SOLVED Folder View Problems

[Dark Shade]

Hey all, I just got my new SSD and installed a fresh copy of windows. I used to have the ability to set a directory, say C:/wallpapers/ to show in say "large icon" view, and have all my other folders in "details", but now all my folders int he entire computer are in details. I can change them, but as soon as I leave the folder, it forgets the setting. How would I fix this? I have read that win 7 can't do this apparently, but I have done it on my old install so...? It also refuses to save locations of folders and files on my desktop every time it restarts. If it helps at all, I followed this guide to optimize the SSD. Also, does any1 have any idea why uTorrent would no longer open magnet links from Firefox? I click on the link, it brings up a program confirmation box, I click ok, it just sits there and the box doesn't go away...

Thanks,
Dark Shade

 

[Solder]

There are settings in Windows registry you can modify. You must be careful and follow the registry path to the letter. The Windows registry is the main place to go if you want to destroy the OS. So once again, please be careful. - One might want to make a backup of the registry now just to be safe.

Open the run command window - press the Windows key + R at the same time. Type regedit and hit enter. You can also access it by typing regedit in the search bar in the start menu. This opens the Windows registry editor.

I found the topic you're speaking of here at Microsoft support

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/813711

Give this a shot, I hope it helps.

 

[Dark Shade]

Okay, I had followed the fix-it thingy before with no results cause the registry thing confused the hell outta me. This time I deciphered the registry things but still no results... Any more ideas? Also, would the fact that some of the registry keys they asked me to delete didn't exist mean something? Oh but on the plus side, my desktop is the same as when I shut it down last night, now just my folder view settings need fixing.

Thanks,
Dark Shade

 

[Solder]

Hmmmmmm, you might try running CCleaner's registry cleaner. It's benign enough to not worry so much about what it's cleaning up. You can download it here from file hippo. Just select the registry cleaner from the list on the left of the software window and hit scan for issues. When it's finished scanning, hit fix issues, then in the next window hit fix all. You can ignore the option to back up changes if you want (I always skip it) or accept it and choose where you would like CCleaner to backup the changes ie: Documents folder or Desktop or where ever. Repeat the "scan then clean" procedure a few times until it comes up with "no issues found".
I would also run the Cleaner (top of the list on the left of the software window) with the default settings. Just make sure you have all the passwords you use on websites on hand because it will remove all the stored cookies. Later you can go in under Options>Cookies and choose which cookies to keep from now on.

 

[Dark Shade]

Nope, still nothing... Any more ideas? To be crystal clear (in case my thought train is a little tricky to follow xD), what I want is for my wallpapers folder (and other image and video folders) to decide they want to be large icons if there are images or videos in the folder. My old install would show in details the first time I opened the folder, then switch to large icons the second time I opened the folder. Is there a way to look up the folder settings of an old install? I have all the files and folders on what is now my G: drive if that helps any.

Thanks,
Dark Shade

 

[Solder]

So, have you tried setting the folder view manually in the upper right corner of windows explorer using the drop-down options menu by the help link?

You can also set the default use of a particular folder by right clicking on the folder and selecting Properties, then choosing the Customize tab and using the top option drop-down menu selecting what the folder is used for.

 

[Dark Shade]

Yeah like in the drop down right? Yes I have tried that and after I leave the folder it resets.

Thanks,
Dark Shade

 

[Solder]

Try changing the default use of the folder under Properties like I explained in my last post above. If that doesn't work, then there is only one more trick up my sleeve involving the registry.

 

[Solder]

Also, does any1 have any idea why uTorrent would no longer open magnet links from Firefox? I click on the link, it brings up a program confirmation box, I click ok, it just sits there and the box doesn't go away...

Thanks,
Dark Shade

Under Default programs in the start menu, you have to choose the program you want to use to open certain types of files.

EDIT: Torrenting has come under such legal scrutiny lately, it might not work properly anymore.

 

[Dark Shade]

Well since I am blind, I didn't see the second part of your question Anyways, I can set it to that, click ok/apply and as soon as I close the properties window I can go back to properties and it is back to the default 'general' setting again... This is odd... What was the last trick up your sleeve you had there?

Thanks,
Dark Shade

 

[Solder]

Huh, now that's just weird. It sounds more like there is an issue with the install like something got corrupted, but give this last one a shot and if it doesn't work, I would reinstall.

Head in to the registry editor through the start menu: type regedit in the search at the bottom of the start menu then hit enter OR hit the Windows key + R keys and type regedit and hit enter.

Navigate to this key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Explorer

In the right pane, right click and hover over New> select Dword (32 bit) Value

Name the value MaxCachedIcons just as it's written here and hit enter twice (hitting enter the second time opens the value editor)
There are two choices to the right in this window Hexadecimal and Decimal
select Decimal and set the value to 3000

Maybe, just maybe, this will do it. but like I said, there might be something messed up in the install. If this doesn't do it, I would have a look here and see if there is something that might not have been done prior to the install

 

[Dark Shade]

Yeah it is weird. I did the registry key thing and I already had one called 'Max Cached Icons' that was a string with a value of 2048, but I created the other entry and it did nothing... Is there NO way to repair it? I just finished fixing everything else that had to be fixed/transferred... I might just have to live with it, cause I REALLY don't want to break my comp for another two days... Oh and I followed the guide I posted in the start for most of the steps, the only thing I did before the install was set the comp to AHCI mode instead of IDE. The OCZ guide covers most of the same stuff that I did, I didn't see anything drastic that would've changed things too much. The other thing I just remembered that wasn't working properly is my GPU temp gadget. It always say "LoadLibrary Error!"...

