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Using Win11 Pro on new Dell Laptop.
Trying to update Windows Explorer. Instructions say to right click taskbar and select Properties. When I right click, there is no Properties, the only things that show up are: Task Manager and Taskbar settings. This has happened the last couple of times I get notified to update Explorer. In the past right clicking taskbar used to show Properties and subsequently Update on the window that popped up.
Can you share a screen image of Explorer and those instructions?
Unless you've got something new, Explorer.exe is part of the Windows OS and would get its updates from Windows Update.
MotoX80,
I understand what you're saying. However, from time to time a window pops up in the lower right corner of the screen to indicate the update to Explorer. Should it pop up again, I will take a screen shot and post it. But the other issue is why Properties doesn't show up when I click on the taskbar. It had done so in the past, but no longer.
Vic
On my Win11 22H2 laptop, when I right click on the task bar, I get these 2 options.
I would think that settings and properties are essentially the same thing.
When I select settings it takes me here, where the only update option I see is for Windows Update.
Are you seeing the Windows Update notification for the OS, as opposed to a Microsoft Store notification for an individual program?
MotoX80,
I do see the Windows Update link. When I select it I don't see any specific updates indicating Explorer. (BTW from history, my latest Windows update is Win11 version 23H2 for x64-based systems, which updated yesterday 5/15/2024.)
Would a Microsoft Store notification specifically ask to update Explorer?
And again, should I get the notification that I've received in the past, I will definitely take a screenshot and post it here.
I appreciated your taking the time to comment on this.
Take care,
Vic
The word Explorer just seems to me to be very generic. A search of the MS Store for explorer returns a bunch of hits, but none look like Win11. But MS in their infinite wisdom could have changed how they deploy Explorer, I don't know.
If you open the store and select Library, does Explorer show up? If you click on "Get Updates" does it update apps?
That is not the Windows Explorer.exe. It appears to be something called ExplorerPatcher that was developed by a guy named Valentin Radu.
https://github.com/valinet/ExplorerPatcher
You might have better luck asking about that program in its discussion forum.
https://github.com/valinet/ExplorerPatcher/discussions
Did you knowingly install that program?
Thanks MotoX80. I'll look into that.
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Are you getting a notification in the Action Center icon of Windows, or perhaps the Windows Update icon? Search for Update in Windows and it should provide a link to Check for UPdates. Click that and you'll go to Windows Updates where it shows if you have any updates pending.
If you don't have any and this "message" appears periodically then I'm going to wonder if you have malware that is trying to scare you into running software. Perhaps a run of your anti-malware is in order...
Michael Taylor,
I have Norton 360 installed. I also run Spybot and CCleaner regularly. So I'm fairly confident I don't have a hidden virus or rootkit issue. But I won't say never. LOL
I just received another notice to Update File Explorer. I did a print screen and am posting that notification here.
Again, in the past when I received this notice I would right click the task bar and there would be a link for Properties. That link is no longer there as we've discussed above.
Let me know if you have any thoughts on this situation.
Thanks,
Vic
MotoX80,
When I first got my new laptop with Win11 Pro, I wanted the interface to be similar to what I was used to, that being Win7. So it's totally possible that in so doing, I may have installed other software including anything from github.
Thanks again for pointing that out to me.
Vic
PS, I'm going to put this thread to bed and call it solved.