26100.8457.70.2

Caution

This GitHub repository (valinet/ExplorerPatcher) is the only official distribution channel of ExplorerPatcher. Do not download "ExplorerPatcher" from any other places than this releases page, as they may contain malware that can compromise your data.

Caution

• Please verify that Smart App Control is turned off before installing this software. Otherwise there is a risk where explorer.exe would not start up on new EP versions.
• Do not install this software on machines with SentinelOne installed. We have received reports that SentinelOne can hold EP's files hostage, preventing uninstallation.

Tip

Windows Defender no longer flags ExplorerPatcher. It is no longer needed to configure Defender exclusions. However, if you use 3rd party security software, you might need to add these folders into its exclusions:

Please include the following files and folders in your antivirus' exclusion list to prevent issues due to antivirus detections:

• C:\Program Files\ExplorerPatcher
• %APPDATA%\ExplorerPatcher
• C:\Windows\dxgi.dll
  ⚠️ IMPORTANT: explorer.exe will not start if this file exists but is blocked from being loaded.
• C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.StartMenuExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy
• C:\Windows\SystemApps\ShellExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy

Tested on OS builds 22621.4317, 22631.7079, 26100.6899, 26100.8037, 26200.8246, 26200.8457, 26300.8493, and 28000.2113.

1

• 🚨 Important: Fixed 10 taskbar and 10 Start menu crashing on 26220.8474 (Beta) and 26300.8493 (Experimental).
  • Please update EP as soon as possible to ensure future updates run smoothly, otherwise explorer.exe will not run with EP's 10 taskbar and StartMenuExperienceHost.exe will not run when 10 Start menu is selected.
  • Those builds have removed remnants of the 10 Start menu in StartTileData.dll. Consequently, the 10 Start menu option has been removed on those builds and future builds without the required stuff in the DLL. (bf36cde, 8a5b8ba)
    • If you want it back, the temporary solution would be to manually swap C:\Windows\System32\StartTileData.dll with a version from 26xxx.8457 (x64; ARM64). But do not expect this to work for long.
    • We are confident that this is not the end of the road yet for 10 Start menu. Stay tuned for updates.
• Highlight: Fixed Windows 10 battery flyout crashing on 25951+. (659c2d0)
  • As a side effect, the network flyout buttons had to be reverted to pre-24H2. Fixes #4691.
• Changes to "Primary taskbar location on screen" in EP properties now reflect immediately. (6c9b41d)
• Windows 11 taskbar autohide is no longer modified on Explorer boot. (e6becc9)
• "Open Start in All apps by default" is now hidden when the new 11 Start menu is enabled. (#4648) (d8f1d1c)
• Windows 10 Start menu on 21996-22000.51 now no longer crashes. (39ac219)
• Fixed regedit.exe crashing when switching to thumbnail view in the import/export registry file dialog. (#3940) (80be85d)
• Updated pattern matching code to support recent builds especially with 26H1 ARM64. (677fd9f, e641e0a, e77123a, 3c8e79f, 854770b, 04dd52b, ce22476, baf0fdb, b532116, c0adee2, eefa0bf, 420e112, 3be4f3f, 1bf0d81, 47d7481, 31d2c23, bdf95c3, fe8cc2b, 1be3c79)
  • Improved efficiency on ARM64.
• Added Greek translations. Thanks @KonVetsos!

ep_taskbar:

• Now supports all 43 Windows 11 languages.
• Fixed reimplementation mistakes in system tray and some other places.
• [For mod developers] Changed ep_taskbar's DLL names from numbers to the codename of the first major release a single variant supports. (cc36e34)
• [For mod developers] TrayUI no longer inherits Microsoft::WRL::RuntimeClass; vtables are now stable on builds with multiple ITrayUI revisions like ep_taskbar.ge.dll (formerly ep_taskbar.5.dll).

2

• Introduced a reimplemented 10 Start menu tile layout engine that was removed in 26xxx.8474. (688514f)
  • Note that the restoration is partial. Tiles can overlap when pinned not by dragging from apps list; this can be worked around by restarting StartMenuExperienceHost.exe or explorer.exe as a whole to repair the layout.
  • Stay tuned on #4960 and the Discord server for updates.
• Added an executable name blacklist to prevent shell extension from loading in certain applications. (#4819) (991b8ca)
• Updated 10 Start menu animation patterns for 28xxx.2149+ ARM64. (c480fc2)

ep_taskbar:

• Fixed a deadlock relating to base EP reporting taskbar position and the taskbar reporting search/task view button location and size both to WindowsUdk.ShellCommon.dll during taskbar initialization.

✉️ A little message from @Amrsatrio: If you want to support my work of keeping ExplorerPatcher working, please do so through my GitHub sponsors page or through these crypto addresses. Donations like these keep my motivation to maintain this project so that Windows updates aren't as catastrophic as before. Thank you very much for the support!

• BTC: 13BDBbyTGsifywotv3kAX618rvfTFYr8FT
• LTC: ltc1q27gwddq0pmgzw5fdufrhqenhdfp5sruljx546j

Please consult the README for more details.
A detailed change log is available here.
An archive containing all the files generated during the build process (including dxgi.dll and symbol files) is available here.

This release has been published automatically from commits up to and including 52a851b in tag 26100.8457.70.2.