Thanks,
Dark Shade

 

[Solder]

Well, you could throw in your disc and try a repair that way. It really depends on how your system is configured. In my case, that kind of repair screws up a bunch of stuff because of all the system changes I make. It should (most likely will) work fine on your system. I think doing a system repair using the install disk would be the best first step. My reasoning behind repairing or reloading the system is the seemingly small issue you're experiencing now could be the beginning of a yet unseen underlying problem.

I really wish I had another answer for you other than this but maybe I can try and bring someone's attention to your issue in hopes of better/more productive suggestions.

 

[Dark Shade]

Yeah I did that... it finds my old install and says 'ooooh look, I found an old install. I could make it work again for you!', which obviously I don't want... xD Yeah, I know it really ideally should be a reinstall, but I really hate spending hours upon hours simply getting the computer to a functional state again... I spent two days getting minecraft to work again on this computer already, imagine another install... but yeah, I will probably do a reinstall if no one has any other ideas. And also this isn't the first thing to go wrong either. When I first installed it the default programs list wouldn't change anything at all, firefox and thunderbird and a few other progs were freakin out every time I started them cause they weren't default xD And now I can go 'open with' on a torrent file, choose browse, navigate to my uTorrent directory, pick it, and then it won't show up in the list. So yeah, probably a bigger issue than a quick-fix but sigh... so much work... xD

Thanks,
Dark Shade

 

[Solder]

I feel your pain, but a reinstall is definitely what needs to be done. Your SSD needs to be wiped clean and reformatted. There should be no trace of a previous installation on the drive. If you would like a tool to prep the drive, you can download a copy of
OCZ's bootable Linux disc here but only use the secure erase tool (in the launcher, looks kind of like a chalk board eraser) to wipe your SSD clean. Then you can do a clean install of Windows to the drive. As long as it's running fine-ish for now, you can schedule yourself time to fix the system at your leisure.

 

[Dark Shade]

So is there anything I should be careful NOT to do this time around? I have three days off work coming up in the next few days, so I'll probably reformat it then. How should I format the drive when I install windows? It shows up as a blank volume, should I create a partition on it or let windows setup do it for me (what I did the first time)Is it OK to use OCZ tools on a Crucial drive? Especially since they use different chip sets (Marvell vs sandforce)? Oh and when i was referencing my old install in my previous post, I meant the one on my Samsung Spinpoint 1TB. I simply unplugged both my old HDDs, hooked up the SSD, installed Win 7 (in 5 minutes mind you! xD) and then plugged in the old drives to copy data from. Because of this, Win 7 repair would pick up an old OS, though I only ever installed it once on my SSD. Do you have any idea (even a guess) as to what caused this problem?

Thanks,
Dark Shade

 

[Solder]

I've had it happen where Windows chose on its own where to install itself (not where I told it to). My first suggestion would be to disconnect all other drives from their SATA cables (you can leave power to them). Head into BIOS and change the boot order to boot from CD and load the bootable disk from OCZ. When the Linux disk loads, only use the Secure Erase function. It's a graphical interface and really easy to use. Secure Erase is not OCZ or Sandforce specific it simply wipes the drive of any data returning it to original shipping condition. The rest of the tools are OCZ specific so just ignore them. When you're finished you can do one of two things with the Windows install disk. 1. You can load the disk, select the repair option, then open a command line interface to create the new partition and set the alignment yourself. Or 2. You can load Windows like normal choosing your format options and let Windows configure the SSD how it likes it. If you're thinking option 1, there are a few steps in the process and I can give you the play by play, but that all depends on how comfortable you are in the command line interface.

EDIT: The repair option looks for any and all installs of the OS and will give you the option to repair them. It should show the install on your SSD as well as the one on the HDD. You could choose to repair the install on the SSD first before going through the complete install process, but I don't believe it will give you any real repair options other than system restore. In your case, I don't believe system restore will fix your problems because you've had issues since the word GO. If you want to give it a shot, choose the date of the first restore point or as far back in time as possible and do the repair without the other drives attached as well, so Windows will only see the SSD.

 

[Solder]

One more thing, download all your drivers first and save 'em to a flash drive. This way you have all the drivers already on hand so you can expedite the install a bit.

 

[Solder]

WAIT WAIT WAIT I'm looking around now and finding some issues with Crucial m4's

 

[Solder]

I'm not sure if OCZ toolbox will see the Crucial drive, I can't get a straight answer. I have found a site with instructions on how to use and download Parted Magic. This'll set you up nice.

EDIT: This is what I've found at OCZ's site. The last entry says to use the linux bootable disk instead of the toolbox which is what I posted for you. You can give it a shot but if it can't identify the drive, use the Parted Magic bootable disk instead. Your choice how to proceed.