New Windows 11 Experimental Build Improves File Explorer, Taskbar, Start Menu & More

Among the five builds released today, the Build 26300.8697 is landing in the Windows 11 Experimental channel. Microsoft has confirmed that it has fixed the Hypervisor and KMODE crash errors and improved reliability of File Explorer, Sttart Menu, Taskbar, and Settings. Here’s everything include in the latest Windows 11 Experimental Build.

Windows 11 Experimental Build 26300.8697 released with reliability improvements

After installing this update, Windows Insiders will see Windows 11 version 26H2 under Settings > System > About and in the winver dialog. In addition, the latest build also includes multiple quality-of-life improvements across the operating system. In File Explorer, Microsoft has improved the visual consistency and reliability of the Copy dialog when using Dark mode, including enhancements to its launch experience and expanded progress view.

Start menu reliability has also been improved, ensuring newly installed or removed applications appear correctly without requiring users to sign out or restart their PCs. Additionally, the company has enhanced the reliability of the Settings > Apps > Startup page.

Taskbar users benefit from a fix addressing an issue with the new smaller taskbar option, where the system tray could become cut off or pushed off-screen.

Last but not least, this build includes a fix for a critical virtualization-related issue that caused some Insider devices to experience system crashes after installing recent builds. The problem could trigger bugchecks citing HYPERVISOR_ERROR (0x20001) and KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED (0x1E) during system restarts, virtual machine operations, or while running certain gaming applications. Not to forget, the latest Build 26220.8690 also fixes the same issue for Windows 11 Insiders in the Beta Channel.