What happens if you rename explorer.exe in different versions of Windows?

00:00 - Title
00:06 - Windows 1.0
01:20 - Windows 2.0
01:57 - Windows 3.1
04:17 - Windows NT 3.1
07:15 - Windows 95
10:15 - Windows 98
12:15 - Windows Me
14:01 - Windows NT 4.0
15:49 - Windows 2000
17:19 - Windows XP
20:54 - Windows Vista
23:59 - Windows 7
25:47 - Windows 8
28:09 - Windows 8.1
29:49 - Windows 10
31:44 - Windows 11
33:28 - End screen
On-screen text: docs.google.com/document/d/1b...
Blind-accessible version: • What if you rename exp...
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Пікірлер: 716

  • @World_of_OSes
    @World_of_OSes3 ай бұрын

    Upon further inspection, the reason why Notepad didn't come up after logging on, after having replaced Explorer with Notepad in Windows Vista and later is because Notepad won't open if it's got a different name, or in a different location. If I replace Explorer with Command Prompt, Command Prompt will come up after logging on. kzread.info/dash/bejne/epaLydmPl7LbgZc.html

  • @GiorgioCapocasa

    @GiorgioCapocasa

    3 ай бұрын

    This is bizarre. I thought that a relatively modern os would perform some hash check before opening a system executable. Do you know whether this has been exploited in the past? For example, for autorunning a keylogger or or some other malware that would then execute explorer.exe so that the user would not notice? Or even by replacing explorer.exe with a modified, malignant version of the shell so that even task manager would not be able to show it?

  • @dxv1l_x

    @dxv1l_x

    3 ай бұрын

    @@GiorgioCapocasa task Manager is able to Show Explorer and also able to kill it

  • @abhishekshekhar4226

    @abhishekshekhar4226

    3 ай бұрын

    Hi @World_of_OSes how did you install office 2010 in Windows XP ?

  • @ThatRandomToast

    @ThatRandomToast

    3 ай бұрын

    @@abhishekshekhar4226 You just launch the installer and install it as you would in later versions of Windows. No workarounds needed.

  • @abhishekshekhar4226

    @abhishekshekhar4226

    3 ай бұрын

    @@ThatRandomToast It gives me an error in Windows XP saying: "Not a valid Win32 application" when launching the setup.exe It works in Windows Vista but I don't know why it doesn't work with Windows XP

  • @JamesSmith-ix5jd
    @JamesSmith-ix5jd3 ай бұрын

    "You must reinstall Windows", typical Microsoft solution.

  • @Lofote

    @Lofote

    3 ай бұрын

    So how different would you as a programmer handle that unexpected exception?

  • @JamesSmith-ix5jd

    @JamesSmith-ix5jd

    3 ай бұрын

    @@Lofote Keep the list of hashes of most important binaries, if any of them are wrong start a system check/recovery of the files from some system archive to at least make it bootable. After boot, show a warning that the system was tampered with, ask the user to back up his files and seek professional help immediately. Load system binaries not by name but by a hash and a digital signature. Add the checkbox to the settings 'Professional mode' where all system checks and security is disabled, the user can modify anything apart from the kernel and proprietary bits.

  • @matermelon.

    @matermelon.

    3 ай бұрын

    @@JamesSmith-ix5jdand how exactly would they do that on the old days

  • @therealtiggler

    @therealtiggler

    3 ай бұрын

    @@JamesSmith-ix5jd How the fuck would they do that in 1995

  • @JamesSmith-ix5jd

    @JamesSmith-ix5jd

    3 ай бұрын

    @@therealtiggler What do you mean? MD5 hash is from 1991. Encryption and keys are also not particularly new concepts, RSA is from ~1977. Signatures were probably not that important in early Windows because web and networks were not yet popular, I'm not complaining about that, just saying what I would have done instead.

  • @yarh79
    @yarh793 ай бұрын

    So this is my computer! -Sir, that's a notepad

  • @22joy

    @22joy

    3 ай бұрын

    😂

  • @JimiReader

    @JimiReader

    3 ай бұрын

    Haha. xD

  • @BestYoutuber893

    @BestYoutuber893

    2 ай бұрын

    Yep a note pad to launch programs

  • @HerecomestheCalavera

    @HerecomestheCalavera

    2 ай бұрын

    Hi. This is my cat! *fish on string drops from ceiling and weird filter appears on video. AHHHHHHH! Lol I'm pretty sure nobody is going to get that reference

  • @tuckster27

    @tuckster27

    2 ай бұрын

    I wonder if there is a practical benefit to doing this. Maybe less system memory usage.

  • @fredomne
    @fredomne3 ай бұрын

    When I was a kid, I did unintentionally renamed loads of executives in the Windows directory into my home language, not understanding too much English, thinking doing so would help locating them better next time. Unfortunately there were no next time, and Windows 98 refused to boot past its splash screen. The concept of shortcut/link wasn't a thing in my tiny head, nor did that of file extension since Microsoft hid them at default. It was a bit confusing since there were 2 "explorer", and only the scp file (Windows Explorer Commands file, whose extension remains hidden regardless of Folder options, just like a shortcut) can be renamed. Modifying this scp file won't affect anything as confirmed by the 20-year-later me in the present in a VM, so it could be something else that led to the confusion of both the OS and my parents. That old horizontal case PC was then sold and replaced with a used Windows XP machine from my cousin, plus a pirated Windows 98 "Third Edition" as main. As of how I recovered the XP to display in the correct resolution on the old-school CRT box, that would be another story of discovery.

