How do you use a custom explorer in windows?

I found a guide on askvg called
How to Apply and Safely Use Custom User Interface (Shell or Explorer) in Windows?

and following the instructions given in the article i couldn't get my explorer in my separate storage to execute which gave me a black screen where i had to use task manager to repair what i have done no biggie there. but im just curious of what im doing wrong....any ideas?

Article on askvg:

https://www.askvg.com/how-to-apply-a...er-in-windows/

The concept of shell replacements seem pretty dead for Win 10:
Desktop shell replacements for Windows - are they dead? - RetroPie Forum

Many times we need to edit "Explorer.exe" file which is present in "Windows" directory of the system drive where Windows is installed in your system. We might edit it to customize Start button text in Windows XP or to customize Start ORB look in Windows 7.

askvg is generally reliable, but that is a strange statement. ("Many times"). And note the refs to XP and 7. I certainly don't need to do that to replace the start button.

That's a dated article- look towards the bottom and the list of OS's.

Hi, is there perhaps a specific way in which explorer seems slow? You have a SSD according to your specs..

memory - RAMDISK OS? Installing Windows 10 on a ramdisk - Super User