If you run the explorer with something like explorer.exe /separate,::{desktopguid}\::{yourguid}, you should get a separate process for this window, and it should pick up new entries in the registry (or existing entries, if you just leave them there, you can add a GetWindowThreadProcessId(GetShellWindow(),...)!=GetCurrentProcessId()check and do not upload to the "main" shell process).
There are also some registry values that you can change to change the behavior of the explorer: DesktopProcess , SeparateProcess, and BrowseNewProcess
To close the shell without killing the process in taskmgr, use this old trick: click "Start" and then "Shut Down". Hold Ctrl + Alt + Shift and press Cancel
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