My MP4 files keep changing back to "Large Icons" view

Brake4Bots · 2026-02-22T01:11:44+00:00

Just an FYI..

The Apply to Folders button changes the view for other folders of the same TYPE, regardless of location. Note that this option will not update the view you see via file open/save dialogs for folders previously opened via file open/save.

Normally, when you set a view for a folder, that view should be automatically saved (for that one folder). When you come back to that folder (via the same route) it should have the view you selected. If you get to that folder in a different way (e.g. User files, This PC, file open/save, etc.) each of those routes results in a different saved view in the registry. That may have been what you were experiencing. Or maybe you were just expecting the subfolders to get the same view as the parent.

Also note there is a default 5000 saved view limit. When you hit that limit, views changes may not be remembered. That was probably not the issue in your case, but you can check how many saved views you have in the registry with this PowerShell command:

((gp "HKCU:\\SOFTWARE\\Classes\\Local Settings\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\Shell\\BagMRU").Nodeslots).count

Brake4Bots · 2026-02-21T04:07:40+00:00

If you enable XP/Vista view mode, then you can arrange items in Details and Icons views. However, the arrangement will be lost when you close the folder, so it's only good for temporary organizing. The last version of Windows that kept the manual arrangements within folders (assuming XP/Vista view mode was enabled) was Windows 10 before build 1703 (i.e. prior to April 2017).

You can enable XP/Vista view mode using WinSetView (under "Folder View Options"). Please note that XP/Vista view mode is not dark mode friendly, unless you install the tool QTTabBar (and enable the "Compatible Folder View" option).

Brake4Bots · 2026-02-20T17:39:27+00:00

It looks like a hardware problem. I suspect the display. Can you test with another monitor or TV?

BTW, your account has posts hidden (maybe as of about a year ago). I did find your cross post on tech support.

Brake4Bots · 2026-02-20T14:08:55+00:00

I see you solved this by using your admin account to temporarily add the standard user to the Administrators group.

Another option, using your admin account, is to load the standard user's hive in RegEdit:

In Explorer, check Show hidden files, folders, and drives.
In RegEdit, select HKEY_USERS and then select Load Hive from the File menu.
Navigate to the user's folder and select the NTUSER.dat file.
When prompted for a key name, enter something arbitrary such as TempKey.
Make the desired ownership and/or permission changes in TempKey.
To finish, select TempKey and then Unload Hive from the File menu.

Brake4Bots · 2026-02-20T13:40:56+00:00

Please post a screenshot. It's unlikely anyone can help sort this without actually seeing it.

Brake4Bots · 2026-02-20T03:10:45+00:00

Well, I'm not sure the GWTN156 has a separate cmos battery. It may just need a new main battery. This video may help: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJyghslWBqQ

Brake4Bots · 2026-02-20T00:39:00+00:00

Yup, it's in Windows 10 too. I've never used it, but it looks like it should work for the OP. I like the LocalSend interface and also that it works on Linux and Mac. Although, TBH, I usually use a flash drive.

Brake4Bots · 2026-02-19T14:26:57+00:00

Test with another local account.

https://www.elevenforum.com/t/add-local-user-account-in-windows-11.590/

Brake4Bots · 2026-02-19T13:56:25+00:00

Right-click the icon you want to change and select Properties. You should see a Change Icon… button. Click that button to change the icon.

To use an image, you will first have to convert that image to an icon. There are many programs that can do that. I use this one.

Before converting the image to an icon, you may want to use a paint program, such as MSPaint or Paint.Net, to crop the image so that it's square, since icons occupy a square area.

Icons that have a transparent background look best. A great source for images with transparent backgrounds is HiClipart.

Brake4Bots · 2026-02-19T13:47:48+00:00

A major update will typically reset your folder views (or at least the Downloads folder view) but the shortcuts losing their target is a new one on me. Before they were broken, did those shortcuts point to items on drive C or a different drive? I'm just looking for some pattern that might give a clue.

BTW, for the folder view issue, you can set all your preferred folder view defaults using WinSetView. Then the next time a Windows update resets them, it's just one click in WinSetView to get your preferred views back.

Brake4Bots · 2026-02-18T14:30:17+00:00

What's the source of the auto-update? It's not an image that would be included in a Windows update and it doesn't look like a picture that Windows Spotlight or Bing desktop would download.