  • @JimiReader

    @JimiReader

    3 ай бұрын

    It happened to me too. But, be careful. Thank you for sharing your story. :)

  • @HerecomestheCalavera

    @HerecomestheCalavera

    2 ай бұрын

    Back in I think it was 1993 we got out first family computer and one of the games they got for me was "Mickey Mouse's Follow the Reader" The PC had Windows 3.1 and I put the shortcut for Follow the Reader into the startup folder. My brother who was somewhat decent with computers couldn't figure out how to get rid of it and actually had to call tech support. The solution? Just take the shortcut out of the Startup folder! Once they told him that he felt so stupid like omg how did I not realize that!

  • @realcartoongirl

    @realcartoongirl

    2 ай бұрын

    nice story

  • @OneAndOnlyZekePolaris

    @OneAndOnlyZekePolaris

    29 күн бұрын

    SCP, the KZread channel. Jk and all of this just shows more proof that Microsoft did not create Windows OS. Which has been proven by the guy that actually created it. He is the guy that sold the OS for 2 dollars, the real version 1.0.

  • @drshtak

    @drshtak

    20 күн бұрын

    that’s kinda sad

  • @matushorvath
    @matushorvath3 ай бұрын

    The reason you could not rename explorer.exe in Windows 95 MS-DOS mode is, the new file name "explorer1.exe" was more than 8 characters long. I just tried it in Windows 98, it does not allow renaming to explorer1.exe, but it renames to explore1.exe (8 characters) without problems. Long file names were a new thing back then and the command line utilities did not support them.

  • @Grimlock1979

    @Grimlock1979

    3 ай бұрын

    Yup. Windows just ignores characters that appear after the first 8. So he was trying to rename explorer.exe to explorer.exe, hence the "duplicate filename" error message.

  • @JimiReader

    @JimiReader

    3 ай бұрын

    Of course.

  • @Timetraveler_1

    @Timetraveler_1

    2 ай бұрын

    Is not that, it’s the prompt command/ms-dos that doesn’t allow much chatacters so you have to use ~n to indicate the file in that case the had to write explor~1.exe or the alphabetically number of the file because there were about 3 files called explorer… so in nuts he can name a file with more than 8 digits characters… infact the error was that the file were in use…

  • @PurpleMonkVR4

    @PurpleMonkVR4

    2 ай бұрын

    Skibity

  • @nukedude24

    @nukedude24

    2 ай бұрын

    @@PurpleMonkVR4 get out of here with your Skibity jk at least your probably learning

  • @lorenzomarchesi1471
    @lorenzomarchesi14713 ай бұрын

    I kinda already knew that, but it's still kinda impressive how windows 10/11 is still really similar to windows vista under the hood

  • @patrick05020

    @patrick05020

    Ай бұрын

    I just thought it would boot windows repair and just fix it, turns out new tech can still be old school 😂

  • @kickpaw

    @kickpaw

    19 күн бұрын

    All windows versions are just old ones, but with new added features and design. You can still see old resource monitor

  • @wiktorthecoolguy-official
    @wiktorthecoolguy-official3 ай бұрын

    Windows 3.0: *Cries in the corner.*

  • @Cyr3x7

    @Cyr3x7

    3 ай бұрын

    Yea

  • @Mell0wyDr3ams

    @Mell0wyDr3ams

    3 ай бұрын

    And windows 9 too

  • @JBH2192

    @JBH2192

    3 ай бұрын

    CE too

  • @dekosplay139

    @dekosplay139

    3 ай бұрын

    ​@@Mell0wyDr3amswindows doesnt have windows 9

  • @milka_and_bluey

    @milka_and_bluey

    3 ай бұрын

    windows NONEXISTANT too man.

  • @PixelBrushArt
    @PixelBrushArt3 ай бұрын

    what if you replace Explorer.exe with previous Windows' Explorer.exes?

  • @bombowyolaf1244

    @bombowyolaf1244

    3 ай бұрын

    Pov you do it and now you dond have an windows 10 you hawe an windows XP

  • @sansuusilly

    @sansuusilly

    3 ай бұрын

    you what a windows xp @@bombowyolaf1244

  • @becookieacookiegod

    @becookieacookiegod

    2 ай бұрын

    Or older windows with newer exe? Tho, That might not work due to things that newer explorere does older windows doesnt "understand"

  • @Dinguslamer

    @Dinguslamer

    2 ай бұрын

    I'm gonna try that

  • @diehe5986

    @diehe5986

    2 ай бұрын

    ​@Dinguslamer how'd it go?

  • @JustMatt87
    @JustMatt873 ай бұрын

    The ultimate minimalist desktop

  • @TowerWatchTV

    @TowerWatchTV

    2 ай бұрын

    Windows 11 = 4 squares Next one will literally just be called "Window" and have a single square.

