Many of the criticisms of Windows 11 point to its taskbar, or rather, to the lack of options to customize its configuration. Microsoft decided that we can no longer move it or change the size of its icons, and it didn't give much explanation. However, some projects seek to bring back the Windows 10 taskbar to Windows 11, and one of the most interesting is Explorer Patcher, which is also free and open source.
No matter how much Microsoft says its goal is to offer a more uniform experience to its users, the final result is always the same. Loss of flexibility, disappearing features, limited customization options. Windows 11 is the latest proof of this. Users can no longer move the taskbar or change the size of its icons... among other things. What you see is what you get.
But users never stay still, and every time an element of operating systems is modified or removed, someone will try to bring it back. With that in mind, we come to the Explorer Patcher project by Valentin-Gabriel Radu, which seeks to restore the Windows 10 taskbar in Windows 11. That means changing its position, reducing icon size, combining icons, reinstalling system tray features, and much more.
How to restore the Windows 10 taskbar in Windows 11 with Explorer Patcher
The first thing that catches our attention about Explorer Patcher is that it doesn't have a traditional installer. To incorporate it into Windows 11, you must visit its GitHub profile, go to the Releases section, and get the most recent copy of the dxgi.dll file.
The second step is to copy that dxgi.dll into the Windows folder, and finally use the command taskkill /f /im explorer.exe in a system console with elevated privileges to interrupt and restart explorer.exe. The developer explains that this will force Windows 11 to download secondary elements from Microsoft's servers (approximately 50 megabytes), but personally I recommend restarting the computer once the operation has concluded.
To open Explorer Patcher, it is enough to right-click on the start button and choose Properties. In total, Explorer Patcher has eight categories. The most important are Taskbar, which helps us modify icon size, combine elements, and restore all those missing items in the system tray, Start Menu which changes the behavior of the start menu, and Windows Switcher, which allows us to replace the Alt+Tab style.
To finish, if you want to change the position of the taskbar in Windows 11, first you need to unlock it (uncheck the "Lock the taskbar" option), and then drag it to its final location, whether at the top or the sides of the screen. Explorer Patcher depends a lot on the build of Windows 11 on which it is installed, but it works very well in its current version. On the other hand, if you prefer a more direct solution to restore the Windows 10 taskbar in Windows 11, you can always download a copy of StartIsBack, now called StartAllBack.
Official website and download: Click here