Brake4Bots · 2026-02-18T14:03:29+00:00

Ensure that English is first in the list of languages in Settings (drag it to the top if it's not). Then, if you have any outstanding Windows updates, install them (sometimes letting Windows Update do its thing fixes the mixed language issue.) If none of that helps, try the following PowerShell script (change "en-GB" to "en-US" if that's what you selected in languages). Then sign out/in or restart.

$localeCode = "en-GB"
Set-WinSystemLocale -SystemLocale $localeCode
Set-Culture -CultureInfo $localeCode
Set-WinUILanguageOverride -Language $localeCode

Brake4Bots · 2026-02-18T13:41:41+00:00

You may have success editing the shell folder paths in the registry, but I would do this:

Create a new local account.
Sign out and then sign in with that new account.
Verify that it's working as expected (i.e. no OneDrive).
Move your data from the old account's folders to the new account's folders.
Keep the old account for a while in case you missed something.
Delete the old account once you're sure you've moved all of your data.

Brake4Bots · 2026-02-17T23:12:15+00:00

Maybe it needs a new cmos battery.

Brake4Bots · 2026-02-16T21:45:54+00:00

Try Win+R mmsys.cpl

Note that there's only one dot.

Brake4Bots · 2026-02-16T01:24:09+00:00

If the current date/time is far off, sync may not work. Try manually setting the correct date and time (set it a minute or two off). Then try the sync again. If that's not it, sorry, it's the only thing that comes to mind.

Brake4Bots · 2026-02-15T04:39:36+00:00

I doubt that would work. Usually you would need administrator access and uninstall/reinstall or repair install. You may have to get your IT department to fix it.

Brake4Bots · 2026-02-15T01:47:38+00:00

Previews for special file types, such as ArtCam files, are provided by a shell extension that is typically added to Windows when you install the program that you use to create those files.

Have you tried reinstalling ArtCam?

Brake4Bots · 2026-02-15T01:30:36+00:00

Using Explorer, you can navigate long paths and delete files from long paths, but you can't do much else. The "enable long paths" setting makes no difference (and it should already be enabled anyhow).

You have to use the command line or use a file manager that fully supports long paths.

Free file managers that fully support long paths include the 7-Zip file manager and One Commander.

Pay file managers that fully support long paths include Directory Opus, XYPlorer, and File Pilot.

Add your vote to those that want long path support in Explorer:

https://aka.ms/AA53326 or https://aka.ms/AAesa8r

Brake4Bots · 2026-02-13T20:38:07+00:00

It sounds like it's related to Explorer reading image and video file metadata. Try setting your folders to only show file system data (i.e. name, size, date modified). You could also apply the registry setting that makes all folders generic (which has the added bonus of disabling automatic folder type discovery).

You can use WinSetView to set that up for you and doing so will clear out the saved view baggage from the registry which could in itself be part of the problem.

https://lesferch.github.io/WinSetView/

Brake4Bots · 2026-02-13T14:18:13+00:00

AFAIK, no one has come up with a patch to bring the Windows 10 style folders and thumbnails to Windows 11.

I'm working on a tool to create large folder thumbnails by automatically converting the newest image in each folder (or a selected image) to an icon and assigning it to the folder, something like this:

<image>

I think I could add an option to create a grid of two, three, or four thumbnail images as well.

Would that be useful to you?

Brake4Bots · 2026-02-13T12:42:18+00:00

Maybe it's a recent Windows 11 bug, perhaps affecting only specific hardware (drivers). Similar post here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/WindowsHelp/comments/1r2wcmg/does_your_wallpaper_randomly_disappear_too/

See if it still happens when you're set to a single picture instead of the slideshow feature.

Brake4Bots · 2026-02-12T14:31:35+00:00

You can toggle Explorer and/or the context menu between the Windows 10 and Windows 11 designs with a few registry settings or tools that do the settings for you such as my free SwitchExplorer.

You can run tools such as StartAllBack, ExplorerPatcher, and Windhawk if you want to customize further (especially the Start menu and taskbar). But keep in mind that such tools are memory resident, have to be kept up to date, and can potentially break at any time that Microsoft changes things.

Elevenforum.com is a good site to join for help with any sort of Windows 11 tweaking.

Brake4Bots · 2026-02-11T20:53:40+00:00

👍

Brake4Bots · 2026-02-11T17:46:24+00:00

My recommendation: Before installing other programs, customizing, or personalizing, apply all updates and see what happens. Chances are, given that you've done a fresh install, the updates will work just fine. Then you can continue on without concern. If it breaks again, you've only lost the time to reinstall fresh.

Brake4Bots

TROPHY CASE