nobody is forced to use it the same as no one is forced to use preview builds of Windows.

You use ep_patcher because it's free, a good addon and limited support and as such should be thankfull it gets the support it does.

I've beeen using ep_patcher since it first got released and this is the first time there has been a major issue/conflict with Windows where I've actually uninstalled ep_patcher and resigned myself to having to using the crap W11 taskbar.

I would suggest to some of you that you download ep_setup from HERE and rename it ep_uninstall, put it in the root directory on the C: drive and then it makes it easy to uninstall if you have problems but can get to the Task Manager so you can run it.

I'm grateful for his work. I only wanted to put attention on that bug. I didn't notice it was already posted here, this thread is 72 pages long. I apologize if i sounded rude. I will continue using EP anyway

valinet · Mar 2, 2023

sardanus said:
I'm grateful for his work. I only wanted to put attention on that bug. I didn't notice it was already posted here, this thread is 72 pages long. I apologize if i sounded rude. I will continue using EP anyway

Nah, it is fine, you did not sound rude, I never said that, don’t worry and sorry if it sounded like I implied that, not my intention. I just wanted to make it clear that I am aware of it, and generally do not ignore or disregard stuff, but rather that I may not have a comment on something at the moment or a solution right away.

Thanks.

The-Hive · Mar 2, 2023

EP and windows updated to 22621.1344.53.1 and 22621.1344 everything is working perfectly, Weather app fine and no explorer loop.
Great Job @valinet as always

WAI · Mar 2, 2023

I can't use EP sadly. It just continues to Lock-up the task bar to where I had to crl+alt to sign out. I'm on the Latest version EP/WiN

Neijek · Mar 2, 2023

OAT said:
Yes it does restart and will do so for ever resulting in tons of errors in the log.

If Explorerpatcher is preventing you from using your computer, these are the steps to take.
After your login, and between the flashes, press CTRL Alt DEL (at the same time)
Choose Task Manager
Select in the top left menu, Run new task as Admin.
1- Type in cmd (press enter)
2- Type in cd c:\ (press enter)
3- Type in cd %ProgramFiles%\ExplorerPatcher (press enter)
4- Type in cp ep_setup.exe ep_uninstall.exe (press enter)
5- Type in ep_uninstall.exe (press enter)

This will give you back control of your system.

thanks for a quick reply, i ended up switching back to the older version of win 11 .. and then as soon as i saw and update from Valentin i updated both :) happy he's back working on the project.

Try3 · Mar 2, 2023

Johnboy200 said:
would suggest to some of you that you download ep_setup from HERE

Here is a direct download link that remains current across releases.
Download the latest version of ExplorerPatcher
It's from post #1409.

Johnboy200 said:
put it in the root directory on the C: drive

I urge you not to put it in the root folder of your C:\ drive.
Windows applies special [undocumented] protection on that folder. So you'll have difficulty putting it there and, if their special protection changes, you might have difficulty running it.
And there's no point putting it anywhere specific anyway. I put all my installation files in a folder on a data drive before backing them up and they can be run [after a check scan with Defender] from there just as well as from anywhere else.

All the best,
Denis

The-Hive · Mar 2, 2023

hdmi said:
I use it to change the Windows 10 Taskbar's text color. The moving seconds are too much of a distraction when the digits are white.

I use OpenShell/ClassicShell to change the Taskbar colour and Atomic alarm clock to get a decent clock (with or without seconds) and many different styles on the taskbar

Gravarty · Mar 2, 2023

Hi Valinet, first of all thank you for still working on this project. I can only imagine that it is difficult to keep this project going since no one else contributes to it. I also want to apologize for my harsh tone and for saying there was no interest in updating. It just looked strange from the outside with all the discussions closure on GitHub and not getting any news about it

ExplorerPatcher is superior in many ways to StartAllBack with all the options you give the user to customize the shell. Thanks for also explaining the UWP issue in the start menu.

ExplorerPatcher is also great on Windows 10, where you can completely disable the immersive context menus for the taskbar and enable the classic Win32 applets, (or whatever it's called) for having the original clock and volume slider.

kgarrett67 · Mar 2, 2023

To all the people who bash a product and/or a developer, especially a product that is free, I say this:

Constructive criticism helps the developer. The developer is giving his free time to create and maintain a product to the best of their ability. Windows updates are dynamic and will always change for various reasons. However, bashing a developer and their product is not doing any good for the developer or their product.
I realize that users of this site are from countries far and wide. But at least in the US, where I’m located, we have choices. If you don’t like a product, you can search for another product that may better suit your expectations.
No one is making you use the software. If it doesn’t work on your particular machine setup, you have the right to delete it and move on.

This concludes my morning pre-coffee rant.

The-Hive · Mar 2, 2023

kgarrett67 said:
To all the people who bash a product and/or a developer, especially a product that is free, I say this:

Constructive criticism helps the developer. The developer is giving his free time to create and maintain a product to the best of their ability. Windows updates are dynamic and will always change for various reasons. However, bashing a developer and their product is not doing any good for the developer or their product.

I realize that users of this site are from countries far and wide. But at least in the US, where I’m located, we have choices. If you don’t like a product, you can search for another product that may better suit your expectations.

No one is making you use the software. If it doesn’t work on your particular machine setup, you have the right to delete it and move on.

This concludes my morning pre-coffee rant.

Yes, if people read the previous posts on this thread/forum then they would understand the score, with what Valinet is up to and what his commitments are but sadly, it seems a lot of people just come on here to moan about issues without knowing what goes on with updating and programming etc. and a lot of their problems are their machines or setups

nikosyan · Mar 2, 2023

nikosyan said:
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

Just to say that on a VM I tried it I had no issue with the task view button, so I guess something was wrong with my system. Still I don't feel like bothering to re-install the windows update.

spudgun · Mar 2, 2023

Thank you for providing this amazingly useful piece of software, it is greatly appreciated.

