This is more a note to self because I always forget. Explorer holds all it’s settings in memory so if you change a settings through the GUI (like in Folder Options) you cannot use a tool like Process Monitor to see what the corresponding registry entry is.

Fortunately there is a (well known) trick: click with the RIGHT mouse button while holding both Shift and Ctrl near the logoff button. A small popup menu appears with an Exit Explorer option:

ExitExplorer

If you use it Explorer will end and save it’s settings (it’s convenient to keep taskmanager or a cmd prompt open so you easily relaunch it).

The trick works on Vista and higher.