  • @djhayman
    @djhayman3 ай бұрын

    The reason you can't rename EXPLORER.EXE to EXPLORER1.EXE in MS-DOS mode because there's no long filename support. EXPLORER1 is 9 characters long so it gets truncated back to 8 characters, and the error is because you effectively entered REN EXPLORER.EXE EXPLORER.EXE with the same name twice. Try REN EXPLORER.EXE EXPLORE1.EXE Edit: Also the shell is controlled in SYSTEM.INI by SHELL=PROGMAN.EXE in Windows 3.x family or SHELL=EXPLORER.EXE for Windows 9x family, or in the registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\Shell for Windows NT family. You can change them to point to any executable.

  • @deepmc_

    @deepmc_

    3 ай бұрын

    True.

  • @CutieFakeKirby

    @CutieFakeKirby

    3 ай бұрын

    dosen't it make it say EXPLOR~1?

  • @seancdaug

    @seancdaug

    3 ай бұрын

    ​@@CutieFakeKirby That's what happens when you rename the file in Windows (specifically, a Windows program with long file name support). Since DOS and older Windows programs can't handle long file names, the file system stores an alternate file name in the old 8.3 format that takes the first six characters (minus spaces and certain other special characters), a tilde, and a digit. So longfile1.ext becomes LONGFI~1.EXT. And that shorter name is what DOS sees. But, again, that only works if you rename the file in Windows, because Windows knows how to handle long file names and to create the duplicate short file name in the first place. If you try to do so in DOS, it will just fail the same way it would have in the pre-Windows 95 days because it was never designed to handle long file names or create the short alternate name.

  • @vitoswat

    @vitoswat

    3 ай бұрын

    ​@@seancdaugIIRC only staring with WinME you could use long filenames in command line.

  • @Galaxy.Windows

    @Galaxy.Windows

    3 ай бұрын

    in Windows 95 to XP, the program manager and file manager still exist

  • @monad_tcp
    @monad_tcp3 ай бұрын

    8:44 wow that unlocked memories, I remember you could do that if explorer.exe died

  • @another-niko-pfp-holder
    @another-niko-pfp-holder2 ай бұрын

    i like how you can use windows kind of normally with just the notepad

  • @LaptopEnthusiast
    @LaptopEnthusiast3 ай бұрын

    Is it me or old versions call "Program" as "Progman"

  • @World_of_OSes

    @World_of_OSes

    3 ай бұрын

    "Progman" is short form "Program Manager"

  • @ONETrueEndTCOTWOFF

    @ONETrueEndTCOTWOFF

    3 ай бұрын

    purple frog man

  • @bartusiesiek

    @bartusiesiek

    3 ай бұрын

    nincompoop

  • @Nkmura6912-hl3mr

    @Nkmura6912-hl3mr

    3 ай бұрын

    Is it me or is the word progman looking kinda...... Thicccccc

  • @svz5990

    @svz5990

    3 ай бұрын

    ​@@Nkmura6912-hl3mr*PROGMAN*

  • @askhowiknow5527
    @askhowiknow55273 ай бұрын

    It’s neat how well Windows 95 copes That’s a lot of extra code there that wasn’t meant to be used in the end

  • @Tethrarxitet

    @Tethrarxitet

    3 ай бұрын

    The code is still used by Windows 10. I accidentally crashed Explorer and tried minimizing a window, and it did show a small toolbar as well.

  • @williamthecoolboy
    @williamthecoolboy3 ай бұрын

    I remember replacing explorer.exe with another app in Windows 7 and it was working correctly...

  • @World_of_OSes

    @World_of_OSes

    3 ай бұрын

    Upon further inspection, the reason why Notepad didn't come up after logging on, after having replaced Explorer with Notepad in Windows Vista and later is because Notepad won't open if it's got a different name, or in a different location. If I replace Explorer with Command Prompt, Command Prompt will come up after logging on. kzread.info/dash/bejne/epaLydmPl7LbgZc.html

  • @williamthecoolboy

    @williamthecoolboy

    3 ай бұрын

    @@World_of_OSes I see.. thank you!

  • @markusTegelane
    @markusTegelane3 ай бұрын

    you can skip the slow login if you press Ctrl+Alt+Delete and then select cancel from the Windows Security menu

  • @World_of_OSes

    @World_of_OSes

    3 ай бұрын

    Any idea why it takes ages to log in?

  • @markusTegelane

    @markusTegelane

    3 ай бұрын

    @@World_of_OSes I guess it waits for explorer.exe to load and get to the desktop, but since there is no desktop component if you rename/replace explorer.exe, it keeps waiting for it and eventually times out.

  • @msedgeundwinfan

    @msedgeundwinfan

    3 ай бұрын

    @@markusTegelaneyou can change the timeout by creating a dword value named DelayedDesktopSwitchTimeout in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System and with the value to the number in seconds

  • @pb-doslegacy2020

    @pb-doslegacy2020

    3 ай бұрын

    @@markusTegelane That's true. I've done it many times to avoid Windows 10/11's "Hi" screen when I install a new copy of the aforementioned two systems.

