Why is XP changing default "view" of directories?

Question

I have several "catch all" folders on my desktop for housekeeping purposes. (All my game shortcuts in one, all internet apps in another, etc.) And by default, I have these set to be displayed as Icons. Occasionally, windows will change the views to "list view".

Now, this is not linked to system reboots (rebooting the system doesn't trigger a reversion) but as yet, I have been unable to find what is triggering these.

Answer 1

Try this (read whole message before applying it):

Open one of the folders from My Documents and set the view to list. Click the Tools menu and select Folder Options. Click the View tab and click the Apply to All Folders button. That will set the view option on all folders to list.