[TIP] Another "tool" for the hard-to-please! (Win11 Explorer Patcher)

[Metanis]

My gaming customer hated Windows 11 stacked taskbar icons and the lack of control thereof.

I found freeware that allows nearly every aspect of Windows 11 Explorer to be reverted to Windows 10 choices or options.

Here is the article that convinced me it was legit and safe to install...

Explorer Patcher restores the Windows 11 taskbar to be exactly like Windows 10

If you are looking for a free way to turn Windows 11 back into Windows 10 a bit, with regards to the taskbar and File Explorer at least, Explorer Patcher will do this for you. Bye bye, useless menus!

www.neowin.net

I've tested on 2 machines of my own and it's been OK so far and does a credible job!

Direct link to the project is https://github.com/valinet

 

[mikeroq]

Ugh I'm not a big fan of the Windows 11 changes either. Especially the new context menu.

I used to be big into UI tweaks like using something to restore a Windows 7 start menu to Windows 8/10. Like Classic Shell.

I've never really pushed them on to customers much. Over the years I decided it was better for me and them to get used to the changes rather try to avoid them.

Now on Server 2012 I installed a classic start menu as having the Windows 8 start screen on the server version was dumb in my opinion.

 

[sapphirescales]

It's not about being "hard to please." Windows 11 removes choice and is a definite downgrade in terms of the taskbar. StartAllBack is much better than this tool and since you have to pay for it, I'm much more willing to trust that the developer will continue to support it.

 

[britechguy]

Over the years I decided it was better for me and them to get used to the changes rather try to avoid them.

I honestly don't know how anyone in the business we're in does not come to this conclusion, and very quickly.

I have to fight this battle far more frequently with my blind and visually-impaired clients who seem to want everything to have frozen in the Windows 7 days. I will no longer install anything like Classic Shell, Start10, etc., because I've seen too many cases of individuals who are like deer in the headlights when they are put in front of another machine (such as at a training facility) where the native UI is in use and they have zero idea of how to use it. I certainly don't want to ever put myself in that position when it comes to any Windows release.

This is not about whether or not I like a given UI personally. It's what's out there, and I need to adjust to what's out there and to customize within the tweaks allowed by the UI itself.

I have nothing against things like WinAero Tweaker that, for the most part, allow you easier access to the tweaks the UI allows, but are sometimes buried deep. But shells, no.

 

[britechguy]

Windows 11 removes choice

So? You hear this said with each and every release of Windows, about something.

This is how the world of computing works. OSes are not bespoke suits that are built to suit you (the generic you) and there are occasional changes in them that many love that you don't and vice versa.

I initially hated the Windows 11 context menu but have learned to really like the fact that it hides the less commonly used menu options under a submenu. It's just cleaner, and once you get used to knowing where to look, no more difficult to use.

Nothing is so constant as change, and nowhere is change more constant than in the world of computing. Learning to "go with the flow" is an essential element of survival, and not just in this business.

 

[Canadian Tech]

it's my opinion that these programs like Classic Shell, Start10, etc., do more harm than good. You have no idea what information is being sent back to the servers of those programs. It's far better to get used to the changes than try to make changes to suit yourself.

 

[britechguy]

You have no idea what information is being sent back to the servers of those programs.

Classic Shell technically no longer exists, in that it's been out of development for a couple of years now. It's been replaced by Open Shell. As the name implies, it's an open source project (MIT License), so anyone who wants to examine the source code is free to do so.

That being said, I'm in complete agreement with the rest of what you've said.

 

[Philippe]

It's far better to get used to the changes than try to make changes to suit yourself.

Customizing / optimizing ** my ** work environment is called productivity enhancement
And I won't let M$ or anyone else force me to work their way. And no, I won't get "used to" it on ** my ** machines. I'm hacking the hell out of them
But, I agree, for clients... it's another story.

 

[britechguy]

But, I agree, for clients... it's another story.

OK. Even I'll agree that tech geeks who are capable of informed decision making, and of cleaning up their own messes when they occur, should absolutely feel free to "hack the hell" out of their systems. No problemo!

But when it comes to client machines, your statement stands.

For myself, I actually do prefer to adjust as I want as much of what the clients experience day to day for myself, too. Thus, I avoid "hacking the hell" out of my systems. An occasional registry hack for a very specific thing, sure, but the UI pretty much remains as it is for anyone else using a particular version of Windows.

 

[GTP]

Customizing / optimizing ** my ** work environment is called productivity enhancement
And I won't let M$ or anyone else force me to work their way. And no, I won't get "used to" it on ** my ** machines. I'm hacking the hell out of them
But, I agree, for clients... it's another story.

I use NTLite to strip out components and trim down the OS before install.
I completely remove, Edge, Cortana, Xbox, People, Photos, Store, Phone and and a whole pile of other unneeded junk.
I use wimtweak to remove stuff too.
I have many registry tweaks that I apply on a new install as well.
Anything that makes my life easier I have no hesitation in doing.

