Consider this scenario. You have customized your “Documents” folder the way you like it with icon sizes and grouping settings. However, after you have applied these customizations and you re-open the “Documents” folder, you may see that the customizations are improperly applied, have been lost, or the folder has defaulted to a different view (for instance, the Pictures view, where all files are now displayed as large icons and thumbnails). Also, if you open the root directory of a hard drive, you may notice that columns such as “Date Taken” and “Rating” are displayed for example, when they should not be displayed. You have tried navigating to the Control Panel and opening Folder Options and clicking “Reset Folders”, however this does not resolve the issue.

Another scenario to consider: You have selected the “Extra Large Icons” option for a folder full of pictures. However, when you browse to that folder at a later date, you may notice that the pictures are now displayed in “Detail” view, and you must manually change the folder view to your desired settings.

1. Click on Start, and in the Start Search field type regedit, and then press Enter.
2. If User Account Control prompts you, provide consent by clicking on Continue or entering a password.
3. In the left hand pane, navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell
4. Right click on the “Bags” sub-key and click on Delete. When asked to confirm the operation click on Yes.
5. Close the Registry Editor.
6. Logoff then log back in again to see the changes made.

Thanks to Kristan Kenney.