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I have been having this problem and been searching all day on the net for solution, to no avail. Tried a few of the methods that were mentioned by others. While it may work for others, the same trick doesn't seem to work for me.

Whenever I click on C or D drive in My Computer, it does not show in the same window. Instead it will show up in another window. My computer is running on XP. The setting in the options are set to the following: Folder Options > General > Open each folder in the same window. This was working all along till today. All other folders in My Computer such as Shared Documents and Admistrator's Document are opening in their own window as usual.

Could someone please provide me with answers if you did faced this problem before and how you managed to resolved the issue? Thanks in advance!

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Dani AI

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A few notes that add practical, low-risk steps after what and already tried.

Malware commonly alters autorun.inf and the Explorer "shell" verbs for Drive/Folder objects, so Explorer starts behaving oddly. First priorities: isolate the machine (unplug networks/drives if possible), boot Safe Mode (or use a rescue environment), and run thorough on-demand scans with reputable tools. Use an on-demand antimalware scan (for example Malwarebytes) and an offline/rescue scan if anything looks persistent.

Use Sysinternals Autoruns to inspect what Explorer is loading (Explorer, Logon and Winlogon tabs are especially useful). Look for non-Microsoft shell extensions, unusual startup entries or Drive/Folder verbs that point to unknown EXEs; uncheck to disable them before deleting or editing the registry. Autoruns download and docs: Autoruns. For general malware cleanup, a current on-demand scanner: Malwarebytes.

If file-handling is still broken after cleaning: back up the registry, then inspect these keys for suspicious subkeys/commands and export before changing them: HKCR\Drive\shell, HKCR\Folder\shell and HKCR\Directory\shell. Remove or restore only clearly malicious entries. After cleanup, run sfc /scannow and consider using System Restore if available. For removable media, show hidden/system files, remove any autorun.inf after scanning, then re-scan from a clean machine.

Cautions and prevention: always export registry keys before edits and avoid deleting keys you do not understand. Disable autorun/AutoPlay for removable drives, keep AV signatures updated, and avoid using admin accounts for daily work. If the infection resists these steps, use a trusted rescue disk or seek hands-on help to avoid further system damage.

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Member Avatar for Thinka

Hi silverbomb, and welcome to Daniweb.:-)

Now about your problem, are you saying that you've gone to Tools > Folder Options > 'General' tab > Open each folder in its own window, clicked Apply, then OK and nothing changes?

How about doing something as simple as a System Restore to maybe yesterday, if it was all working fine till today? Maybe a system file got changed/corrupted inadvertently and if that is the case, System Restore can take you back to when everything was good.

Member Avatar for silverbomb

Haha i think i sorted the problem. Apparently, it was hit by a malware or trojan and the registry was disrupted. Fixed the problems using anti virus and became another problem. This time round whenever I double click on the drives, it would prompt a "Open with" window to choose a program to open the drives.

Somehow, I found a website to download a .exe file called flash disinfector and run it. After running it, it works wonders!! Now everything on my computer is running normally.

Although I managed to resolve it, a little thanks to Thinka for that little piece of advice.

Member Avatar for Thinka

Cheers silver. Interesting effect of some malware, but at all good in the end. It's gd to know that for every trojan developed, there's an 'exe' somewhere that can neutralise its effects.

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