New Version of ExplorerPatcher

nikosyan · Jul 8, 2022

Hi I came here after I had serious crashes of the Windows Explorer with the latest version of Explorerpatcher. The previous version was very stable, but at the Forum I realized that Win+X was not working anymore (basically not using it often). Now I cannot get it out of my mind, but I cannot upgrade to the latest version because it really cripples my laptop. I use multiple external monitors and my use is not a usual one, but with the last version Windows Explorer crashes and the laptop cannot even restart aftet CTRL+ALT+DEL, It will not complete a restart and I have to press on the on the power button to stop. Also before that if I try to get to settings/apps, it does not work, so I cannot uninstall (if it helps).
All is good with the previous version, some bug must have slipped with the latest version.

The-Hive · Jul 8, 2022

nikosyan said:
Hi I came here after I had serious crashes of the Windows Explorer with the latest version of Explorerpatcher. The previous version was very stable, but at the Forum I realized that Win+X was not working anymore (basically not using it often). Now I cannot get it out of my mind, but I cannot upgrade to the latest version because it really cripples my laptop. I use multiple external monitors and my use is not a usual one, but with the last version Windows Explorer crashes and the laptop cannot even restart aftet CTRL+ALT+DEL, It will not complete a restart and I have to press on the on the power button to stop. Also before that if I try to get to settings/apps, it does not work, so I cannot uninstall (if it helps).
All is good with the previous version, some bug must have slipped with the latest version.

There is nothing wrong with the latest version of EPand it works fine with the latest Windows 11 update, maybe look closer to home at your settings, and multiple monitor set up. To uninstall rename C:\Windows\ dxgi.dll to something like xxdxgi.dll, reboot and delete the renamed file

CapoFantasma97 · Jul 8, 2022

I hope that the Windows 10 Start Menu styles could be updated to allow custom resizing and better support of tiles.

Currently only a handful of apps support certain sizes such as rectangular or big square, while all of the other only work as medium and small square.
In addition, any app installed from the Microsoft Store doesn't show their name on the tile, but only their icon.

On my phone I use a launcher called Launcher10 which allows to specify exactly how tall and wide the tile should be, its color, if I want to change its icon, a modifiable name, and so on. Something more extensive, a bit to the likes of this, would be fantastic.

valinet · Jul 8, 2022

nikosyan said:
Hi I came here after I had serious crashes of the Windows Explorer with the latest version of Explorerpatcher. The previous version was very stable, but at the Forum I realized that Win+X was not working anymore (basically not using it often). Now I cannot get it out of my mind, but I cannot upgrade to the latest version because it really cripples my laptop. I use multiple external monitors and my use is not a usual one, but with the last version Windows Explorer crashes and the laptop cannot even restart aftet CTRL+ALT+DEL, It will not complete a restart and I have to press on the on the power button to stop. Also before that if I try to get to settings/apps, it does not work, so I cannot uninstall (if it helps).
All is good with the previous version, some bug must have slipped with the latest version.

Latest version of EP doesn’t change *anything* besides amending a bit the code of the Win-X menu to have it work again. That’s all. I don’t understand why we have to do all this suppositions all the time: the commits are public and they clearly show what has changed, i.e. almost nothing at all. It’s very very unlikely such a catastrophic bug to have been introduced by this. More likely, maybe the newer OS update in combination with current version EP or even previous version EP and your computer settings do not behave well together, one reason or another. Maybe that would be worth investigating.

CapoFantasma97 said:
I hope that the Windows 10 Start Menu styles could be updated to allow custom resizing and better support of tiles.

Currently only a handful of apps support certain sizes such as rectangular or big square, while all of the other only work as medium and small square.
In addition, any app installed from the Microsoft Store doesn't show their name on the tile, but only their icon.

On my phone I use a launcher called Launcher10 which allows to specify exactly how tall and wide the tile should be, its color, if I want to change its icon, a modifiable name, and so on. Something more extensive, a bit to the likes of this, would be fantastic.

