Windows 10 could finally be getting a fix for one of its most annoying quirks, as Microsoft is looking to separate the taskbar from the Explorer.exe process in the upcoming Windows 10 21H2 update.
So, why is this a big deal? Explorer.exe is a critical process in Windows 10 that runs Windows Explorer (the way you view files and folders in Windows 10), and it also handles other parts of the user interface – including the taskbar, which runs along the bottom of your screen.
If you’ve used Windows 10 for a while, you may have encountered a problem where Explorer.exe crashes. This means that some windows become unresponsive – and it also means the taskbar stops working. This can be pretty annoying, as the taskbar can allow you to switch programs, or quickly restart your PC to fix the problem.
However, it looks like Microsoft is solving this problem. In a preview release of Windows 10 21H2, which is sent out to testers (known as Windows Insiders) to try out new features and check for bugs, references to taskbar.dll have been spotted, and as Windows Latest points out, this could hint that Microsoft is removing the taskbar from Explorer.exe.
