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72XP: Modifying explorer and restoring the classic start menu

Jan 4, 2010 Tech

Hello! and welcome to the third installment of 72XP!

Today’s post is about hacking explorer and the start menu so lets get going :p 

It took me a REALLY long time to find a decent replacment for this, the ones i did find were either buggy, had hardly any features or cost a stupid amount of money ($30 for a menu app?!).

I have eventually settled on True Launch Bar, this app isnt free, it is shareware and has a demo version, the paid for version costs around $15, i went for this option because at the time, the only alternatives were REALLY poor, or expensive. I use this in conjuction with “start killer” which removes the original start menu so that the true launch menu can take its place, TLB really does have a LOT of options and no bugs that i have found so far shortly after downloading true launch bar and setting it up to the way i like it, A decent looking, free start menu replacement called simply “Classic Shell” appeared, I havent tested it out, but i am using the app for its other functionality which i will mention later. I’m really glad i found a classic start menu replacment, i really cant stand 2-column menu’s, especially one that i would be using a lot. Some things that dont come with TLB though are things like shortcuts to the Run Dialog or the Control panel, so with the help of google i figured out how to do these myself

To make a shortcut to “All control panel items” which is basically the classic version of the control panel without any categorising, make a shortcut to the following and place it in the menu:

“C:\Windows\explorer.exe shell:::{26EE0668-A00A-44D7-9371-BEB064C98683}\0”

Also, to get a shortcut to the run dialog, download this ( Run! )  shortcut and put it where you want on the menu, it doesnt seem to have an actual shell extension/location (it probably does, but I think its hidden).

Next up, Windows Explorer, the file manager, if your reading this you’ll most likely know that MS have removed pretty much all the toolbar buttons that used to be there in XP and replaced it with an “organise”, “view” and “burn” button. which to me is the most useless collection of menu items ever. do MS really think people burn stuff to CD so often that it requires its own button. also, i noticed that i use pretty much none of the options in either the “view” or “organise” menu, but you cant remove this bar, also known as the “folderband”, well at least not with a little bit of hacking

Now before i go any further, make sure you have backups! dont complain to me if your system screws up because you cant follow instructions properly :p

Removing the folderband requires hacking of one of the system files with a resource editor such as ResHacker or Restorator 2007. if your install of windows 7 is x86 you can use reshacker which is a free download, if your install is an x64 install, then you must use Restorator 2007, as this is the only resource editor available right now that can compile 64-bit files, they do have a trial version on thier website though, thats what i used. once you have the correct editor follow these instructions:

in your resource editor, open this file: C:\Windows\Resources\Themes\Aero\Shell\NormalColor\Shellstyle.dll

click “UIFILE”, click “1″.
in the code search for:

<style resid=”FolderBandStyle”>

add this code just below it:

<Element padding=”rect(0rp,0rp,0rp,-32rp)”/>

Compile & save the file.

now you will need to replace the file, to do this i booted with the XP that i already had installed along side windows 7, but you can use a live CD of some kind i guess. normally i would have used replacer, but it doesnt seem to work in Windows 7, i think its a permissions problem. Once this is done there will be no folderband. but most of the options in there are can be accessed by the main toolbar menu which you can enable by pressing Alt to show it and then right clicking it to enable it permanently.

Next were going to restore some of the toolbar buttons that MS decided we didnt need anymore, like cut,copy, paste, and the popular “up” button. These buttons are added by the app i mentioned earlier, Classic Shell. This app will add buttons to the main menu bar, and although the buttons are a little small, they do a pretty good job. after install, right click the main menu to enable the buttons permanently, if the option doesnt show logoff or reboot and then try to enable it.

Thats it for today, Yes i know it was a pretty long post, the next one will be shorter :p

bai! P

Tags: 72XP, classic start menu, explorer, hacking, replacer, start killer, true launch bar, windows 7, xp