The Windows 10 Start menu is Microsoft proprietary. EP just revives it since its code became dormant now that Windows 11 shipped with a totally different implementation. It’s very difficult to do much regarding it without access to the source code, the disassembly is very far away from its originating code; only thing EP does is explore the live visual tree and change some element properties there to make the tiles and corners rounded etc. Feedback and requests regarding actual functionality would better be directed to the actual creator of the menu, aka Microsoft, although I suspect they wouldn’t really give a sh.it about it considering they threw it in the trash altogether and came up with something totally different in Windows 11.

nikosyan · Jul 8, 2022

valinet said:
atest version of EP doesn’t change *anything* besides amending a bit the code of the Win-X menu to have it work again. That’s all. I don’t understand why we have to do all this suppositions all the time: the commits are public and they clearly show what has changed, i.e. almost nothing at all. It’s very very unlikely such a catastrophic bug to have been introduced by this. More likely, maybe the newer OS update in combination with current version EP or even previous version EP and your computer settings do not behave well together, one reason or another. Maybe that would be worth investigating.

I want to thank you for all the work you have done. You are right, I uninstalled EP and installed StartAllBack. It is slightly more stable, but I have the Explorer crashes again, probably the newer OS update is causing the mess.
Edit: I had sometime off work, I uninstalled the latest messy Windows update (KB5014668) and re-installed EP, all good now.

valinet · Jul 9, 2022

Latest pre-release update (22000.708.47.2) addreses an issue regarding high DPI where taskbar buttons were too wide, or desktop icon spacing was wrong, with icons spaced too far apart. The fix was ported from StartAllBack 3.4.1, so credit to the developer there. Please test this version and see if it solves the problem, for me, the issue happened most of the times with dual 3840x2160 displays at 150% scaling, and this patch seems to fix it.

R84MK · Jul 9, 2022

catweazel said:
I hope this for the 22H2

Not all function works on 22H2. Command Bar from Windows 7 and Windows 10 not work, and StartAllBack + Explorer Patcher = taskbar no glass effect and search icon bug.

valinet · Jul 9, 2022

R84MK said:
Not all function works on 22H2. Command Bar from Windows 7 and Windows 10 not work, and StartAllBack + Explorer Patcher = taskbar no glass effect and search icon bug.

Why do you need ExplorerPatcher when running StartAllBack already? They partially hook the same functions, so ofc it won’t go well in some cases. Idk…

You can imagine the level of enthusiasm for fixing this again to work on 22H2. I have already learnt about this Windows 7 command bar/Windows 10 ribbon problem. Idk how to fix it at the moment. Probably port the fix from SAB? Idk, it would be nice if they contributed some of the stuff to EP as well, or at least if other people worked on it. That being said, what’s the purpose of maintaining EP anyway? SAB has similar features and is kept up to date.

On a lighter note, it would be nice to have a list of functionality from EP that needs fixing for 22H2. And 22H2 RTM is which build exactly?

MaRio · Jul 9, 2022

valinet said:
That being said, what’s the purpose of maintaining EP anyway? SAB has similar features and is kept up to date.

I've always seen EP as a free version of SAB with less features though. If you can afford to spend $5, just buy it. It will be supported for longer, and works amazing.

MaRio · Jul 9, 2022

Edwin said:
Better remove that part!!

If they're so uptight about it, sure, but we can't pretend piracy doesn't exist. I'm not posting links or giving directions.

Edwin · Jul 9, 2022

@MaRio
I see you've edited your post, I will do likewise.

nikosyan · Jul 9, 2022

valinet said:
That being said, what’s the purpose of maintaining EP anyway? SAB has similar features and is kept up to date.

I really prefer the start menu of win 10 with the combination of tiles and programs, this is only provided by EP. Also small details like the battery slider make a big difference and help me gain time in my workflow. Also the possibility to modify the size of the taskbar by just dragging it, when there are too many windows open and need to see their title. I am so glad EP exists and is maintained. Even the weather on the taskbar is great.

chip222 · Jul 10, 2022

nikosyan said:
I really prefer the start menu of win 10 with the combination of tiles and programs, this is only provided by EP. Also small details like the battery slider make a big difference and help me gain time in my workflow. Also the possibility to modify the size of the taskbar by just dragging it, when there are too many windows open and need to see their title. I am so glad EP exists and is maintained. Even the weather on the taskbar is great.

