Is it possible to block Windows Explorer?

[billd766]

Is it possible to block Windows Explorer and still use Windows 10 normally?

 

I use a 4 port USB extender, and WE keeps dropping it out then putting it back again.

 

I HATE Windows fracking 10 and Windows Explorer.

 

I buggered my right arm up a week so I am working left handed and typing with 1 finger, and it is very frustrating.

[Mickeymaus]

Could be a cable problem. But I also just cleaned my USB extender with contact cleaner spray and it's like new now. If you do, give it enough time to dry before using it again. 

[Peterw42]

Sounds like a problem with the device/cable/plug rather than a problem with explorer.

Not sure what you would achieve by blocking explorer (even if you could) then you cant see anything, file system, drives, network.

[owl sees all]

Try Linus.

 

Been using it for the past 9 months.

Coming from using MS for years, I find it's not as user friendly as MS. But for me anyway it is more stable.

 

Also more secure.

[billd766]

2 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

Sounds like a problem with the device/cable/plug rather than a problem with explorer.

Not sure what you would achieve by blocking explorer (even if you could) then you cant see anything, file system, drives, network.

For some reason my Acer C 24 all-in-one has only one useable USB 3 socket. As I have 3 external hard drives I use a 4 port USB extender.

 

I am now on my 3rd extender, this one being a 16 port hub.  

 

I can hear the pc chiming in the background and if I double click on "This PC" i can see the C and D drives all the time, and sometimes the external drives and sometimes not.

 

The odd thing is that I am charging my tablet from the same extender and that is working normally, yet IE is showing neither the tablet as another device or the external hard drives.

 

Any ideas?

[degrub]

Is the extender independently powered or is it dependent on power supplied by the PC usb port ?

 

Are the external drives powered by the USB port or do they have external power ?
 

If you plug in the individual drives one at a time to the AIO USB port, do they respond correctly ?
 

a usb port providing power for charging does not require the OS to do anything. It is supposed to only require the PC bios and usb interface controllers to turn on the switch. To access memory on the device for other functions requires higher level control and a device driver to be loaded on the PC. That why you see “ installing your device” and “device ready for use” messages when you plug in a new device on the port.

[billd766]

4 hours ago, degrub said:

Is the extender independently powered or is it dependent on power supplied by the PC usb port ?

 

Are the external drives powered by the USB port or do they have external power ?
 

If you plug in the individual drives one at a time to the AIO USB port, do they respond correctly ?
 

a usb port providing power for charging does not require the OS to do anything. It is supposed to only require the PC bios and usb interface controllers to turn on the switch. To access memory on the device for other functions requires higher level control and a device driver to be loaded on the PC. That why you see “ installing your device” and “device ready for use” messages when you plug in a new device on the port.

1   The extender now has an independent power supply.

2   External power supply.

3   I have 3 external hard drives, the USB printer and I currently have my tablet charging as well.

 

4   The tablet is showing when I select "This PC" as do the C and D internal drives but NO other drives.

 

I damaged my right arm last week in a fall last week, and it is difficult to access the external hard drives to reposition them.

[billd766]

11 hours ago, degrub said:

Is the extender independently powered or is it dependent on power supplied by the PC usb port ?

 

Are the external drives powered by the USB port or do they have external power ?
 

If you plug in the individual drives one at a time to the AIO USB port, do they respond correctly ?
 

a usb port providing power for charging does not require the OS to do anything. It is supposed to only require the PC bios and usb interface controllers to turn on the switch. To access memory on the device for other functions requires higher level control and a device driver to be loaded on the PC. That why you see “ installing your device” and “device ready for use” messages when you plug in a new device on the port.

After some jiggery pokery I managed to hook each external drive at a time to the pc using a different extender in the same USB slot and they worked.

 

I hooked them back onto my new extender and they don't show up.

 

I think that I will stop here tonight and try again tomorrow.

 

It is such a PITA only working one handed and trying to get USB plugs into the sockets without equal pressure from both hands.

[Maybole]

I presume you want to use a different browser. You can uninstall Windows Explorer.

[billd766]

5 minutes ago, Maybole said:

I presume you want to use a different browser. You can uninstall Windows Explorer.

I am using the Opera browser and have done for a year or so.