May I add a new bug to the list please for the most recent release?

When using the windows 10 taskbar style, the visual notification of volume changes made via my keyboard no longer work. The volume itself does change, however, so it is just the visual popup that seems to be broken.

If I switch back to the default windows 11 style the visual popup works fine, but it does look different to how it did before the latest windows update as it now appears from the middle of the taskbar rather than the right hand side and it is now animated rather than just appearing.

I am aware that this is just a cosmetic bug, but thought I would mention it in case it helps anyone else on this thread in the future.

Thanks again

Gravarty · Mar 2, 2023

nikosyan said:
Just to say that on a VM I tried it I had no issue with the task view button, so I guess something was wrong with my system. Still I don't feel like bothering to re-install the windows update.

Yeah, the task view button disappears when the search box is enabled.
(This was recorded on Windows 10 Stable, which for some reason now supports the search box on small taskbar).

This is how it looks like:

A_Warthog · Mar 2, 2023

alias said:
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

That value changes an internal ID within the registry that seems to be pointing to the latest version of the start menu. The start menu was updated in the latest build, hence why the ID changed. I suspect that this value will need to be changed each time Microsoft makes updates to the start menu. Here's to hoping that Microsoft finally sees the light and the next update will include an option to remove the recommended section. Knowing them, I'm not holding my breath...

Here's the process that I followed to deduce that it was the ID within that script that needed to be updated, and how to figure out what value to use in the future. Note that it's dependent on a new version of ExplorerPatcher being released. Later, I'll see if I can search the registry to find other possible sources of that ID:

Remove all start menu/taskbar customizations from your machine (make sure not to check the box to delete your license when uninstalling StartAllBack!)
Install build 22621.1344
Check the contents of %SystemRoot%\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.StartMenuExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy\ and confirm that dxgi.dll is not present
Install the latest version of ExplorerPatcher
Enable the "Hide Recommended" feature, restart explorer, and confirm that it is working with the latest version of ExplorerPatcher
Check the contents of %SystemRoot%\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.StartMenuExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy\ and confirm that dxgi.dll is present
Open the registry editor
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ExplorerPatcher and verify that there's a REG_DWORD named StartDocked_DisableRecommendedSection with a value of 1
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ExplorerPatcher\StartDocked and verify that there's a REG_DWORD named StartDocked::LauncherFrame::OnVisibilityChanged
Make a note of the 7-digit number in parentheses in the Data column linked with StartDocked::LauncherFrame::OnVisibilityChanged, that's the ID to use in the script
Update line 28 of the script from Reddit (11SM-recommended.bat) to align with the new value for StartDocked::LauncherFrame::OnVisibilityChanged
Uninstall ExplorerPatcher
Run 11SM-recommended.bat, and press 1 followed by enter to install
Install StartAllBack

lkeltner · Mar 2, 2023

I've tried installing this on my work desktop, but it just causes explorer.exe to loop after installation (even after a reboot) It even tries to show the windows 11 initial white OOBE window for a second each time.

I tried version 22621.608.51.6 a week ago and also tried version 22621.1344.53.1 this morning.

I'm running Win 11, 22H2 22621.1265

My laptop is running all of the same stuff as far as security/etc. It has no problem and the install went great. As it did on my home machine.

errors switch back and forth as it crashes every 5 sec from:

Faulting application name: explorer.exe, version: 10.0.22621.1194, time stamp: 0x506ad647
Faulting module name: combase.dll, version: 10.0.22621.900, time stamp: 0x622991f2
Exception code: 0xc0000005

to:

Faulting application name: explorer.exe, version: 10.0.22621.1194, time stamp: 0x506ad647
Faulting module name: ntdll.dll, version: 10.0.22621.900, time stamp: 0xa97a9ed6
Exception code: 0xc0000005

It'll keep crashing until I uninstall it.

Any ideas what I should look at first?

Johnboy200 · Mar 2, 2023

spudgun said:
Thank you for providing this amazingly useful piece of software, it is greatly appreciated.

May I add a new bug to the list please for the most recent release?

When using the windows 10 taskbar style, the visual notification of volume changes made via my keyboard no longer work. The volume itself does change, however, so it is just the visual popup that seems to be broken.

If I switch back to the default windows 11 style the visual popup works fine, but it does look different to how it did before the latest windows update as it now appears from the middle of the taskbar rather than the right hand side and it is now animated rather than just appearing.

I am aware that this is just a cosmetic bug, but thought I would mention it in case it helps anyone else on this thread in the future.

Thanks again

It helped me as I thought it might have been the windows update. But as I use a GC7 usb external sound card I can see where the volume is set as it's illuminated which is handy when in game. What I also get is when using the windows key to go to the desktop whilst in a game is a Explorer window opens, not sure if this caused by EP or not as it usually sorts it self out.

Johnboy200 · Mar 2, 2023

Try3 said:
Here is a direct download link that remains current across releases.
Download the latest version of ExplorerPatcher
It's from post #1409.

I wouldn't advice anyone to download any exe file and run it with out knowing where it's coming from where as downloading from HERE you can see what you're getting and also get previous versions if needed and is always updated by Valinet

Try3 · Mar 2, 2023

Johnboy200 said:
I wouldn't advice anyone to download any exe file and run it with out knowing where it's coming from

Nor would I. My link's source is identified by hovering over the hyperlink I posted and looking in the browser's status bar. Just as is the case for your link.

Denis