 

[britechguy]

I completely remove, Edge, Cortana, Xbox, People, Photos, Store, Phone and and a whole pile of other unneeded junk.

This is a serious question, and with no snark: Why?

I never touch Cortana, Xbox, People, Photos, or Phone (and very, very rarely, Store). And if I don't, they just sit there, hidden away, doing nothing more than taking up a bit of disk space. I never remove any web browser and Edge itself now serves the purpose (for me) that IE did: The "unprotected" browser. When I want to use a browser for testing where I have added nothing in the line of extensions, etc., it's Edge.

I really do wonder (as in want to know the rationale) about why "stripping out" is better than "just letting lie fallow"? Those who strip out must have a reason they consider this the better option. I hasten to add that this is not about justifying your choices to me or anyone else. But you can only get the perspectives of others that you don't understand by asking about them.

 

[mikeroq]

Yea I never mess with that either. I could see you doing that on your personal machines. To me there is a downside. If I heavily tweak and strip my OS installs, I'm going to have more and more disparity between my install and what 95% of users/clients are using.

Customer has a problem with Photos app? Sorry I never use it.
Customer has Edge issue? Don't have that either.

Like here at work, my OS install is really no different than the "standard image" I deploy with MDT.

 

[britechguy]

Customer has a problem with Photos app? Sorry I never use it.
Customer has Edge issue? Don't have that either.

Which is something I've said repeatedly. I don't know how one operates in this business (whether residential or business or MSP) without having at least one "reference machine" that is very much the same as what your typical client has.

I'm already having difficulty, on occasion, when a Windows 11 question arises since my Windows 11 machine is not my "daily driver" and I have to make a special effort to hop on it and verify that whatever it is I'm about to advise about has not changed since Windows 10.

 

[Porthos]

I completely remove, Edge, Cortana, Xbox, People, Photos, Store, Phone and and a whole pile of other unneeded junk.

I only remove apps that have an uninstall button in programs and features and nothing more.
If the uninstall button is greyed out, I leave it alone even though I can gut it with other tools.

Just because we think it is unneeded, does not mean that the home user will.
Also, I have seen Windows have issues down the line when certain apps are removed.

I have many registry tweaks that I apply on a new install as well.

I have some as well, well tested, and have never affected anything else from functioning.

 

[Philippe]

I don't know how one operates in this business (whether residential or business or MSP) without having at least one "reference machine" that is very much the same as what your typical client has.

Easy: learning on the field & on my own VMs. Reasonable time spent looking for a solution onsite is honest billable time.

 

[britechguy]

on my own VMs.

Not arguing your broader point, but I don't want to have to deal with VMs. I prefer my own computing environment to be "as close to everyone else's" as it can be so long as I have tweaked (usually through settings) the things I really don't like. And if certain things I really don't like do not allow tweaking through the native UI and settings, I learn to live with them, as my clients are going to have to as well and I want to be proficient from "daily driver" use, not researching.

To each his or her own.

 

[GTP]

This is a serious question, and with no snark: Why?

I never touch Cortana, Xbox, People, Photos, or Phone (and very, very rarely, Store). And if I don't, they just sit there, hidden away, doing nothing more than taking up a bit of disk space.

I really do wonder (as in want to know the rationale) about why "stripping out" is better than "just letting lie fallow"?

Makes the OS considerably faster to load for one thing. Hasn't affected stability in any way either.
I guess a deep mistrust of Microsoft plays a part in the rationale.
It bugs me to have their spyware just "sit there, hidden away, "doing nothing more" (really?) than taking up a bit of disk space, so.. Yeah? No.

Customer has a problem with Photos app? Sorry I never use it.
Customer has Edge issue? Don't have that either.

Sheesh, it's a photo app. How hard can it be?
If (ever) needed I can grab a S/h laptop off the shelf and fire it up with a default install.

It's a browser, they all work the same basically. Edge is so close to Chrome that it wouldn't be/isn't a problem.
Besides, whenever anyone has a browser problem every man and his dog tells them to "install Chrome" anyway.
And of course it works because there is no security whatsoever, and all the spyware is turned on too.

Also, I have seen Windows have issues down the line when certain apps are removed.

Never had an issue.

 

[britechguy]

It bugs me to have their spyware just "sit there, hidden away, "doing nothing more" (really?) than taking up a bit of disk space, so.. Yeah? No.

And it bugs me that any IT professional would spout this kind of nonsense. It's right up there with the furor about telemetry when it was introduced in Windows 8.1 and 10, then backported to Windows 7.

So, no to "Windows is spying on you!," nonsense.

 

[Philippe]

the furor about telemetry

Boy! They will have to pay me before I send them anything

 

[Philippe]

to have to deal with VMs

I get your point, but I really thing VMs are one of the (too) few computer progress of the last 20 years or so.
Easy backup, easy experimentation: take a snapshot, do want you want, restore the snapshot. So easy