explorerpatcher

The Windows 11 search box can’t be grabbed and dragged around like a widget, but you can control exactly how it appears on the taskbar — from the full search box to a single magnifying-glass icon or hidden entirely — and there are safe, supported ways plus third‑party options if you want more...

ExplorerPatcher’s latest maintenance update patches a brittle weather integration and a long list of Windows 11 compatibility headaches — but it also underlines the fragile, high‑risk trade-offs inherent in low‑level shell mods that rely on external web content, private OS internals, and...

ExplorerPatcher’s latest maintenance release restores a broken weather widget and a raft of Windows 11 tweaks — but the fix also lays bare the fragile ecosystem that surrounds third‑party shell mods, where changes made by Google, Microsoft, or antivirus heuristics can suddenly break a feature...

For many long-time Windows users, the tiny "Show more options" link in Windows 11’s abbreviated right‑click menu is more than an annoyance — it interrupts muscle memory, adds clicks to everyday tasks, and compounds into lost minutes across a workday. There are three practical ways to bring the...

ExplorerPatcher has quietly become the Swiss Army knife for Windows users who loathe the design-first choices in Windows 11 and want the productivity-first behavior of Windows 10 back — restoring classic context menus, a movable taskbar, the familiar Start layout, and the full File Explorer...

Windhawk arrives as a surprisingly polished bridge between what Microsoft ships in Windows 11 and what many users actually want: a lightweight, open‑source mod platform that makes the Start menu, taskbar, File Explorer and other core UI elements genuinely customizable — and, in many cases...

ExplorerPatcher’s latest pre-release restores the long-missed File Explorer title bar, patches several Start menu and taskbar regressions, and moves under-the-hood hooking to a new library — but it also ships with a short list of known quirks and a reminder that modifying core shell behavior...

The Windows 11 taskbar looked like a fresh start—sleeker, centered, more modern—but for many users it felt more like a locked box than a customization canvas. A tiny, unofficial tool called Windhawk changes that: it’s a modular tweaking platform that restores missing functionality, unlocks...

I dragged my Windows 11 desktop back into the late 2000s, and — to my surprise — the result isn’t just nostalgia porn: it’s a practical, usable environment that keeps modern security and features while restoring the things many people still prefer about Windows 7. The MakeUseOf walkthrough that...

ExplorerPatcher’s latest release finally restores several long-broken customizations for Windows 11 24H2 and includes a practical — if controversial — workaround that lets the utility avoid the upgrade safeguard that Microsoft introduced for 24H2 builds. The update, published as release...

The Windows 11 Desktop in the 25H2 era is familiar territory with a careful polish: it behaves like Windows 10’s Desktop in the essentials, but Microsoft has refreshed iconography, simplified the right‑click context menus, added a daily Windows Spotlight wallpaper with a “Learn about this...

After two decades on Windows and a few months of serious Linux testing, one thing stands out: desktop environments are the feature I wish Windows would borrow wholesale — a modular, swappable shell model that turns the platform into a true creative canvas rather than a single locked-in UI. rview...

Windhawk turns Windows 11 from a locked-down, opinionated UI into a modular playground you can tailor back toward productivity—and the four modules I reach for first (Classic Context Menu, Classic Navigation Bar, Vertical Taskbar, and Windows 11 Start Menu Styler) are small installs that deliver...

Windows 11’s taskbar clock just got a serious upgrade — without Microsoft — thanks to a Windhawk mod that lets you display custom date/time formats alongside system telemetry (CPU, RAM, network), weather, news headlines, extra timezones and flexible styling right inside the clock area...

For millions of PC users around the world, Windows 7 remains the defining high point of Microsoft’s operating system journey. The nostalgia isn’t just sentimental—Windows 7 was widely praised for its clean glassy looks, intuitive layout, and snappy performance. But Windows 11, while packed with...

Every new version of Windows triggers a curious blend of excitement, hesitation, and—perhaps most acutely in the case of Windows 11—frustration. While many home users and IT pros have acclimated to Microsoft’s newest operating system, a passionate contingent remains unsatisfied, missing the UI...

For many Windows veterans, the leap from the crisp and purposeful aesthetic of Windows 10 to the fresher—but, for some, alien—interface of Windows 11 can be a jarring experience. Microsoft’s push for a modern, touch-friendly environment in Windows 11 has delivered cleaner lines, a centered...

Few things capture the spirit of personal computing quite like customizing the look, feel, and behavior of your Windows PC. For decades, hobbyists and professionals alike have transformed their desktops from sterile out-of-the-box experiences into highly tailored digital workspaces, reflecting...

Just a few months ago, customization enthusiasts and IT power users faced a major setback as Microsoft began actively blocking third-party shell customization utilities on the path toward the Windows 11 24H2 milestone. ExplorerPatcher, the open-source project used by countless fans to replicate...

With the Windows 11 24H2 update, Microsoft has taken a firmer stance on system integrity, especially toward third-party customization utilities that modify core visual or behavioral aspects of the operating system. One such casualty of Microsoft's increasing lockdown has been ExplorerPatcher—a...