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Clean Explorer - Portable Edition

Single-file version that runs from anywhere!

What is Portable Edition?

The portable edition is a self-contained PowerShell script that:

  • ✅ Runs from USB drives
  • ✅ Runs from cloud-synced folders (Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive)
  • ✅ No extraction needed
  • ✅ No installation required
  • ✅ Interactive menu interface
  • ✅ Command-line support

Quick Start

Option 1: Interactive Menu (Easiest)

  1. Download CleanExplorer-Portable.bat
  2. Double-click it from anywhere
  3. Choose from menu:
    • [1] Hide cloud drives
    • [2] Show cloud drives
    • [3] Check status

Option 2: Command Line

Hide cloud drives:

.\CleanExplorer-Portable.ps1 -Hide

Show cloud drives:

.\CleanExplorer-Portable.ps1 -Show

Check status:

.\CleanExplorer-Portable.ps1 -Status

Features

  • 🎯 Single file - No dependencies or extraction
  • 📁 Run from anywhere - USB, network drive, cloud folder
  • 📊 Status checking - See current state of cloud drives
  • 🎨 Interactive menu - Easy to use interface
  • ⚡ Fast - Executes in seconds
  • 🔒 Safe - All registry changes are temporary and reversible

Use Cases

USB Drive Tech Support

  1. Copy CleanExplorer-Portable.ps1 to USB
  2. Plug into any Windows PC
  3. Run it to clean up Explorer
  4. No traces left behind

Cloud-Synced Utilities Folder

  1. Save to Dropbox\Tools\CleanExplorer-Portable.ps1
  2. Access from any of your synced PCs
  3. Always up-to-date across devices

Network Admin

  1. Place on network share
  2. Users can run directly from share
  3. No installation, no IT ticket needed

Comparison

Feature Portable Standard
Single file ✅ ❌ (7 files)
Interactive menu ✅ ❌
Status checking ✅ ❌
Run from USB ✅ ✅
Command line ✅ ✅
File size ~6 KB ~15 KB total

Requirements

  • Windows 10 or 11
  • PowerShell (built-in)
  • Admin rights (for registry access)

Technical Details

The portable script:

  1. Creates temporary .reg files in %TEMP%
  2. Applies registry changes
  3. Cleans up temp files
  4. Restarts Explorer automatically

No permanent files created. No traces left.

Troubleshooting

Script won't run?

  • Right-click → "Run with PowerShell"
  • Or use the .bat launcher

PowerShell execution policy blocked? The .bat launcher handles this automatically with -ExecutionPolicy Bypass

Need admin rights? The .bat launcher auto-elevates if needed

Download

Get the portable version from Releases

Or copy-paste the PowerShell script directly - it's just text!

Portable edition: Perfect for IT admins, tech support, and power users who need a tool that travels with them.