How to Get Windows 10 File Explorer added to Windows 11

Here is the latest Windows 11 support and tips to running Windows 11
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MikePeller
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How to Get Windows 10 File Explorer added to Windows 11

Post by MikePeller »

How to Restore the Windows 10 File Explorer to Windows 11
1. Open Regedit. You can do this in Windows 11 by hitting Windows + R and entering regedit in the Run box or you can search for regedit using the Search feature. Click Yes if asked for permission by User Account Control.
Enter regedit in the Run box
2. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Shell Extensions
Navigate to Shell Extensions
3. Create a registry key called Blocked if it doesn't exist and navigate to it.
Create Blocked Registry Key
4. Right click in the right window pane and select New String->Value. A new entry appears with the name "New Value #" and a number.
Create New String Value
5. Rename your value to {e2bf9676-5f8f-435c-97eb-11607a5bedf7} . It must be spelled exactly this way.

Rename your string value
6. Close Regedit and restart your PC.
Your computer should now show the classic Windows 10 File Explorer, though some of the icon designs may be a bit different. For example, the library folders in Windows 11 are in different colors, not just yellow. Overall, though, you're getting back the user experience and functionality you lost.
If you want to go back to Windows 11's File Explorer, just delete the {e2bf9676-5f8f-435c-97eb-11607a5bedf7} string. For more tweaks, see our articles on how to replace the Windows 11 Start menu, how to get full context menus in Windows 11, how to move the taskbar in Windows 11 and how to make Windows 11 look and feel like Windows 10. Or, if you get sick of all of these tweaks, you can always reset Windows 11.
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