Well said, I have paid for SAB and tried it out but just did not like it in the same way that I really like EP.
I can't remember the exact details of SAB that I did not like but I know I took it off pretty quickly after installing it.
EP just efficiently does everything I need to make Windows 11 usable, I like the windows 10 start menu and the weather in the taskbar has become a feature I rely on all the time.
EP seamlessly and invisibly integrates with Win 11, restoring the genuine missing Win 10 features where needed in a way that I find very satisfying.
That said if Valinet can no longer keep up the work of supporting it I completely understand and my life will continue as it is certainly not the end of the world :)

Diabagon · Jul 10, 2022

Explorer patcher doesn't restore windows 10 file explorer on windows 11, does anyone know why?
That is my Windows Version: 22H2. And that is my ExplorerPatcher version:22000.708.46.6.

hdmi · Jul 10, 2022

MaRio said:
I've always seen EP as a free version of SAB with less features though. If you can afford to spend $5, just buy it. It will be supported for longer, and works amazing.

From a productivity point of view, SAB actually has fewer features when compared to EP.

MaRio · Jul 10, 2022

hdmi said:
From a productivity point of view, SAB actually has fewer features when compared to EP.

Ye, you're actually probably right. Now that you said it, I read all the features EP has on the wiki, and there's quite a lot more than I thought (I've only seen the summary on the main github page and thought that was it), though most of them are small tweaks. I just remember wanting to get rid of the new taskbar and start, and EP didn't really fit what I wanted. From SAB I like the Win7 style for both the taskbar and the start menu. It also adds acrylic to some menus which is pretty nice.

hdmi · Jul 10, 2022

MaRio said:
Ye, you're actually probably right. Now that you said it, I read all the features EP has on the wiki, and there's quite a lot more than I thought (I've only seen the summary on the main github page and thought that was it), though most of them are small tweaks. I just remember wanting to get rid of the new taskbar and start, and EP didn't really fit what I wanted. From SAB I like the Win7 style for both the taskbar and the start menu. It also adds acrylic to some menus which is pretty nice.

Both my taskbar and my start menu are identical to what I had 12 years ago on Windows 7 except for the EP weather, the gearwheel icon and the notification center. Classic Shell only got replaced with Open-Shell, I am still using the Windows 7 style option in it, and that I have been using for 12 years, lol. Battery Mode solves the problem of the power flyout having been dumbed down by Microsoft trying to be like Apple treating us like we are all equally as stupid as Mac users. TranslucentTB (UWP app) makes my taskbar transparent just like it used to be. And 7+ Taskbar Tweaker still works also, so... I am a happy camper.

The-Hive · Jul 11, 2022

Update to BatteryMode if anyone used it with EP, sure is nicer than the MS default one and does more

hdmi · Jul 11, 2022

The-Hive said:
Update to BatteryMode if anyone used it with EP, sure is nicer than the MS default one and does more

Compared to the previous update, the latest only makes it speak German and Korean.

chip222 · Jul 13, 2022

valinet said:
That being said, what’s the purpose of maintaining EP anyway? SAB has similar features and is kept up to date.

I really had a think about this.. for me any Windows 10 or Windows 7 "style" start menu replacement never feels as good as the original Windows ones. SAB may be good for many people but it felt obviously like a program running on top of and modifying Windows.
EP is so well integrated and incredibly fast that once you have it set up you are not even aware you are running a program to do all this.
It is a remarkable achievement and a beautiful example of minimalistic unobtrusive design.
Just a shame that MS made it necessary considering EP is largely restoring code that MS had spent years refining themselves.
If EP stops being developed I guess I would use SAB to restore the taskbar and just use the Windows 11 start menu and hope it all gets improved over time.

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