I ran across this gem recently when I had some folders in Explorer that were set up to show in the Details view, but some worked and some did not. What I found out is by default, Explorer in Windows XP will remember the customization settings for up to 400 folders. When you exceed that limit, it will no longer retain the settings. There are a couple of ways you can fix this issue…

You can manually edit the registry to change that limit or you can download the Bags8000.reg file from the Kelly’s Korner web site to automate the changes for you. You can download the file from the following page:
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm

It’s number 2 in the left column, titled "Increase folder view size limit to 8000."

As always, remember to backup the registry before editing.

To edit the registry yourself, do the following:

1. Open the regedit.
2. Navigate to the following registry key:
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ Shell
   If this key is not present, skip to step 8.
3. If a subkey named BagMRU is present, delete the entire subkey.
4. If a subkey named Bags is present, delete the entire subkey.
5. Look for a value named BagMRU Size.
6. If this value is not present, select New | DWORD Value from the Edit menu and name the new value BagMRU Size.
7. Double-click on the BagMRU Size value, choose Decimal, and enter the number of folder settings for Windows XP to remember (for example, 8,000).
8. Navigate to the Registry key:
   HKEY_ CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft Windows \ ShellNoRoam
   If present, repeat steps 3 through 7.