Have you ever tried using any shells other than the native Explorer? There are a lot of options that are available to you, with some of them free while others cost a bit. Here are some of the most popular ones.
Talisman Desktop by Lighttek Software
Talisman Desktop is a desktop alternative and shell-replacement for Windows 9x/ME and NT/2000/XP/2003/Vista, capable of transforming your desktop into an interface organized as you like. The program's basic purpose: Launch other applications in a new interface, instead of the standard Windows desktop but the opportunities presented by Talisman are much broader.
Special Features
Talisman Desktop has the ability to switch the default shell from Explorer to Talisman, or it can be run as a native program inside Explorer.
Bummer
This is not free software; also the configurations for some themes are confusing.
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SharpE by Low Dimension International
Sometimes shortened as #E, is an open source shell replacement for Microsoft Windows 2000 and XP, released under the GNU General Public License (GPL). SharpE is near the end of a major rewrite, which greatly simplifies and cleans up both the source code and the end user experience. The end result is a much better, but somewhat experimental shell.
Special Features
As part of this rewrite, all configuration is now stored for each user in editable XML files as opposed to the registry or "resource files".
Bummer
Not much of an eye-candy.
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GeoShell
GeoShell is a replacement shell for Windows™ to replace the standard desktop interface. In other words, you trade your start menu, taskbar, system tray and desktop in, and you get our versions, featuring slick, skinnable geoBars which can be placed anywhere and alpha blended into your background.
Special Features
GeoShell has plugins that add additional functionality like RSS readers, weather forecasts, mail checkers, web search bars, virtual desktops and more. In its default installation geoShell also uses fewer resources than Windows Explorer, and is particularly effective when combined with third-party web browsers and file managers to completely upgrade your basic Windows interface.
Bummer
There seems to be limited development going on over this one.
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Aston Shell
Aston shell is an original replacement for the Windows user environment, allowing users to modify and redesign their entire desktop environment, from the start menu and taskbar to new elements for the desktop, toolbars, etc. The desktop and taskbar environment allows control of appearance of the PC by utilizing the variety of existing themes and skins.
Special Features
Aston may be run on older hardware configurations without any performance penalty, and for more modern hardware setup (but not for 64-bit systems). Customizing Aston interface is somewhat easier than most other shell replacements, as it uses a paged configuration dialog rather than forcing the user to edit hidden scripts. Basic functions can be enhanced by using various plugins which are freely available on official site.
Bummer
This is not free software.
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