BleepingComputer.com: Files and Folders out of order

thicool, on May 19 2010, 01:17 PM, said:

thicool,

This link's procedure makes perfect sense, and shows promise, but it had no effect on my folders' ordering. I tried it twice, with system resets afterwards.

No dice. This is a real head-scratcher. Thanks for your help.

Dorje

Baltboy, on May 21 2010, 05:27 AM, said:

Hi Baltboy, and 666philb,

I have tried your suggestions twice (in slightly different ways) since I got your messages.

I've opened My Computer, selected View>Details, then Arrange Icons>by Name, then Tools>Folder Options>View>Apply to all folders. That didn't change things - folders still open sorted in random order.

I've also opened My Computer, selected View>Icons, then Arrange Icons>by Name, then Tools>Folder Options>View>Apply to all folders.

Folders still display their contents in random order, whether in Icons view or Details view. I can always sort any folder "by hand", but they used to automatically open in Detail view, sorted by Name, every time.

Thank you both for your suggestions.

I still suspect a registry value error. Any registry gurus out there?

Thanks to you all for your kind attention.

Dorje

this is a real head-scratcher, i will try and do some more research if i have time.
sorry i couldnt be of any assistance.

thicool, on May 21 2010, 01:34 PM, said:

I agree, it's a good one!

Please, no apology necessary - I appreciate your time and suggestion.

Dorje

Here are some possible solutions I found from an XP tweak site called Kellys-korner


Folder Views - Keep Settings

Go to - Start/Run/Regedit and Delete these two keys, reboot then re-set your folder options.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam\BagMRU
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam\Bags

If you prefer not to deal with the registry, you can use the edit from here:

Restore Folder Views (Line 2)
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm

Windows remembers 400 folders. When that number is reached things start to go wrong. You can up this to 1000 by a
dding this to the registry. All tested and working. Things will last a little longer.

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell]
"BagMRU Size"=dword:000003e8

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam]
"BagMRU Size"=dword:000003e8

If you prefer not to deal with the registry, you can use the edit from here:

Increase Folder View Options Limit: (Line 2)
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm

Save Settings on Exit (Line 54)
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm

Note: Apply to all folders does not stick:
If you are using TweakUI/Uncheck Only allow Windows Classic Shell

Baltboy, on May 22 2010, 05:57 AM, said:

Hey Baltboy,

The best clue yet! Thanks so much.

I read through the stuff in Kelly's Korner (thanks for that link!) set remembered folders to 8000 (I have over 2300 folders in My Documents alone) by directly editing the registry, ditto the other changes.

This has fixed the problem with SOME folders, but not all. Windows Explorer now opens My Documents in the detail view, correctly sorted. Some other folders are sorted this way, some are random or MRU (Date Modified, most recent at top) order.

The Open File dialog works better in a similar fashion - some folders are sorted properly, some are random or MRU order.

Funny, the Open File dialog works better, as above, in MS Apps such as Word and Excel. Adobe apps, such as Dreamweaver and Photoshop, still display Open File dialog files in MRU order!

Maybe there's some overriding preference in the Adobe apps, but I can't find it.

The last note in your post - about "TweakUI/Uncheck Only allow Windows Classic Shell" - I couldn't find that setting in TweakUI. Any idea what branch it's in? It seems relevant, since my changes don't stick to all folders....

Also, I noticed while browsing TweakUI that there's a setting under Explorer>Customizations that refers to "Folders to remember:". After all the registry changes, this setting still shows 1000, not 8000. I was wondering if this is the same setting as the one referenced in the Kelly's Korner reg. edits, which would imply there's a limit of 1000, since my setting it to 8000 in the registry didn't change the value in TweakUI. Or else maybe it's not exactly the same setting.

Anyway, this was fun. I really appreciate your digging after this stuff, and your suggestions have been very useful.

Thanks!

This post has been edited by dorje: 25 May 2010 - 10:48 PM

Unfortunately I am not real familiar with TweakUI. I used it once before in the past and then figured out I could do the stuff I used it for with out it. To me in the computer world less is better. Less stuff to break.

Baltboy, on May 26 2010, 04:52 AM, said:

I heard that! TweakUI seems to do things that can be done directly in the registry. I use it so rarely I had to do a search to find where I had installed it.

Thanks again, Baltboy.