So you want the full f ckin answer. Ok.
First this is the FULL general answer I give to your's and related problems. It's long. Then I'll add a paragraph at the end to describe the hard drive part.
The store may be corrupt. Type regedit in Start Run and delete all these keys. Then read the last section carefully (Apply to All).
Delete these keys or values from the registry. This will reset many things like saved folder settings.
Type Regedit in Start - Run
Click Start - Turn Off Computer (or maybe Shutdown) - Ctrl + Alt + Shift + click Cancel (or Close) (your Desktop and Start Menu now disappear). This is a clean shutdown unlike using Task Manager.
In Regedit navigate to each of these keys and delete them
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer and delete the value
Shellstate
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CabinetState and delete the value
Settings
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Streams
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\StreamsMRU (may not exist)
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\BagMRU
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Bags
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam\BagMRU
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam\Bags
[the above one is what reset deletes, 90% of the time it is sufficient but 10% of the time the BagMRU needs to be deleted too. If you know what cross linked files are the same thing is happening here - the BagMRU point to the wrong Bag or serveral BagMRU point to the same bag]
Then in Task Manager, File - Run type explorer. (Start menu and Desktop come back).
You then need to reconfigure explorer and the desktop (ie Folder Options).
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Understanding Saved Views and Browsing Folders
In Windows 2000 Professional, the view you use is not always permanently saved in Windows Explorer. You can control whether the views you use are saved permanently or temporarily by using the Remember each folder's view settings check box on the View tab of the Folder Options dialog box (see figure 9.3).
By default the Remember each folder's view settings option is enabled. When you choose to leave this setting enabled, the following happens:
a.. The changes you make to a folder's view is automatically saved when you close the folder.
b.. The view you use to view one folder is not applied to other folders.
c.. When you open a folder, it opens in the view you used when you last viewed it.
When you clear the check box for Remember each folder's view settings, the following happens:
a.. When you start Windows Explorer, the first folder you view displays in the folder's saved view. Windows Explorer holds that view in temporary memory and applies it to all the folders that you visit while Windows Explorer remains open unless you manually alter the view.
b.. As you browse to other folders (after the initial folder is opened), the saved view for each folder is ignored, and when you quit Windows Explorer, the folder view that you have been using to view multiple folders is deleted from temporary memory.
c.. The next time you open Windows Explorer, once again, it is the saved view of the first folder you open that determines how you view multiple folders.
Setting All Folders to the Same View
Some users want to have all their Windows Explorer folders set to the same view. In Windows 2000 Professional, the default setting is that any change made to a folder's view is automatically saved when you close the folder and is not applied to other folders. However, you can set all folders to the same view by using the Folder Options command as described in the following procedure.
To set all folders to the same view
1.. In My Computer or Windows Explorer, set the view to your preference.
2.. On the Tools menu, click Folder Options.
3.. In the Folder Options dialog box, click the View tab.
4.. Under Folder Views, click Like Current Folder.
Important The Remember each folder's view settings check box on the View tab of the Folder Options dialog box (see Figure 9.3) affects how the view settings of individual folders are applied and saved. For more information about the impact of clearing this check box, see "Understanding Saved Views and Browsing Folders" earlier in this chapter.
Windows 2000 Resource Kit
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And check
NoSaveSettings
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
Data type Range Default value
REG_DWORD 0 | 1 0
Description
Prevents users from saving certain changes to the
desktop. Users can change the desktop, but some changes,
such as the positions of open windows and the size and
position of the taskbar, are not saved when users log
off. Shortcuts placed on the desktop are always saved.
This entry stores the setting of the Don't save settings
at exit Group Policy. Group Policy adds this entry to the
registry with a value of 1 when you enable the policy. If
you disable the policy or set it to Not configured, Group
Policy deletes the entry from the registry and the system
behaves as though the value is 0.
Value Meaning
0 (or not in registry) The policy is disabled or
not configured. Changes to the desktop are saved.
1 The policy is enabled. Some changes to the desktop are not saved.
Windows 2000 Resource Kit Reference
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Saved folder settings are stored in BagMRU. Defaults and network/removable drives are stored in Streams key (as everything was in earlier versions).
