Valinet, the maker of ExplorerPatcher, a popular app for tweaking the UI in Windows, has released an update under version 22621.3527.65.1. This version brings one important change: it no longer allows reverting to the old Windows 10 taskbar on systems with Windows 11 version 24H2 and its early builds (build 26002 and hither).
Here is the changelog for the latest version:
- Taskbar10: The Windows 10 taskbar option is now no longer available on 26002+.
This is to comply with Microsoft"s removal of the stock Windows 10 taskbar in explorer.exe of said builds.
- Start10: Fixed Pin to Start with a 50/50 chance of success on 226xx.3420+ (22H2, 23H2) and 25169+ (24H2).
- Start10: Reverted the menu closing delay fix when EP is injected only into StartMenuExperienceHost.exe for now.
ExplorerPatcher 22621.3527.65.1 was tested on the following Windows builds: 22621.3296, 22621.3447, and 22621.3527 (the latest non-security update).
You can download ExplorerPatcher from its official GitHub repository. ExplorerPatcher release notes are available via this link.
In case you missed it, Microsoft recently started blocking systems from upgrading to preview Windows 11 version 24H2 builds if they have StartAllBack or ExplorerPatcher installed. Microsoft would flag those apps as potentially insecure or ones causing performance issues.
Although you can bypass the block by simply renaming executables, getting the desired result on version 24H2 is now much harder since the latter no longer allows restoring the old Windows 10 taskbar, thus breaking patchers and other apps relying on legacy code.
With that in mind, those unhappy with the Start menu situation in Windows 11 (especially in light of Microsoft adding blatant ads) have several options: just deal with it, go back to Windows 10, or use apps that do not rely on patches and legacy code, such as the recently updated Start11 v2 or any other similar app.