valinet
Disable the "Recommended" section Fails Occasionally
Disable the "Recommended" section fails occasionally by dragging around icons in the start menu. (0:05)
https://github.com/valinet/ExplorerPatcher/assets/46341546/b2a038ca-d80a-421d-a4c6-e09cd41c578e
EP Version: 22621.3527.65.1
OS Version: Windows 11 Education 22H2 Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.22677.1000.0
Explorer Version: 10.0.22621.2715
Related Issues: #2754 Recommended section returns after unpinning an item on start menu #2622 Start menu win 11 recommended apps section #2580 On Windows 11, disabled "Recommend" section in Start Menu reappears after rearranging or grouping pinned apps
your version of windows has updates from nov 14/2023: https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/topic/november-14-2023-kb5032190-os-builds-22621-2715-and-22631-2715-f9e3e13c-5e98-42c2-add8-f075841ca812
please install the latest windows updates.
your version of windows has updates from nov 14/2023: https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/topic/november-14-2023-kb5032190-os-builds-22621-2715-and-22631-2715-f9e3e13c-5e98-42c2-add8-f075841ca812
please install the latest windows updates.
Currently, I don't have plans to do a windows update session as this will close all my current opened workflows. May I ask you to try reproduce this issue and let us know how it goes?
happens to me as well in 23H2
Can you post your windows version and build? You can find out by running winver.
Its 22631.3958 it seems to occor when i pin or unpin smothing to the menu
Can confirm with the latest Windows & EP, Disable the "Recommended" section fails completely: The "Recommended" section does not hide at all.
EP Version: 22621.3527.65.5 OS Version: Windows 11 23H2 build 22631.3958
Try the latest pre-release: https://github.com/valinet/ExplorerPatcher/releases
And set windows defender to exclude the following before installing the pre-release:
- C:\Program Files\ExplorerPatcher
- %APPDATA%\ExplorerPatcher
- Directory that you downloaded ep_setup.exe to
I've tried that, and yes, now it hides the "Recommended" section mostly.
However, it still fails when dragging around icons, pin/unpin tiles, etc. (Back to the original problem in this issue.)
EP Version: 22621.3880.66.4 OS Version: Windows 11 23H2 build 22631.3958
Did you reboot after installing the EP version here?https://github.com/valinet/ExplorerPatcher/releases/tag/22621.3880.66.4_3c50ea3
I also found this:
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/remove-recommended-section-from-start-menu-is-not/ba6c469e-565b-4eb1-9d75-12ba0dcc75c3
Removing the recommended section seems to be a group policy option. I wonder if EP is just setting a registry key to do this.
For those struggling with this, try reading this comment for an answer: https://github.com/valinet/ExplorerPatcher/issues/3788#issuecomment-2409920011
None of those solutions in this thread work for me, but I'm hesitant reply because there's a certain user in this thread who seems to enjoy being a condescending tool.
I'm also having this issue after upgrading to Windows 11 24H2.
Edition Windows 11 Pro
Version 24H2
Installed on 24/06/2025
OS build 26100.4351
Experience Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.26100.107.0
An update for anyone following this: If you're on 24h2, Explorer Patcher 'hide recommended' will not work at all - the start menu layout was changed by MS which caused it to break. github.com/valinet/ExplorerPatcher/pull/4476 will fix this, but it'll need to be merged and released first :) (please be patient, EP is maintained by volunteers). This change won't fix the 'moving/pinning items' issue.
It looks like there are solutions on the internet that involve making windows think you're using the educational version and setting the group policy key, but honestly I wouldn't recommend that so probably best for you to just hang tight until the next EP release.
