3. Click OK and you're done.

Now, when you click (or double-click, if you're still rolling that way) a folder, it'll automatically open in a new window. Click a folder inside that window and presto, another new window. Try this on for size for a few days and see if you don't prefer it to the old way.

Can't get it to work? Vista has a weird quirk: If the navigation pane is enabled for any given window, folders won't open in new windows. Believe it or not, this makes sense. The navigation pane by design lessens the need for separate windows; you can drag and drop from the main pane to a folder in the navigation pane.

Still kind of annoying, though. The only manual override for this is to right-click a folder and choose Open. That'll give you a new window regardless of your Folder Settings selection.