  • @tripplefives1402

    @tripplefives1402

    3 ай бұрын

    @@markusTegelane Its not waiting, explorer.exe will fade the opacity of the welcome screen window when it loads. so they made the welcome screen stay running on a sleep timer long enough for explorer to load and fade it.

  • @redrony
    @redrony2 ай бұрын

    what I was really interested in is all the evolution of windowses. How they changed, it's all connected with change of hardware It was even more interesting than the video idea for me as I was doing such things in the past, playing with explorer, replacing sethc.exe (there was exploit, still working on win10) so i already knew what was gonna happens but you got me with that nostalgy from old windowses, names of programs with upper-case :) Thanks for video)

  • @nachovyofficial
    @nachovyofficial3 ай бұрын

    I really like the selection of background music!

  • @Galaxy.Windows
    @Galaxy.Windows3 ай бұрын

    8:16 thats a fallback error message from Windows 3.0

  • @TheRadmin1724
    @TheRadmin17243 ай бұрын

    I like how Win9x is functionally useless without explorer but NT chugs along like nothing happened. Shows the test of time that NT can go wrong in less ways than Win9x.

  • @david_3434a

    @david_3434a

    3 ай бұрын

    Yeah. Because new versions of windows were improved as it should be!

  • @akeiai

    @akeiai

    3 ай бұрын

    ​@@david_3434aand they add a lot of bloatware on top. Really annoying tbh. They could have stuck with a very light system but they run more stuff than necessary, and a lot of those aren't even essential for the system. The system underneath is perfect, like fast, and backward-compatible. The user space however is full of bloat.

  • @david_3434a

    @david_3434a

    3 ай бұрын

    @@akeiai yeah I hate bloatware like "AntIviRUs" it's litterally annoying to have a antivirus window pop up while you're gaming.

  • @NitrousOxideOfficial

    @NitrousOxideOfficial

    3 ай бұрын

    There's a reason the OS has been the same since vista just with more bloat in each new version. Hell, there's still some UI from NT 3.1 (I've heard.) hidden in some really obscure settings.

  • @maliciousfry
    @maliciousfry3 ай бұрын

    Vista: Everything changed then The Fire Nation attacked.

  • @BestYoutuber893

    @BestYoutuber893

    2 ай бұрын

    Turn up the Computer/hkey-local-machine/security/heat

  • @becookieacookiegod

    @becookieacookiegod

    2 ай бұрын

    bruh .

  • @RBXLayout
    @RBXLayout3 ай бұрын

    Nice, keep up the good work man 👍🏻

  • @justinhamilton8647
    @justinhamilton86472 ай бұрын

    the w95 section scratches my brain so good every question I had you answered immediately like what if I rename this and open that, so satisfying

  • @The_DreadStorm
    @The_DreadStorm17 күн бұрын

    On some versions of Windows, if you launch the task manager, you can run "Progman.exe" and end up using the Win3x-style Program Manager. With some minor tweaking, you can make it the shell instead of Explorer.

  • @inzaghiposumaalkahfi9650
    @inzaghiposumaalkahfi96503 ай бұрын

    Next : What happens if you rename explorer.exe in different *Beta Versions* of Windows?

  • @AustriaColorised
    @AustriaColorised3 ай бұрын

    when in doubt, ask the prog man

  • @Gatorade69

    @Gatorade69

    3 ай бұрын

    Ehh, he always wants me to smoke weed with him while he rambles on. I would rather ask Jeeves.

  • @totallynothyper964

    @totallynothyper964

    Ай бұрын

    Or the Pro G-Man when you need to smell the ashes

  • @powerdude_dk
    @powerdude_dk3 ай бұрын

    Very interesting and entertaining videos! subbed =D

  • @user-ij1zo3ly7v
    @user-ij1zo3ly7v3 ай бұрын

    Win3.1 (may also work with 95,98, ME): You can also change "shell=progman.exe" line in win.ini to select the program which should run at startup...

  • @Lumix_Corrupt

    @Lumix_Corrupt

    2 ай бұрын

    You can do the same in other windows versions via regedit

  • @xWatexx
    @xWatexx2 ай бұрын

    The thing about task manager is that it was basically programmed to run in any circumstance. I’m willing to bet that if the NT kernel was deleted, Task Manager would take over for it.

  • @snarkbaited
    @snarkbaited2 ай бұрын

    It makes me happy how 'simple' windows 1 and 2 look, like essentially a colorful DOS prompt with various characters everywhere. That being said I haven't used win 1 or 2, only 2000

  • @asoria9414
    @asoria94143 ай бұрын

    Windows 95 includes the old program manager and it can be used as win 3.1 You can do the test to replace explorer.exe by the exe of the Program Manager

  • @ReTrace1
    @ReTrace12 ай бұрын

    Thank you for the video and for doing all this effort. It is very clear now: first is that every version of Windows is seriously dumb (meaning unadaptable and unaware of the changes in its FS environment) and second is that the launch of NT Task Manager was a true milestone for Windows. This also explains why it would take one minute to code a script that can compromise a Winows OS. What we really need is a new generation of smart (environment aware) OS's that are more dynamic in nature and do not rely on file names and such. Such OS can be more core-centric and use AI and other core tools to self-check the FS structure during boot and make corrections on-the-fly to its dependencies, optimising the user experience every time. But wait, we are only in 2024...

