24H2 made me uninstall Explorer Patcher

I'm finishing up the installation of 24H2 and it got to a window mentioning Explorer Patcher not working right with this version, so I had to uninstall it. I finished the 24H2 update. Can I reinstall Explorer Patcher? It's in my Exclusions. I like the Win 10 type quick launch area on the far left of the taskbar

I don't see why not, just make sure it is the latest release.

GerryPeters said:

I'm finishing up the installation of 24H2 and it got to a window mentioning Explorer Patcher not working right with this version, so I had to uninstall it. I finished the 24H2 update. Can I reinstall Explorer Patcher? It's in my Exclusions. I like the Win 10 type quick launch area on the far left of the taskbar

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Things like that the tweak the OS will sometimes be reset to the Windows defaults during Upgrades/Build Updates. We only get a license to use Windows, Microsoft likes to keeps things the same for everyone so be sure to save the directions or software for future re-use.

GerryPeters said:

Can I reinstall Explorer Patcher?

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Download the latest version, as @Josey Wales mentioned.

Explorer Patcher updates their program very fast, usually.

I haven't reinstalled Explorer Patcher. IN the middle of the upgrade to 24H2, I saw that it wanted me to uninstall Explorer Patcher, so I did and the install proceeded. After the installation, I was surprised that I still had most of my Quick Launch items on the left like I had them, just like Win 10

1 show desktop
2 control panel
3 File Explorer
4 an RTF doc
5 FIlelocator App
6 Chrome
7 Wordpad
8 This PC
9 my mp3 folder - it opens the folder but can't drag to it

The last 3 items I had to manually add using the technique of adding the word explorer to the Target name in a shortcut, then drag the shortcut to the taskbar

Does 24H2 now support the Quick Launch items on the left like I did in Win 10? Or did I just get lucky and Windows didn't get rid of those. At this point I don't need Explorer Patcher, in fact I like the fact that I can now right click File Explorer and Wordpad to close all the windows. I had to manually install Wordpad since this upgrade deleted Wordpad wanting us to use MS 365

GerryPeters said:

7 Wordpad
8 This PC
9 my mp3 folder - it opens the folder but can't drag to it

The last 3 items I had to manually add using the technique of adding the word explorer to the Target name in a shortcut, then drag the shortcut to the taskbar

Click to expand...

I hope I don't sound dense, but could you provide an example.

GerryPeters said:

Does 24H2 now support the Quick Launch items on the left like I did in Win 10? Or did I just get lucky and Windows didn't get rid of those. At this point I don't need Explorer Patcher,

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what about 2H25?

GerryPeters said:

Does 24H2 now support the Quick Launch items on the left like I did in Win 10? Or did I just get lucky and Windows didn't get rid of those. At this point I don't need Explorer Patcher,

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I don't think I understand what you mean. The "Quick Launch items" are just shortcuts. Pinning shortcuts to taskbar has always been possible since the release of Windows 7. Adding a toolbar to the taskbar so as to let it mimic the Quick Launch area (or otherwise) is several ways different. Only you can decide on whether these differences can be worth. Either way, toolbars on the taskbar are not possible in Windows 11 without ExplorerPatcher or similar customization tool.

Personally, I, vastly prefer to use ExplorerPatcher for this purpose. It offers a whole plethora of additional advantages that I find important. One of these advantages is that it lets me completely get rid of the Windows 11 taskbar and all of its bugs, also including all those bugs that are impossible for me to fix with any of the other available customization tools/tweaks. All of these other available options (StartAllBack, Windhawk mods,...) AFAIK only allow it to be customized rather than be replaced with something much less buggy. That's right.. my bug allergy is reason enough for me to continue using ExplorerPatcher. lol

GerryPeters said:

I'm finishing up the installation of 24H2 and it got to a window mentioning Explorer Patcher not working right with this version, so I had to uninstall it. I finished the 24H2 update. Can I reinstall Explorer Patcher? It's in my Exclusions. I like the Win 10 type quick launch area on the far left of the taskbar

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Well, if you make image backups, the answer is obvious.

Try it (with latest version) - if not happy, restore image backup.

The crucial point is people can advise you about this BUT nobody can 100% guarantee it will work for you.

In the end, the proof of the pudding is in the eating!

x509 here's how I pinned the Wordpad icon

I created wordpad shortcut The Target box had this
"C:\Program Files\Windows NT\Accessories\wordpad.exe"
I put the word "explorer" (with no quotes) in the Target box of the shortcut
explorer "C:\Program Files\Windows NT\Accessories\wordpad.exe"
Windows 11 changed it to this
C:\Windows\explorer.exe "C:\Program Files\Windows NT\Accessories\wordpad.exe"
I dragged it to taskbar to pin it and changed the icon from the File Explorer icon to a wordpad type icon

I'm holding off on 2H25, so I know the bugs are worked out

GerryPeters said:

I'm holding off on 2H25, so I know the bugs are worked out

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Version 24H2 is the latest released for Win11 but there's been speculation as to whether the next version will be Win11-1 or Win12.