Stop Windows from forgetting folder view settings

Have you ever gone into a folder filled with Pictures, Documents or Music, and Windows has decided to revert back to the default thumbnails view, or it's in a viewing mode you didn't leave it in?

This "feature" was meant to be fixed a long time ago with Service Pack 2 for Windows XP, however it still occurs in Service Pack 2, Service Pack 3, Windows Vista and Vista with Service Pack 1.

Windows has what is called a "Bags list". This list, situated in the registry, is designed to keep track of the last folder view chosen for each folder. It is supposed to have a limit of 5000 entries, but it appears to be much lower.

In order to fix the problem, you need to restore all folders back to their default view, and start fresh choosing your folder views for each folder again.

Follow these steps to fix the problem:

Click on the start button at the bottom left of the screen.

Do one of the following depending on which the version of Windows used:

Click Start / Run and type in "regedit.exe" (XP)

Type regedit.exe and press enter (Vista / Windows 7)

Expand the registry list to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows

In both "Shell" and "ShellNoRoam", delete or rename the "BagMRU" and "Bags" keys (folders)

Restart the computer

The problem should now be fixed.