Recently, I got a question from a reader with a strange problem. When he double-clicked on a folder, instead of opening the folder, it started a search. According to Microsoft, this situation can happen if you open the Edit File Type dialog box for the drive or file folder. To cause the problem, you would have had to follow these steps:
1. Go to Windows Explorer and chose Tools|Folder Options.
2. In the Register File Types list, click Advanced.
Even if you didn’t change anything, what happens behind the scenes is that the registry entry is removed. The bad news is that the only way to fix the problem is by editing the registry to put something back in. Before editing the registry, make sure you back it up. I wrote about backing up the registry in this article.
Go to the registry editor by choosing Start|Run. Type regedit. If the problem is with folders, find this key:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTDirectoryshell
If this problem occurs with drives:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTDriveshell
Now choose Edit|Modify and in the Value box, type none. Click OK and exit the Registry Editor.
Double-clicking your folders (or drives) should work normally now.