EdgeDeflector VS Open-Shell-Menu

I used to use Bing to DuckDuckGo in conjunction with EdgeDeflector to ensure all links that open Edge and Bing redirect to Firefox and DDG instead, but EdgeDeflector no longer works now, so I guess I don't need that extension anymore. Thanks for pointing that out, I hadn't realized till now that the extension wasn't necessary anymore.

There's also the dark bit where changing your default browser in Windows doesn't apply globally.

That is, some UI widgets will still open Edge even if you change the default.

There used to be an awesome open source project called EdgeDeflector that would fix that. Microsoft got wise to it and found a way to neutralize it, which killed the project. https://github.com/da2x/EdgeDeflector

1) Install EdgeDeflector. (Note: Edge deflector is deprecated without the next fix. You no longer need to browse into Default Apps to select EdgeDeflector).

It’s a very intentional thing that Microsoft ignores the default browser in many cases. They’ve already killed one workaround tool that fixes this: https://github.com/da2x/EdgeDeflector

Idk if Edgeeflector can actually overcome this but it worth a try yk

*cough* edgedeflector *cough*

It probably opens Edge anyway, so you could use EdgeDeflector to handle the browser opening.

I've been very happy happy with https://github.com/Open-Shell/Open-Shell-Menu as a Start Menu replacement. If ads have rolled out to my Windows install, I wouldn't even notice.

Whenever I set up a new computer for older family members, despite it being windows 11, I always install open shell[1] and retro bar[2]. Between the two, I've made the operating system look very close to Windows XP visually, and they always appreciate it.

[1] https://github.com/Open-Shell/Open-Shell-Menu

[2] https://github.com/dremin/RetroBar

There's Open-Shell but it's not exactly a full WM replacement.

Hi yall, I used Open-Shell to change the icon.

There is also Open Shell, a free and open source tool which performs a similar function.

I wish so bad there is a port (a fork) of the Legacy Kickoff start menu for Windows: https://github.com/Open-Shell/Open-Shell-Menu/issues/1083

Classic Start Menu

I use Open Shell (fork of Classic Shell) as a replacement to original Start Menu. This gives me full control over what appears in start menu - no results from internet, animated tiles, etc (I am on Win 10 though, from what I read the Win 11 is supported, but not yet officially [1]). It could be a solution to the ads appearing in start menu.

[1] https://github.com/Open-Shell/Open-Shell-Menu/issues/1564

Looks like you're going for an XP theme. May I suggest using open-shell to skin the taskbar, start menu, and start button if you wanna take that extra step? You can also find the taskbar skin and start button here. Also, I would remove the search bar, task view button, and news & interest area of the taskbar just to bring things together. This is all just a suggestion, you don't have to if you don't want to.