  • @Arcangel6292
    @Arcangel62922 ай бұрын

    Man i loves winvista back in the olddays... it was pretty

  • @SebiSXC
    @SebiSXC2 ай бұрын

    on windows 8, 8.1, 10, and 11, if you go to recovery mode/ advanced startup, explorer.exe does not exist, so you have to turn it on in command prompt.

  • @alexdruga9358
    @alexdruga93583 ай бұрын

    chiar nu stiam chestiile astea, foarte interesant!!

  • @monad_tcp
    @monad_tcp3 ай бұрын

    32:09 Windows11 is really fast to boot compared to W8 and W10 because it uses a new system that's basically loading from a saved-state, at least for the kernel side, its almost like "initramfs". Its fun to see operating systems converging to solutions to the problems.

  • @jue130

    @jue130

    3 ай бұрын

    Fast boot is a thing since Windows 8. And i always disable it, because it causes many problems

  • @edelzocker8169

    @edelzocker8169

    3 ай бұрын

    Win 11 needs 5 minutes to boot on my PC...

  • @notquitek3t

    @notquitek3t

    2 ай бұрын

    the only point of initramfs is to load a base system in order to mount the disk, to finish booting (in a usual sense)

  • @someonenamedgreen
    @someonenamedgreen2 ай бұрын

    8, 8.1, 10 and 11 can run totally fine, just Task Manager becoming the new explorer.exe.

  • @Whisler
    @WhislerАй бұрын

    i love the music you use in your videos

  • @mcbpete
    @mcbpete3 ай бұрын

    Me from around 30 years ago totally would've done the replace ProgMan with Winfile trick at 3:30 if I knew about it 😁 99% of my time I would exclusively ran applications through the file manager and it would've sped up my creaky machine by just starting what I wanted when launching windows.

  • @Gatorade69

    @Gatorade69

    3 ай бұрын

    I used to just start Linux from the command line and load the few Linux native games from there. I felt I got better performance not having a GUI.

  • @MrSiquell
    @MrSiquell20 күн бұрын

    Thanks for such fundamental research

  • @teamredstudio7012
    @teamredstudio70123 ай бұрын

    I love your videos, Stefan!

  • @newyoshistudio
    @newyoshistudio3 ай бұрын

    These videos are somewhat entertaining

  • @DccToon
    @DccToon3 ай бұрын

    missed opportunity to rename progman.exe to pregman.exe

  • @playspeedcode

    @playspeedcode

    3 ай бұрын

    Noobgman.exe

  • @kingpanguan

    @kingpanguan

    3 ай бұрын

    postgman.exe

  • @mrbackup993

    @mrbackup993

    3 ай бұрын

    frogman.exe

  • @ianikto

    @ianikto

    2 ай бұрын

    F1ckman.exe

  • @SECONDARYUNIMEME

    @SECONDARYUNIMEME

    2 ай бұрын

    winman.exe

  • @atumra5
    @atumra52 ай бұрын

    A winrar glitch happened to me once, where I could set an .exe program inside winrar file explorer to launch as another program, I accidentally set all .exe programs to start with winrar.exe. Once I rebooted my PC everything, every process, every program that started with windows 7 started as a winrar window. It was crazy, I didn’t know how to reverse this so I just backed up everything and formatted my computer lol

  • @MthaMenMon

    @MthaMenMon

    2 ай бұрын

    I had a trojan that did this to me back in 2012, except every file would open the trojan instead, asking for money. F you "WinHomeSecurity".

  • @antocmartinaemz
    @antocmartinaemz3 ай бұрын

    What about trying to launch newer or older explorer.exe in every winfows ? (With copying the needed libs of explorer.exe of course) ? 'o'

  • @aced332
    @aced3323 ай бұрын

    3:36 windows 3.1 + 2.0 hybrid

  • @IspartaliKonstantinos
    @IspartaliKonstantinos2 ай бұрын

    wow! i thought a file wont be that important but it seems i am wrong :D.Good content bro!

  • @modables

    @modables

    Ай бұрын

    i mean there's a single line of code in windows that if you remove then the whole thing won't start at all

  • @IspartaliKonstantinos

    @IspartaliKonstantinos

    Ай бұрын

    @@modables oh shoot! =_D i really didnt think Windows is that vulnerable! what if a virus deletes it? is destroying a computer that easy?

  • @modables

    @modables

    Ай бұрын

    @@IspartaliKonstantinos yeah it's pretty easy, but a virus could never do something like that. you'd have to have pretty decent computer knowledge to pull off something like that because windows makes impossible to do something like that. i mean I don't even remember what the single line of code was because I found this out in 2020 so I'm probably just yapping nonsense ngl

  • @guitarhero01234

    @guitarhero01234

    Ай бұрын

    ​​@@IspartaliKonstantinosMalware doesn't really aim to trash your system anymore. Script kiddies went from trolling to stealing bank information and demanding crypto payments long ago

  • @DarkRudDikobCronsom454A29
    @DarkRudDikobCronsom454A292 ай бұрын

    I probably suggest not to do it on your main PC because it may causes problems

  • @MSX98FMDnB
    @MSX98FMDnB3 ай бұрын

    its interesting to see the fail-safes windows has when something like this happens

  • @harrycarrico981
    @harrycarrico981Ай бұрын

    It is really cool to see the evolution of internet explorer.

  • @thescratchguy428
    @thescratchguy4283 ай бұрын

    Default file name when copied for OSes: Windows 95 - XP: Copy of [filename] Windows Vista and later: [filename] - Copy Ubuntu: [filename] (copy) Fedora: [filename] (copy) Linux Mint: [filename] (copy) Haiku: [filename] copy Deepin: [filename](copy) Peppermint OS: [filename] (copy [number of times copied]) EndeavourOS: [filename] (copy [number of times copied]) ZorinOS: [filename] (copy [number of times copied]) SerenityOS: [filename]-[number of times copied] KDE neon: [filename] ([number of times copied]) Kubuntu: [filename] ([number of times copied]) MX Linux: [filename] (copy [number of times copied]) Elementary OS: [filename] (copy) Slackware Linux: [filename] ([number of times copied]) Debian: [filename] (copy [number of times copied]) OpenSUSE: [filename] (copy [number of times copied])

  • @ArsenTech
    @ArsenTech3 ай бұрын

    Keep Going Because You Made a Great Job

  • @MrPanek
    @MrPanek20 күн бұрын

    I really like to remember Windows nostalgia, how Windows used to be, otherwise a very nice video, I give it a thumbs up.

  • @guerra_dos_bichos
    @guerra_dos_bichos2 ай бұрын

    I used to run Cairo Desktop back when I still had a windows 10 machine. I wonder if just throwing cairo files and replacing explorer with thw main program would work

  • @MetalTrabant
    @MetalTrabant2 ай бұрын

    Wow, I haven't thought about running programs from Notepad's Open dialogue, but it's a neat trick, just in case :)

  • @kgaming7599
    @kgaming759913 күн бұрын

    i love how Windows 1.0 still looks more responsive than a school Chromebook

  • @RoseliGarbini
    @RoseliGarbini26 күн бұрын

    Windows 95 won’t let you to rename ever on MS-DOS when you rename after login it login on with error ‘Error When load EXPLORER.EXE’ when you click on ‘OK’ shutsdown in Windows 98 same as windows 95

  • @deepmc_
    @deepmc_3 ай бұрын

    What happens if you rename explorer.exe to explorer.jar or explorer.dll

  • @Nomaxice
    @Nomaxice2 ай бұрын

    It's still really surprising to me that modern day windows since vista, and especially since 10, does not have an automatic "oh fluff where's this core file I need?" and run its dism+sfc stuff automatically, even though it does try to when it has a more catastrophic "can't load at all" issue. Then again, I'm surprised windows nowadays doesn't periodically do a dism+sfc for maintenance every so often, given how many times those saved my butt from a lot of headaches from "natural" issues that crop up over time, and the fact that requirements for windows 10/11 are so high even low end systems could do it relatively transparently.

  • @TechnicalIssuesOfficial
    @TechnicalIssuesOfficialАй бұрын

    The reason the shell doesn't start if you have no app named "Explorer" is because in the registry editor the shell is set to "Explorer.exe" and if there is no Explorer.exe there will be no shell for it to start.

  • @WhileTrueCode
    @WhileTrueCode11 күн бұрын

    broo at 3:00 i was just thinking "dang i wish he would test with another exe like notepad" then like magic thats exactly what you do! i like you 🤠

  • @user-kg5jv5ns4p
    @user-kg5jv5ns4p11 күн бұрын

    What was the orange lines on the windows me for??

  • @gabryproject
    @gabryproject3 ай бұрын

    What would happen if Windows 10 explorer.exe was replaced in Windows 11?

  • @b87b84
    @b87b84Ай бұрын

    What happens if you replace explorer.ese from on version to the other. To a newer one and to a older one....

  • @funnydj1999
    @funnydj19993 ай бұрын

    What im wondering: what if you replace explorer.exe with progman.exe?

  • @reezlaw
    @reezlaw2 ай бұрын

    No Windows 3.11 for workgroups? What the hell man

  • @Lofote
    @Lofote3 ай бұрын

    14:07 It should be rename-able if you start cmd.exe, then kill explorer.exe e.g. from Task Manager. You don't need Linux for it. But of course you need admin rights, just like in all Windows NT-based versions :)... By the way, in all versions at least from Win3.x you can define a different shell than progman.exe or explorer.exe, and then you eliminate the need for that EXE completely. And in safe mode you can boot to command prompt, then explorer.exe isn't needed as well. In fact Windows Server Core (e.g. Windows Server 2022) for example doesn't even install explorer.exe at all :). So it never was a necessary component, just the default shell. Oh and the reason why login screens always work in Windows NT based OS is of course thats before the shell even loads ;)... 17:48 Actually Windows XP logs on just as fast as Win2000 here, however the login screen has a waiting routing, it waits for the shell to come up to switch to the new virual desktop (login/security dialog are on a different virtual desktop than the users desktop, and thats from day #1 of Windows NT 3.1). Thats just a visual effect. It has a timeout so it finally switches over at some point (in the registry you can set the number of seconds after which it times out). You can press Ctrl+Alt+Del before that timeout and it will respond immediatly, and after "Cancel" you are on the actual (blank) desktop.

