Windows 11 update breaks PCs that dare sport a custom UI

[nlinecomputers]

If you run a custom UI modification app like a Start Menu replacement the latest Windows 11 may bork your PC.

Microsoft 11 update breaks PCs running custom UI

If you're using ExplorerPatcher or StartAllBack, this is why your computer won't start

www.theregister.com

 

[britechguy]

Interesting. I installed StartAllBack after @Larry Sabo (I believe) brought it up, and have since applied this latest Windows 11 update with no issues.

But the version available at the time I downloaded it was v3.6.1, so it's well after the "get a version later than 3.5.6" mentioned in the article.

No matter what, unless there is a widely reported error occurring for "almost everyone," I stick with my practice of keeping everything I use updated to the very latest versions to the best of my ability.

 

[nlinecomputers]

I'm curious how/if Start11 is affected by this.

 

[Metanis]

I use Explorer Patcher and this has happened to me each recent patch. I used the 3-finger salute and chose to reboot the PC. I had to do this twice and then Windows loaded properly and I was able to update Explorer Patcher.

 

[nlinecomputers]

I use Explorer Patcher and this has happened to me each recent patch. I used the 3-finger salute and chose to reboot the PC. I had to do this twice and then Windows loaded properly and I was able to update Explorer Patcher.

Ouch. But at least you could get it functional enough to get it patched.

 

[britechguy]

I've also accepted that by using some of these kinds of software, depending on how they do things "under the hood," that they sometimes can and will produce unexpected and unwanted results.

There are kinds of bit-twiddling tricks that are best left undone, but for any given one of these pieces of software I have no way of knowing whether such "black arts" have been employed or not.

But if I choose to change something in a way that the standard UI does not support, I always accept the fact that there could be risks associated with that choice.

 

[Porthos]

I refuse to use any 3rd party tools like those on any client PC.

 

[britechguy]

I refuse to use any 3rd party tools like those on any client PC.

I can't go quite that far, but I really strongly discourage their use, because in most cases it's way more an issue of, "I don't want to have to try to learn anything different than what I know," than anything else.

Having been a tutor and a tech for years now, and there's a lot of overlap, I know only too well how these shelling programs cripple people when they're suddenly plonked down in front of a "stock" Windows machine and they've never dealt with the stock UI. It's a disaster. And the learning curve between most versions of Windows (8/8.1 being the only tectonic shift, in my opinion) is quite steep and fast. It's not a shallow, months-long slog.

The reason I've got StartAllBack is that it is a really convenient tool to shift "look and feel" when I'm talking with someone who's using a Windows 10 machine when I'm on my Windows 11 machine. Just the differences in File Explorer for keyboard shortcut users, who are a sizeable chunk of my clientele, are significant.

But I come very, very close to saying, "Hell, no!," to these utilities except in very specific cases.

 

[nlinecomputers]

I can't go quite that far, but I really strongly discourage their use,

I can't either. I have a few stubborn clients that just can't/won't wrap their heads around change and so I offer Start11 on the warning that it might one day break and you'd have to call me out to fix it. Most of this type are ok with that. $$$

 

[britechguy]

on the warning that it might one day break and you'd have to call me out to fix it. Most of this type are ok with that. $$$

Regardless of what it is, so long as you've given them the information to make an informed decision and tried to be a helpful guiding hand, the call in the end is theirs.

And I agree that most of my most insistent clients are perfectly OK with my coming out again when something they insisted upon that I discouraged breaks. It's kinda "a package deal" when you won't go with best practice.

 

[seashore]

The reason I've got StartAllBack is that it is a really convenient tool to shift "look and feel" when I'm talking with someone who's using a Windows 10 machine when I'm on my Windows 11 machine. Just the differences in File Explorer for keyboard shortcut users, who are a sizeable chunk of my clientele, are significant.

I've had this situation a few times. My laptop is Win11, and if I'm on the phone talking to a Win10 customer who has (for example) lost internet it's difficult to visualise what they're seeing and talk them through it.
With StartAllBack can you quickly toggle between Win10 and Win11 GUIs, or is it a case of installing and uninstalling every time?

 

[britechguy]

With StartAllBack can you quickly toggle between Win10 and Win11 GUIs, or is it a case of installing and uninstalling every time?

Toggle. It even includes Win7. But, of course, it's not a "total makeover," either.

 

[thatdude]

Hey guys,

Sorry I’ve been MIA for a while. Work and home life have been extremely busy.

I believe I have found a way to get Internet Explorer working again. Launching it in IE mode through Edge seems to work for some sites but not all due to ActiveX.

The reason why Internet Explorer 11 redirects to Edge now is because of a Browser Helper Object within IE11. Simply deleting those files for the Add On through Windows Explorer will make it work again.

The files are located in C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application\111.0.1661.41\BHO

The 3 files to delete are:

1. ie_to_edge_bho.dll
2. ie_to_edge_bho_64.dll
3. ie_to_edge_stub.exe

After you delete these files IE 11 will work again in Windows 10 but there are extra steps you have to do in Windows 11.

Keep in mind, these files could come back through a Windows update. I'm going to try and work on a script that will first check and delete the files if they exist and then launch IE11. Probably a simple batch file or VB script.

In Windows 11 you have to actually make Internet Explorer visible again. This is done through a simple VB Script instead of just clicking on Internet Explorer 11. You simply make the file and store it someplace and then make a shortcut on the Desktop and change the icon to look like IE11.

Here are the contents of the script:

CreateObject("InternetExplorer.Application").Visible=true

Keep in mind, when Internet Explorer launches it will show a blank page. For some reason it won’t go to the home page. If you click the House button it will work. However, in Windows 11 if you want to change the homepage the option isn’t their in Internet Settings (it is there in Windows 10.)

You will need to change it in the Registry located in:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main]

Change the Start Page and Default_Page_URL entries to what you want it to be and the Home button will work when you click it.

Hope this helps you guys as I’d be leery of using some random program as well.

 

[GTP]

I just setup Librewolf/Edge/Firefox/Chrome etc with the IE icons. Clients are clueless. Just tell them its been updated.