 

Perhaps I should go back to Firefox which is what I used before.

[Lacessit]

5 minutes ago, billd766 said:

I am using the Opera browser and have done for a year or so.

 

Perhaps I should go back to Firefox which is what I used before.

I've been using Linux and Firefox for years. I've never had a virus or any other problem.

 

It beats me why people still pay for Windows, when Linux and Firefox are free.

 

[norbra]

8 minutes ago, billd766 said:

I am using the Opera browser and have done for a year or so.

 

Perhaps I should go back to Firefox which is what I used before.

Windows Explorer is not a web browser,confusing it with Internet Explorer

[Lemsta69]

3 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

I've been using Linux and Firefox for years. I've never had a virus or any other problem.

 

It beats me why people still pay for Windows, when Linux and Firefox are free.

 

Linux, or should I say GNU/Linux distros, are not very user-friendly for a lot of people.  Windows comes pre-installed with a lot of (most?) non-Apple hardware and OEM Windows licenses aren't very expensive so the buyer isn't getting reamed like you think. 

 

Most people aren't particularly tech-savvy and it takes a fair bit of knowledge to load a Linux distro onto a compatible machine. 

 

I use Windows because I like it better than any of the dozen or so Linux distros I've extensively tested. 

 

ps. I ran Linux Mint inside Oracle VBox at one point to act as a file server for a buddy of mine who is in love with rsync. so I have much more exposure to the ecosystem then just an average user. I want to love it but it just rubs me the wrong way. 

[Lemsta69]

On 10/17/2022 at 4:29 PM, billd766 said:

Is it possible to block Windows Explorer and still use Windows 10 normally?

I don't think so. I'm pretty sure it's baked into the Windows system. if you go to Task Manager and end the Explorer task then your taskbar will disappear and you won't be able to use the computer properly until you either restart the machine or restart Explorer via Task Manager.

[Lacessit]

10 hours ago, Lemsta69 said:

Linux, or should I say GNU/Linux distros, are not very user-friendly for a lot of people.  Windows comes pre-installed with a lot of (most?) non-Apple hardware and OEM Windows licenses aren't very expensive so the buyer isn't getting reamed like you think. 

 

Most people aren't particularly tech-savvy and it takes a fair bit of knowledge to load a Linux distro onto a compatible machine. 

 

I use Windows because I like it better than any of the dozen or so Linux distros I've extensively tested. 

 

ps. I ran Linux Mint inside Oracle VBox at one point to act as a file server for a buddy of mine who is in love with rsync. so I have much more exposure to the ecosystem then just an average user. I want to love it but it just rubs me the wrong way. 

I might agree with you if I even knew what a distro was, or what it did..

Speaking of rubbing up the wrong way, my last experience of Windows was Vista. Say no more.

I'm not tech-savvy. Having said that, Linux does everything I want it to do, without fuss and problem-free. Can't ask for more than that.

[billd766]

14 hours ago, norbra said:

Windows Explorer is not a web browser, confusing it with Internet Explorer

Actually Windows Explorer is causing a ping pong effect which is triggering a notification that the last USB device was not recognised. 

 

I don't use IE at all, and the notification happens whether I am browsing or not.

[Sparktrader]

14 hours ago, Lacessit said:

I've been using Linux and Firefox for years. I've never had a virus or any other problem.

 

It beats me why people still pay for Windows, when Linux and Firefox are free.

 

I use brave

[norbra]

34 minutes ago, billd766 said:

Actually Windows Explorer is causing a ping pong effect which is triggering a notification that the last USB device was not recognised. 

 

I don't use IE at all, and the notification happens whether I am browsing or not.

I understand I was responding to other posters who are confusing your post. It appears your extender port/cable is the culprit . Windows Explorer is only reporting the problem 

Edited October 21, 2022 by norbra

[billd766]

52 minutes ago, norbra said:

I understand I was responding to other posters who are confusing your post. It appears your extender port/cable is the culprit . Windows Explorer is only reporting the problem 

A problem I have is that my tablet which is on the same extender shows up all the time, but the hard drives don't.

 

Yet if I plug any hard drive into a different extender into a different port, it shows up as working and available.

