Windows Explorer

[Refalm]

Windows Explorer is the graphical shell that's responsible for automatically running programs at startup and providing taskbar and start-menu.

Bullshit. Windows doesn't require Windows Explorer to automatically run programs at startup.

Try Litestep. Programs that have stated up while using Explorer will be started up in the same way without Explorer even starting once.

[Aloone_Jonez]

Yes, this proves it, bring up task manager by pressing Alt-Ctrl-Delete and kill exploper.exe, Windows will keep running and you can start new programs with task manager.

[Refalm]

Yes, this proves it, bring up task manager by pressing Alt-Ctrl-Delete and kill exploper.exe, Windows will keep running and you can start new programs with task manager.

No, that doesn't prove it. When you install Litestep, Explorer will not be started at all.

[noob]

explorer is just the UI of windows. think of linux winning with No UI. the explorer shell just translates commands to commandline for you. the kernel does most of the app handling work.

[muzzy]

Bullshit. Windows doesn't require Windows Explorer to automatically run programs at startup.

Try Litestep. Programs that have stated up while using Explorer will be started up in the same way without Explorer even starting once.

So what? Explorer.exe is responsible for automatically starting the applications and that's a fact. Just because litestep does it too doesn't shift the responsibility away. Explorer.exe is the graphical shell, providing the desktop, task bar, yadda yadda, and automatic startup crap.

I just downloaded old litestep sources (main site seemed down, I suppose this hasn't significantly changed though). Check Litestep\StartupRunner.Cpp

Code: [Select]

void StartupRunner::RunStartupStuff (void *underExplorer)
{
	const LPCSTR szRunPath = "Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Run";
	const LPCSTR szRunOncePath = "Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\RunOnce";
	if (!*(BOOL*)underExplorer)
	{
		// Run HKLM entries
		RunEntriesIn (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, szRunOncePath);
		DeleteEntriesIn (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, szRunOncePath);
		RunEntriesIn (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, szRunPath);
...

etc etc etc. I don't think I need to paste anything more than that. Litestep contains the app startup code as well, as you can confirm yourself.

[muzzy]

explorer is just the UI of windows. think of linux winning with No UI. the explorer shell just translates commands to commandline for you. the kernel does most of the app handling work.

Not quite, unless by "UI" you mean the graphical shell. The UI and windowing code and such are handled by the Win32 subsystem and the related libraries which take care of UI rendering and stuff. Similarly, the "commandline" never steps into the picture. When you click icons on your desktop, the shell requests application startup from the system libraries, most likely using ShellExecuteEx() api from shell32.dll, which figures out how the request should be handled. That api then manages opening the program associated with the file you clicked, by requesting CreateProcess() which is implemented in kernel32.dll. This isn't the "kernel", though, kernel32.dll is just a system library for passing on requests to the Win32 subsystem, and as of such it ends up sending request to CSRSS (you've seen that in your task list, right?) which asks the actual kernel to create the process and blahblahblah.

It's a little bit tough to decide where to draw the line between being specific and oversimplifying, but mixing the two will only end up messy. You'll spew irrelevant and even wrong details, heck, I might've done too. I'd have to disassemble the libraries I mentioned to see if the execution flow really goes the way I said it would.

Either way, neither Explorer.exe nor IExplore.exe do very much, and out of those IExplore.exe does nearly nothing.

[Aloone_Jonez]

muzzt where have you been, I've really missed your informative posts.

I think noob and Refalm meant user interface as in desktop enviroment.

I see what you mean about iexplore.exe, all it does is launch a Windows Explorer with the home web page displayed along with the IE interface.

[MarathoN]

I'm running Windows 2000, but isn't there an application that allows you to put shortcuts inside it, you can then click on those shortcuts to launch your apps (this bypasses explorer.exe, does it not?).

I'm interested in the name of this application, as I hate to run explorer every time (not often) I start up Windows.

[Refalm]

I'm running Windows 2000, but isn't there an application that allows you to put shortcuts inside it, you can then click on those shortcuts to launch your apps (this bypasses explorer.exe, does it not?).

I'm interested in the name of this application, as I hate to run explorer every time (not often) I start up Windows.

Litestep

[MarathoN]

Oh I was referring to progman.exe but I will try Litestep, since I am absolutely sick of Explhorror :x

Could you recommend a decent file manager replacement for Windows Explorer though?

I'm really sick of Windows Explorer, it annoys me, even just by looking at it :thumbdwn:

Hmm I'm trying Cygwin to see what I can get out of that, I'll just say Litestep is brilliant, pity it's using Windows Explorer as the filemanager (hence why I am trying Cygwin) :thumbup:

[Refalm]

Hmm I'm trying Cygwin to see what I can get out of that, I'll just say Litestep is brilliant,

Litestep is build on configuration files. You can change that.

[MarathoN]

Do you know of any replacements for the filemanager (again Windows Explorer)?

EDIT : Doesn't matter, I'm using Program Manager (progman.exe) as my shell now, and Windows runs a lot faster than using Windows Explorer as the shell.... :thumbup: