Well, I went into Win 11 with an open mind. I really tried to accept the changes in File Explorer and revamped start menu.
I tried for three days.
Time to go to GitHub. Github has a pre-release of Open Shell 4.4.197 available since Feb 5. 4.4.196 released May 2025.
I’ll give the new version a try.
Open Shell is a replacement for the Start menu. And yeah, it’s a good one. Every Windows 11 machine I use has it installed.
But you may be looking for File Explorer alternatives, which Open Shell isn’t.
Is there a replacement Explorer App similar to Win 7 and 10?
This article from 2024 reads like a bad joke.
I delayed going to Win 11 for as long as possible. Ultimately none of us has a choice other than Linux and its learning curve.
There are numerous alternatives to Windows 11 File Explorer. I chose not to make any recommendations because I’m ok with the built-in one, so I don’t have a recommendation based on personal experience.
I use an app called OneCommander as an Explorer alternative. But it’s not a throwback, it’s all new and fancy.
OneCommander is mentioned as a great pick in this review.
I’ll try the easier Q-Dir (the Quad Explorer) first. Perhaps try FreeCommander afterwards.
1.No install. Runs from a folder and desktop shortcut.
2.Color filter sounds useful. Red for exe, Blue Audio, Green Video, Docs in purple. I hope that’s how it can be setup.
Dated UI? That made my ears perk up.
I’m an old programmer from the 90’s and 00’s.
Dated UI is my Jam. 
https://www.howtogeek.com/alternatives-to-windows-file-explorer/
You might take a look at Total Commander (https://www.ghisler.com/)
The first version was released in 1993 and it’s still going strong. It does searching, directory syncing, ziping (including RAR), and has a sophisticated multi-rename tool.
The downside is it’s not cheap – approximately $50. I bought it decades ago and I think the directory syncing and multi-rename features are first rate.
I remember hearing about Totsl Commander years ago. IIRC ir was on a coworker’s pc.
I’ll put it on my list to try.
I’m jamming to CCR right now with Foobar2000. Another great old music player app from 2002. Don’t be fooled by the name. It was released on Dec 20, 2002.
Ok, i see that got munged. The syntax in the Explorer search box is
filename colon filespec
Where colon is, doh, a colon and filespec can have asterisks in it. Pretty sure that’s what OP wanted.
A great application. I hardly use Windows anymore, but that is one of the first things I install.
It is still “share-ware” but I paid for a license ages ago. I can’t even recall what extra benefits I got from paying.
Certainly not any modern UI updates! But I am a child of the 90s, so shit UI is normal to me.
@scudsucker: I am in the same boat. I am mostly Linux these days but Total Commander is the only Windows, non-Microsoft app I still use from the 90s.
As for benefits, the developer sent me an index card with keyboard shortcuts and the software on either CD or floppy – I can’t remember which. I did have the index card taped to my CRT monitor for a while. 
I use the free version of FileLocator Pro, which has an option for regex searches on the file name and/or file content. It can also search in time ranges and file size ranges.
Me too. maybe not as fast as the above options but it does the job.
The still, albeit elderly, freeware Windirstat also does the job. I cannot imagine how many GBs of crap I have removed from various machines using it.
It gives you a visual representation of your filesystem size and contents.
I have been using that for years and it never gets old. But the OP asks for
and it doesn’t do that.
To really answer the question, while I use CMD
Windows Subsystem for Linux offeres grep, not that I use it much.
Most of my work is on a Mac, VPN into Alpine Linux systems in the cloud..
grep is Unix; on Windows it is FINDSTR.
E.g. dir *.* /s/b | findstr Alice
I and my everyone where I work thank you for this!
No need to thank me, I didn’t write that app Maybe see if your company would consider donating a few bucks to the developer? Donate - voidtools