You have to do Apply To All while in a file folder.
For each type of object (File Folder, Control Panel, My Computer, etc) that you do an Apply to All in it's clsid and the settings are created/updated at
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Streams\Defaults
{F3364BA0-65B9-11CE-A9BA-00AA004AE837} is ordinary folders, and other numbers are what ever they are (My Comp, Control Panel, etc - note My Docs is an ordinary folder). They only appear IF you do an apply to all in that type of object.
as well as a higher set of defaults at
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Streams
Settings=
So the point being in the order that you do things. You want to do your overall default setting last. This is how I advised someone who asked
Can someone please tell me how to force Windows to keep
the seperate folder view settings I choose? I have
checked and rechecked the box in folder options for it to
remember, but it has no memory for that issue. To be more
specific; I want to always have the thumbnail view in My
Pictures and also in the Control Panel Dialog, but every
time I open them I have to manually set that view.
Set Control Panel how you want then Tools - View - Apply To All Folders. This sets the global default and the Control Panel type of objects defaults (but the system default remains the same - it can't be changed but all other defaults/settings override it). Then go to an ordinary folder (as My Pics is for this feature) and set it how you want all folders but CP. Then Tools - View - Apply To All Folders. This sets the global default and the file folder type of object defaults (CP's default settings will still override the global). Then set My Pics how you want it and do nothing else as we are saving it by the checkbox Remember Folder Settings AND BY THE PATH WE GOT THERE. EG
Desktop\My Comp\C:\Documents & Settings\user name\My Docs\My Pics
is a different setting to
Desktop\My Comp\My Docs\My Pics
There is some searching for similar settings but the path used, if too different, means it won't find the settings for similar named folders.
The system defaults (and saved settings for individual folders already opened) are the only setting unless you've done an Apply To All, eg no global or type defaults.
Plus if you hold down control and click close while in a file folder it also updates
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
Shellstate=
This is mainly setting irrelevent things except it holds the global sort, which all the others override. But File Open dialog boxes only use this setting, so it basically only affects sorting in File Open dialogs. But it seems that sometimes an earlier windows versions setting get written here and other settings then aren't saved
typedef struct {
BOOL fShowAllObjects:1;
BOOL fShowExtensions:1;
BOOL fNoConfirmRecycle:1;
BOOL fShowSysFiles:1;
BOOL fShowCompColor:1;
BOOL fDoubleClickInWebView:1;
BOOL fDesktopHTML:1;
BOOL fWin95Classic:1;
BOOL fDontPrettyPath:1;
BOOL fShowAttribCol:1;
BOOL fMapNetDrvBtn:1;
BOOL fShowInfoTip:1;
BOOL fHideIcons:1;
BOOL fWebView:1;
BOOL fFilter:1;
BOOL fShowSuperHidden:1;
BOOL fNoNetCrawling:1;
DWORD dwWin95Unused;
UINT uWin95Unused;
LONG lParamSort;
int iSortDirection;
UINT version;
UINT uNotUsed;
BOOL fSepProcess:1;
BOOL fStartPanelOn:1;
BOOL fShowStartPage:1;
UINT fSpareFlags:13;
} SHELLSTATE, *LPSHSHELLSTATE;
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There is a degree of sniffing going on where windows attempts to determine folder type based on content - this applies to all folders. Autoplay is related (are there video files in the root or I think within two level of folders from the root).
Auto play looks here (note this list is XP beta - there's been years of updates)
Content Type File Types File Locations
Pictures *.jpg
*.bmp
*.gif
*.tif Media root directory
DCIM\*\*.jpg
DCIM\*\*.bmp
DCIM\*\*.gif
DC*\*.jpg
MSSONY\*\*.tif
Music *.mp3
*.wma Media root directory
HIFI\*\*.mp3
HIFI\*\*.wma
Video *.mpg
*.asf Media root directory
VIDEO\*.mpg
VIDEO\*.asf
MSSONY\*\*.mpg