  • @user-jr6yh2zv3v
    @user-jr6yh2zv3vАй бұрын

    My favorite operating system is still Windows7 Ultimate... still runs like a one... don't need anything else.. Thank you

  • @juliasannicolas08
    @juliasannicolas08Күн бұрын

    Crazy how the display of folders hasn't changed since windows 3, if it works well don't change it 👏

  • @annaarthur724
    @annaarthur7243 ай бұрын

    It was a common way to rename explorer.exe and place an alternative one if you want to have a alternative desktop

  • @7lllll
    @7lllll2 ай бұрын

    why did you stop opening the renamed explorer after win95?

  • @MissingGhost
    @MissingGhost19 күн бұрын

    As a PC user since 1993, I have to say that I have never seen Windows 8 in action until this day. I guess it wasn't very popular if nobody I know ever had it.

  • @ANormalWintrovert
    @ANormalWintrovert3 ай бұрын

    Its great bro, keep up the good work. 😊

  • @alexsmart9576
    @alexsmart95763 ай бұрын

    Actually, the explorer.exe filename is stored in the "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\Shell" registry key. Modern, primarily .NET-based Windows components (such as 11's new Winlogon) internally log a FileNotFoundException error when "explorer.exe" (which is in turn taken from the registry) is not found at the path specified (sic!). Older Win32-based Winlogon revisions catch a SIGSEGV signal, and stall up (albeit not crash/enter NR state) with the illegal address written into the Event Log, in case the EventLog service itself runs. Feel free to correct me if I have made any mistakes.

  • @JimiReader

    @JimiReader

    3 ай бұрын

    Registry Key for explorer.exe: The commenter correctly identifies the registry key where the explorer.exe filename is stored. This is indeed located at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\Shell. Error Handling: The comment suggests that modern, primarily .NET-based Windows components (such as the new Winlogon in Windows 11) log a FileNotFoundException if explorer.exe is not found at the path specified in the registry. However, this statement is not entirely accurate. While .NET-based components might indeed use FileNotFoundException for file-related errors, the handling of explorer.exe not being found is more complex and involves various error handling mechanisms within the operating system. Winlogon Behavior: The commenter mentions that older Win32-based Winlogon revisions catch a SIGSEGV signal and stall up if explorer.exe is not found. This statement is misleading. Winlogon is a crucial system process responsible for handling logon and logoff operations, and its behavior regarding explorer.exe execution or absence is not solely dependent on Win32 or .NET-based components. Moreover, SIGSEGV is a signal related to segmentation faults in Unix-like operating systems and is not directly relevant to Windows error handling mechanisms. Event Log Handling: The comment mentions that older Win32-based Winlogon revisions might write an illegal address into the Event Log if an error occurs. While it's true that Windows might log errors related to critical system processes like Winlogon, the specific behavior mentioned here is not standard or explicitly documented. Errors related to explorer.exe not being found would typically be logged as system-level errors rather than specifically mentioning illegal addresses. To correct the commenter's statements, you could provide a more accurate explanation of how Windows handles the execution of explorer.exe and the error handling mechanisms involved, without attributing specific behaviors to Win32 or .NET components. Additionally, it would be beneficial to clarify any misunderstandings about signals like SIGSEGV and their relevance to the Windows operating system. (By the way, it is written by A.I.)

  • @Ghostty123
    @Ghostty1233 ай бұрын

    I feel bad he is been 8 years on KZread and just had 32k subs😢

  • @mort_brain
    @mort_brain3 ай бұрын

    Why do you have such an old version if VirtualBox?

  • @windowsfan95
    @windowsfan953 ай бұрын

    In Windows 10 and 11, will settings which is UWP app AFAIK, open if it’s launched via control panel?

  • @phonl1

    @phonl1

    3 ай бұрын

    Nope

  • @thescratchguy428
    @thescratchguy4283 ай бұрын

    Win100 = Windows 1.00 Win200 = Windows 2.00 I think i see a pattern.

  • @monad_tcp

    @monad_tcp

    3 ай бұрын

    Win300 Win400

  • @monad_tcp

    @monad_tcp

    3 ай бұрын

    And then we had DirectX

  • @honorificabilitudinitatibusish

    @honorificabilitudinitatibusish

    3 ай бұрын

    wheres win1000

  • @brinleyhamer729

    @brinleyhamer729

    3 ай бұрын

    @@honorificabilitudinitatibusishwin 10

  • @bettercallriggy

    @bettercallriggy

    3 ай бұрын

    Win8100

  • @SolidSonicTH
    @SolidSonicTHАй бұрын

    Huh, that "Tasks" thing is an interesting fallback that I've never seen before. And it's weird they just got rid of it after only one iteration of Windows. An emergency, "option-of-last-resort" shell like that seems like it should have hung around. I guess Task Manager from 2000 onwards kind of serves that purpose but at least for 9x they could have simply left that code alone.