[Digitalbanana]

16 hours ago, Lacessit said:

It beats me why people still pay for Windows

Why does it beat you? Some people have a need for apps that are only available on a Windows platform so it makes more sense to use Windows than a Windows emulator ontop of another o/s.

[billd766]

I have finally managed to renew my current bookmarks one at a time from my Opera browser back to Chrome. What a PITA doing it left handed and one fingered.

 

As soon as I opened ASEAN now I ran into an add.  I installed Ad-blocker nd no more adds.

[KannikaP]

On 10/19/2022 at 11:22 AM, owl sees all said:

Try Linus.

 

Been using it for the past 9 months.

Coming from using MS for years, I find it's not as user friendly as MS. But for me anyway it is more stable.

 

Also more secure.

LINUX is pretty good too. 555

[owl sees all]

On 10/21/2022 at 11:52 AM, Sparktrader said:

I use brave

I was using Brave when I was on windows. Liked it!

 

Since moving to Linux Mint, I've not been able to load it. But I have three browsers installed; Opera, DDG and Firefox.

Edited October 22, 2022 by owl sees all

[KannikaP]

On 10/20/2022 at 9:04 PM, Lacessit said:

I've been using Linux and Firefox for years. I've never had a virus or any other problem.

 

It beats me why people still pay for Windows, when Linux and Firefox are free.

 

Because I can afford windows. Bought W8 ten years ago for Bht 4000 and nothing since. w11 is perfect for me.

[owl sees all]

24 minutes ago, billd766 said:

I have finally managed to renew my current bookmarks one at a time from my Opera browser back to Chrome. What a PITA doing it left handed and one fingered.

 

As soon as I opened ASEAN now I ran into an add.  I installed Ad-blocker nd no more adds.

Couldn't you have copies and pasted?

 

Take that last line out of your post Build.

Edited October 22, 2022 by owl sees all

[billd766]

22 minutes ago, owl sees all said:

Couldn't you have copies and pasted?

 

Take that last line out of your post Build.

What I ended up doing was running Opera to get the URL then go to Chrome and open it there. Open a new folder if required, then add the bookmark.

 

The last line stays.

 

You try working and not using your normal hand and typing with one finger. Everything takes 4 or 5 times as long and is very very frustrating, especially going back to correct typing errors.

[scorecard]

On 10/19/2022 at 2:02 PM, billd766 said:

For some reason my Acer C 24 all-in-one has only one useable USB 3 socket. As I have 3 external hard drives I use a 4 port USB extender.

 

I am now on my 3rd extender, this one being a 16 port hub.  

 

I can hear the pc chiming in the background and if I double click on "This PC" i can see the C and D drives all the time, and sometimes the external drives and sometimes not.

 

The odd thing is that I am charging my tablet from the same extender and that is working normally, yet IE is showing neither the tablet as another device or the external hard drives.

 

Any ideas?

Not really, Your a brave man, I got lost after your first 10 words. Just me, but I can now spell computer and windows. 

[owl sees all]

15 minutes ago, billd766 said:

 

The last line stays.

 

OK! Sorry Build. Just wanted to help.

[billd766]

2 hours ago, scorecard said:

Not really, Your a brave man, I got lost after your first 10 words. Just me, but I can now spell computer and windows. 

Not just you, but many of us. We all bring different skills in our lives with us, and many like me, learn from experience, usually the hard way, and from the help of others on the forums.

 

2 hours ago, owl sees all said:

 

 

[billd766]

2 hours ago, owl sees all said:

OK! Sorry Build. Just wanted to help.

It is the pent up frustration.

 

I am 78 and 12 days ago I fell onto my right forearm and my weedwhacker and bashed my ribs as a bonus.

 

My wife took me to the hospital where I was X-rayed (a possible minor fracture of my elbow). but in the end not. I ended up with a bottom half plastered cast and an elastic bandage. I dumped the cast at the weekend and started leaving the bandage off today.

 

However, while I can sort of hold things in my right hand, such as a knife, I cannot cut or even spread butter on a roll, let alone cut the roll.

 

I have to ask my wife or son to help with something as simple as that.

 

It gets easier every day but I needed my wife to help me the last 2 days to get the paperwork sorted out for my marriage visa extension, all 30 pages of it, doubled of course as the local office has to have a copy plus a copy for the regional office in Chiang Mai. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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