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          https://github.com/kfh83/ExplorerEx

ExplorerEx is an adaptation of Windows Explorer from Windows Server 2003's source tree, making it independent from Microsoft's archaic build system, and also making it function on modern versions of Windows.

In other words, this brings the classic Windows XP Start Menu/Taskbar experience to more modern versions of Windows (8.1+).

Previews

Below is what you might expect when first running ExplorerEx:

Default Windows 10 theme

Classic theme using Windhawk

Luna blue theme using inactive theme Windhawk mod

Installation

TRYING OUT THE PROGRAM BEFORE INSTALLING

If you have download one of the releases, apply "Import Me!.reg" by double clicking it, and then simply run "Try ExplorerEx.bat", which will terminate your current explorer session (if you have important folders open, please do keep in mind they'll be closed upon running this script) and then it'll start ExplorerEx.

To go back to your default shell, just open task manager (right click the taskbar and press the Task Manager option), find the "Windows Explorer" task (explorer.exe process for those still in the Windows 7-style task manager), and then end the task. Next, go to the "File" menu up top, press "Run new task" and type "explorer.exe". This should start your regular explorer shell.

INSTALLING THE PROGRAM

If you have fetched a GitHub actions artifact, you need to fetch the release package for the "Import Me!.reg" file which includes some important tweaks. Please apply this .reg file before proceeding.

Release/.exe build

How-to

1. Copy over explorer.exe and your desired language folder i.e, en-US to a suitable location (i.e, %SystemDrive%\ExplorerEx). This cannot be %SystemRoot%.
2. Open the Registry Editor and go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\ and change the Shell key to the path of where you copied explorer.exe to (i.e C:\ExplorerEx\explorer.exe).
3. OPTIONAL: If you wish to set the shell on a per-user basis instead of machine-wide you can do the same as above on HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\. You'll need to create the Shell key.
4. Run Task Manager, restart Windows Explorer, it should automatically start ExplorerEx.

You're all set!

.dll build

Note: You MUST have Windhawk installed for the loader mod. In addition, you MUST make sure Windhawk can inject into winlogon.exe. You can either go into Settings\Advanced Settings\More Advanced Settings and add winlogon.exe into the Process inclusion list, or you can untick "Exclude critical system processes".

How-to

1. Copy over ExplorerEx.dll and your desired language folder i.e, en-US to a suitable location (i.e, %SystemDrive%\ExplorerEx).
2. Copy the contents of the loader mod from the repo.
3. Open Windhawk, hit "Create a New Mod" button on the bottom right corner.
4. Select all of the existing content and delete it, and paste in the mod code you copied earlier.
5. Hit "Compile Mod" button on the left sidebar, and once it's done compiling hit "Exit Editing Mode"
6. Find the "ExplorerEx DLL Loader" mod in the home section, click "Details" button
7. Switch to Settings tab, you'll need to input the path of "ExplorerEx.dll" on the mod settings (i.e C:\ExplorerEx\ExplorerEx.dll), and then click "Save Settings"
8. Run Task Manager, restart Windows Explorer, it should automatically start ExplorerEx.

You're all set!

Important notes

• Regular release builds (.exe) don't and won't support UWP apps (Microsoft Store apps, PC settings...). You must use a .dll binary for it. Currently dll builds aren't provided in the release packages, so you must build it yourself.
• Currently, system tray icons (volume, network...) aren't working. We have started work on a parallel project to bring over the XP tray icons in a similar fashion to this project. BEWARE!
• To configure your startup programs, you must use msconfig.exe from Windows 7 or earlier. This is due to a difference in how Task Manager sets startup apps. You can find an easy-to-install package here.
• Currently, you must use the "Eradicate immersive menus" Windhawk mod by aubymori to see the taskbar context menu properly.

PLEASE HEAD OVER TO THE ISSUES SECTION OF THIS REPOSITORY TO SEE MORE KNOWN ISSUES.

Building

1. Clone the repository using git: git clone https://github.com/kfh83/ExplorerEx.git

2. Open ExplorerEx.sln in your preferred Visual Studio-compatible IDE. Note building has only been tested using Visual Studio 2022.

3. Select your configuration and build away:

• Release builds explorer.exe with no UWP app support.
• ReleaseDLL builds ExplorerEx.dll with UWP app support enabled for use with the loader Windhawk mod provided in the repository.
• ReleaseDebug builds explorer.exe with no UWP app support, optimizations disabled and console output enabled.

Note

Debug configuration is currently (as of Sep 5, 2025) broken. Please use the ReleaseDebug configuration instead.

Distribution

For distribution purposes, please include credit in your project by directly linking to this repository if possible. Failing to do so will result in bad luck for the rest of your life.