  • @der.Schtefan
    @der.SchtefanКүн бұрын

    The reason you were not able to rename Explorer to Explorer1 in Msdos mode for win95 is the 8 character limit of msdos. You basically tried to rename Explorer to Explorer, the 1 got cut off.

  • @jugro7639
    @jugro76392 ай бұрын

    You actually improved WindowsME 😂

  • @Galaxy.Windows
    @Galaxy.Windows3 ай бұрын

    Windows 95 to XP still have the program manager and file manager. thowse were removed in Vista

  • @Sajjad.A
    @Sajjad.A2 ай бұрын

    Will replacing explorer.exe in Win11 with explorer.exe from Win10 give me the old (better) look of Win10?

  • @thetheochannel_

    @thetheochannel_

    21 күн бұрын

    No, you also need to changes things likr the ui themes in the dlls

  • @hartonngamer115
    @hartonngamer1152 ай бұрын

    Once i accidentally closed explorer from task manager everything goes black.

  • @HectorProRoblox

    @HectorProRoblox

    Ай бұрын

    Same

  • @REHAMTECH2009
    @REHAMTECH20093 ай бұрын

    cool video!

  • @Galaxy.Windows
    @Galaxy.Windows3 ай бұрын

    fun fact: in Windows 11, if you put the explorer.exe from Windows 10 version 1903 it glitches out with a lot of the windows 11 beta ui and missing stuf

  • @matermelon.

    @matermelon.

    3 ай бұрын

    why that specific version of windows 10?

  • @Galaxy.Windows

    @Galaxy.Windows

    3 ай бұрын

    because i had that installed in a VM and i have tested the explorer.exe from that in Windumb 11 and it had a broken ui (Windows 11 was in a VM too, as my hardware doesnt support it)

  • @SlimyCatMc
    @SlimyCatMc2 ай бұрын

    So theoretically I could download Windows 10 free if I have enough broken Windows pieces?

  • @Galaxy.Windows
    @Galaxy.Windows3 ай бұрын

    in Windows 3.0, MSDOS.exe is the Msdos executive, and the kernel is gone. in Windows 3.1, they removed the Msdos executive and reversi

  • @Edward-it9cr

    @Edward-it9cr

    3 ай бұрын

    No way bro not the reversi😢 can't believe Steve Balmer lied to us :(

  • @yukihovista98

    @yukihovista98

    3 ай бұрын

    ​@@Edward-it9crSteve baller

  • @bringmethesolstice_
    @bringmethesolstice_3 ай бұрын

    im half asleep rn and the msuic is making me ascend wtf

  • @artidesweb
    @artidesweb2 ай бұрын

    I used to do "experiments" on my Windows XP back in the day, like deleting files from system32 folder. Thankfully I was not bold (or stupid) enough to do this kind of stuff from the video on my live system. My mother would throw me in the gutter.

  • @World_of_OSes

    @World_of_OSes

    2 ай бұрын

    These experiments should be done on a virtual machine, not on a real computer.

  • @artidesweb

    @artidesweb

    2 ай бұрын

    @@World_of_OSes My point exactly. lol

  • @BallorMono-qz7qi
    @BallorMono-qz7qi28 күн бұрын

    Before Task Manager it is called Task List

  • @Galaxy.Windows
    @Galaxy.Windows3 ай бұрын

    in Windows 2.03, MSDOS.exe is the Msdos executive. same for Windows 3.0 (WITCH YOU EXCLUDE IN EVERY WINDOWS RELATED VIDEO YOU DID)

  • @Galaxy.Windows

    @Galaxy.Windows

    3 ай бұрын

    i cant edit the comment 😢

  • @CurlyManGA
    @CurlyManGA3 ай бұрын

    The reason why most programs (like notepad) still work and are able to be resized and used in most versions of windows is because there s another program called dwm.exe (desktop window manager) that manages that.

  • @World_of_OSes

    @World_of_OSes

    3 ай бұрын

    kzread.info/dash/bejne/nYiYzs9uoLe7XZs.html

  • @ThatRandomToast

    @ThatRandomToast

    2 ай бұрын

    The lowest level of Windows UI is rendered by user32

  • @chairinthewild
    @chairinthewild3 ай бұрын

    Nice, can you do beta ver next?

  • @santyxp7271
    @santyxp72713 ай бұрын

    9:00 Bro, this is literally a remix of the aperture song XD

  • @justezzy_
    @justezzy_17 күн бұрын

    "It's just a prank!" The prank evolving through generations:

  • @a_username3360
    @a_username3360Ай бұрын

    Howd u get all of these versions?

  • @JoqsanCastellanos
    @JoqsanCastellanos2 ай бұрын

    The same thing as when you just close the explorer.exe processs.

  • @BryndanMeyerholtTheRealDeal
    @BryndanMeyerholtTheRealDeal3 ай бұрын

    I wonder what happens if the names of critical files were swapped with each other in different OS versions. Obviously, don't do this on a machine you care a lot about.

  • @axtrifonov
    @axtrifonov3 ай бұрын

    7:47 of cource it can't because file name is too long for DOS