How to Fix Annoying Folder View Type Problem in Windows Vista?

One of the most annoying problem in Windows Vista is automatically change of a folder view type. You set a desired view of a folder and suddenly Windows changes its view type to "Pictures and Videos" when you copy a picture to this folder.

Its a very common problem in Vista which almost all Vista users are facing. Actually it happens because of "Automatic Folder Type Discovery" feature which was introduced in Vista but instead of making something good, this feature has made the case worst.

But now no need to worry, there is a registry trick to fix this annoying problem. This trick will reset the folder view settings and will completely disable the automatic folder type discovery feature, so you'll not face this problem any more. Windows will always use your custom view settings for all folders.

So follow these simple steps to fix this problem:

1. Type regedit in RUN or start menu search box and press Enter. It'll open Registry Editor.

2. Now navigate to following key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell

3. Under "Shell" key, select "Bags" key and press "Delete" key. It'll ask for confirmation, click on Yes button.

4. Now right-click on "Shell" key and select "New -> Key" option. Give the new key name of Bags

5. Now right-click on "Bags" key and select "New -> Key" option. Give the new key name of AllFolders

6. Again right-click on "AllFolders" key and select "New -> Key" option. Give the new key name of Shell

7. Now click on this new "Shell" key and in right-side pane, create a new String value and give it name of FolderType and set its value to NotSpecified

8. That's it. Either restart your system or log off and now Windows will no longer reset/change your custom folder view type settings.

NOTE: If you want a ready-made registry script to do the task automatically, then download following Zip file, extract it and run the extracted REG file. It'll ask for confirmation, accept it:

Fix-Folder-View-Type-Problem-in-Windows-Vista

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This article was posted in Troubleshooting, Windows Vista.

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14 Comments

Jeet Chowdhury

i need to get rid out from that annoi thump chking. old xp thumb.db methode is good. in vista it slow.
piellepi

Hi!
I think I'll immediately make these changes: thanks a lot!
BTW I have another question about Explorer in Windows Vista: from time to time (without my permission!) opening Explorer, Vista groups files with some obscure criteria! I hate it and I would like to see MY files in MY folders just with MY own criteria! Is it possible to tame this misbehaviour?! I suppose it's a matter of a registry key!
VG, could you help me please??
Thanks a lot!
Pierluigi
VG

^^ I think the above trick will solve your problem.
Ramanathan

^^ I think the above trick will solve your problem.
chrisp

I did this and all icons, taskbars etc. went smaller. What should I do?
VG

^^ I think your screen resolution has changed. Please adjust it from Desktop Properties.
Charles

Thankyou very much, you just saved my computer from having a very large axe put through it, of course the axe should be saved for the idiots as Microsoft that think up ways of making a potentially good operating system almost unusable!!!
EienSamurai

Well iv had this problem with my View setting constantly reverting (both is Vista and Win7Beta) but i never thought to check it out online until now. I'm glad i did. Thank you for the fix.
Makis

Thanks, but it doesnt work on me... It just keeps creating keys inside the Bags key and constantly changing the view type
Benjamin

I completed the registry edit but I still have a problem I'd like to fix. I want most of my folders in Detail view sorted by Name. But some folders I prefer to see sorted by Date Modified. Whenever I change a folder to view by Date Modified, all folders in Documents change to that view. Of course, the same thing happens when I change to view sorted by Name. How can I get each folder to remember it's OWN settings and not those of the default type? ("Remember each folder's view settings" is checked.) I'm using the "Windows classic folders" option. Thank you for any information.