Help! My screen is black!
We are sorry that our taskbar or ExplorerPatcher is malfunctioning on your Windows installation. To recover your system back to a working state, please follow these steps:
- Open Task Manager by pressing Ctrl+Shift+Esc.
- Select "Run new task" at the top bar (on the new Task Manager) or "File" > "Run new task" (on the old Task Manager).
- Enter explorer.exe.
- While holding Ctrl+Alt+Shift, press Enter and keep holding Ctrl+Alt+Shift until you see the taskbar.
This will start explorer.exe without ExplorerPatcher doing its job, allowing you to take necessary actions such as reverting the Taskbar style to the default one or uninstalling ExplorerPatcher.
If possible, please report your issue with complete details (OS version, tweak software installed, etc.) in the Issues section and we will get back to you when we have the chance.
Why is 7+ Taskbar Tweaker not compatible with the new taskbar?
7+ Taskbar Tweaker taps directly into the memory and code of the Windows 10 taskbar that resides in explorer.exe, not in any other place. 7+ Taskbar Tweaker needs to be updated to support this, however, the author of this program has decided to migrate its tweaks into Windhawk mods. Please use Windhawk and install the relevant supported mods (listed above) to achieve your desired tweaks.
My taskbar looks broken!
If you're on Windows 10, Windows 11 version 21H2, 22H2, or 23H2 and using the stock Windows 10 taskbar, and your taskbar looks like this:
is because you enabled "Classic theme mitigations," also known as "Enable advanced mitigations for correct rendering using classic theme," which alters how the taskbar is rendered for use with classic theme. When this option is activated, the system uses different metrics that are meant for use only with classic theme.
I just installed ExplorerPatcher, but my taskbar stays the stock Windows 11 taskbar. How to change it to the Windows 10 one?
In 24H2, Microsoft removed the Windows 10 taskbar. ExplorerPatcher, which used to default to Windows 10 taskbar, now uses a custom implementation of the taskbar. However due to potential compatibility concerns in the future, we decided not to make this the default. Please enable ExplorerPatcher's taskbar implementation using the following steps:
I can't find the properties button in the right click menu!
How do I add labels to my Windows 10 taskbar?
How do I make my Windows 10 taskbar smaller?
How do I remove the the system tray icons and the control center icon?
How do I move/resize the Windows 10 taskbar?
The "Pin to start" option in the 10 Start menu does not work!
If the Pin to start option does not work it means that Microsoft changed something in the code. This requires an update to ExplorerPatcher to fix it.
The Search box disappears when opening the start menu or search!
Due to how Microsoft changed search in Windows 11. The code that the search box relied on to display correctly isn't there anymore so it doesn't show up when search or the start menu is opened.
The Windows 11 Command Bar (classic Address Bar) option does not work!
In 24H2, Microsoft removed the Windows 11 Command Bar with the classic Address Bar so the option in ExplorerPatcher would just revert back to the default option.
The Windows 10 battery flyout does not open!
Microsoft changed the quick actions design on 25951+ which causes the battery flyout to crash/not open. The only alternative solution currently is to use the Windows 7 battery flyout instead.
The "Windows NT" window switcher (Alt+Tab) style does not work!
In 24H2, Microsoft removed the legacy Windows NT window switcher so instead of showing the a classic themed menu it displays nothing. Selecting the option in ExplorerPatcher will make it use the stock Windows 11 one.
The ExplorerPatcher setup executable gets deleted by Windows Defender!
Caution
Microsoft and other major antivirus vendors have flagged ExplorerPatcher as "malware". This is likely due to Microsoft's hatred against ExplorerPatcher, not because it contains a virus or such. Flags from Microsoft usually spread to other antivirus vendors.
Please include the following files and folders in your antivirus' exclusion list to prevent issues due to antivirus detections:
C:\Program Files\ExplorerPatcher%APPDATA%\ExplorerPatcherC:\Windows\dxgi.dllC:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.StartMenuExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewyC:\Windows\SystemApps\ShellExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewyFor Defender, you can run the following script in PowerShell as an administrator:
Add-MpPreference -ExclusionPath "C:\Program Files\ExplorerPatcher" Add-MpPreference -ExclusionPath "$env:APPDATA\ExplorerPatcher" Add-MpPreference -ExclusionPath "C:\Windows\dxgi.dll" Add-MpPreference -ExclusionPath "C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.StartMenuExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy" Add-MpPreference -ExclusionPath "C:\Windows\SystemApps\ShellExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy"
Failure to exclude ExplorerPatcher's files may result in inability to install/uninstall ExplorerPatcher and explorer.exe being unable to start.
If you do not trust this process, please refrain from using ExplorerPatcher and look for alternatives instead.
Microsoft, if you are reading this, please reconsider the detections as there are a lot of users who trust this program and that risks from future EP developers are a thing.