Today I have encountered a strange bug in VISTA Explorer:
Out of a sudden I was not able to multi-select files any more. I tried to neglect it but after a while, this was really driving me nuts.
A system is nearly unusable without this simple feature!
I tried reboots, uninstalled software I had installed before, but nothing helped.
Finally I decided to reset my folder settings (Organize -> Folder and Search Options -> View -> Reset Folders) and voilà after closing (do not forget to do this) the explorer window and re-opening it, the multi-select feature was there again.
So do not waste Your time in uninstalling or something else!
Alexander
Alexander's Techwire 
Damnit I am starting to hate Vista just because of that damn motherf**king bug. It started 4 month ago and just like everyone I tried to ignore it… but as time passed there were more and more situations in which it annoyed me. The only place where I never had the problem was my desktop: no problem to select multile items or all at the same time, even though it\’s just another folder in a way. Three weeks ago my anger reach the climax and I just created a new user account on my PC moved all my stuff to the new folders and rearranged my mail accounts in outlook. Two weeks later: the same problem again! I searched everywhere for a solution but resetting the folder options or deleting the registry.
Since Microsoft knows about this bug for several month there should have been an update ages ago. If there isn\’t a solution soon I am gonna go insane! Windows… never again…
I\’m having the same problem on Vista 64. GOD DAMN IT
Take a look at this post..It worked for my and some others…http://adaptive-techniques.net/2007/02/08/select-all-does-not-work-in-vista
I have the same problem. Started a week or two ago. Tried reseting folders to no avail. Still searching for a solution…
Hi Peter,
just reset the folders as described above. This should help for a while.
Alexander
i ran into the same prob.
i wasnt able to select more than one file in windows explorer, or \’my computer\’.
i cant even hold down shft or ctrl and select multiple files that way neither =s
its really weird.
ctrl+a for \’select all\’ seems out as well. i cant even do that.
it really does get annoying. / >.<
does anybody have a solution?
ive tried \’reset folder\’ and \’reset default\’ and all those things in explorer,
but nothing. nothing ~ ~
I know it keeps coming back.
😦
But for me this just happens if I try to change folder settings. So reset folders, configure them agian and do not touch these settings any more. I do hope this gets fixed soon by Microsoft.
Alexander
Actually, literally minutes after fixing the problem, it came right back again. I see other threads on the web about the issue, but nothing with a solution any better than this one. Even if I turn on the checkboxes option, I *STILL* cannot select more than one item. This is absolutely ridiculous. Never saw this problem on the release candidates of Vista, just the final (and it only started recently). Perhaps a recent update?
Was experiencing the exact same thing, and also tried to ignore it for a few days, but it eventually annoyed me enough to do some Google searching on it. Came up with your post about it, and your solution worked for me. That\’s some bug they\’ve got there. For all of Vistas improvements, some of the things they did to Windows Explorer annoy the life out of me, be they bugs or not (like the fact that no matter what you do, you can\’t apply a view to all the folders – so if I hit a folder with pictures, or an MP3, or videos, or whatever, suddenly I\’m seeing different columns in a different view layout).
It\’s a shit bug !!! And your solution doesn\’t work for me 😦
-_-b