Solved What could be making File Explorer default to legacy (and with bugs) at a clean install of 24H2?

Just my comment, File Explorer [earlier Windows Explorer] is pretty well tied into Windows and modification of it can cause major issues. The display of File Explorer in various programs appear as if they are a spreadsheet.

Customizing of the OS to ones desires requires rewriting some things and can run afoul of the EULA, we only buy a License to use Windows.

As I understand the history of Linux, it came from the old UNIX OS and a gentleman named Linus Torvalds. An example of the 'flavors' of an OS can be seen on distrowatch.com, has a list of 100 iterations of the same OS but changes in many ways, also 24 iterations on linux.org. Many versions are free and called Open Source and seem to be what came from different ideas. I have computers with Linux Mint.

Berton said:

Just my comment, File Explorer [earlier Windows Explorer] is pretty well tied into Windows and modification of it can cause major issues. The display of File Explorer in various programs appear as if they are a spreadsheet.

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Thanks.
Apart for removing the Legacy Explorer (which makes it even weirder that now Explorer defaulted to Legacy) I can't think at any change made to Explorer.
Could you make some examples of things which would count as changes made to Explorer? This would help me look into it.

I can already share this for now:

1. a moderator of NTLite community said that afahk removing Copilot+Recall in the image (= prior to the clean install) breaks Explorer.
   I tried re-enabling Recall with O&O "OOSU10" (very nice tool to quickly enhance privacy) but it brought nothing. I didn't try enabling it in RegEdit (if there even is a way).
2. I'm investigating with Claude AI about Microsoft.WindowsAppRuntime.CBS. This is what I've found:
   • Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *Microsoft.WindowsAppRuntime.CBS* returns nothing
   • I did not find a way to install the CBS one (please tell me if you know of any), but installing standalone versions of Windows App Runtime (1.4, 1.5, 1.6) via winget did not resolve the issue
   • The system has the correct registry setting for the new Explorer (SeparateProcess = 1)

InnerBrat said:

Apart for removing the Legacy Explorer (which makes it even weirder that now Explorer defaulted to Legacy) I can't think at any change made to Explorer.

Click to expand...

No, I can't either. Because of my clients and having to see what they see I stay away from third-party add-ins and most tweaks to Windows. For an alternate to File Explorer I use Total Commander. Sometimes it's fun to use the old File Manager from Windows 3.1.

So, hear me out you Eleveners.
It was Recall.
After 28 hours of frantic hunt, and a hint from @tistou77 in the NTLite community, which was somehow easier for me to recognize than the hint from @garlin a few comments above, I narrowed down the issue.
I then performed and restored Recall, which I had indeed removed from the image.
Reboot, and Explorer is back to new:



Also, while previously the command didn't return anything, now it returns this:



Which means, it was installed (as I had already suspected from the fact that C:\Windows\SystemApps\MicrosoftWindows.Client.CBS_cw5n1h2txyewy was present).
But the absence of Recall breaks something and the system somehow doesn't find Microsoft.WindowsAppRuntime.CBS.


So, I now have a functioning ISO.
Could be even more skimmed but I'm not into playing with dangerous removals. I only want to debloat a bit and enhance privacy as much as possible without breaking anything :)

Thanks for the participation!

garlin said:

TLDR;
Removing Microsoft.WindowsAppRuntime.CBS package will break the 24H2 desktop.

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Out of curiosity, what do you mean by "24h2 Desktop" ?
It's not the desktop (or the taskbar) strictly speaking, that's for sure

That's a generalization, but Explorer is considered part of the desktop environment. At least in common US or UK English use, "desktop" is a term for the user experience that covers Explorer, desktop background, taskbar and the Start Menu. This usage predates Windows.

Oh ok, that would break the explorer and probably the Start Menu then
This can be confusing as "the others" work without problem

If one wants to demonstrate the interaction of File Explorer use Task Manager to End Task on Explorer.