8/8/2007 -- By default, Windows Explorer opens in different folders, depending on how you start it. For example, if you right-click My Computer and select "Explore," it will open in My Computer. If you right-click My Network Places and select "Explore," it will start in My Network Places. Right-clicking My Documents or the Start menu will have similar effect.

In Windows XP/2003, the Windows Explorer icon is located under Start, All Programs, Accessories. If you want to always open Explorer in a specific folder, such as c:\data, you can customize the properties of the Windows Explorer icon and add the following at the end of the Target: /n,/e, desired_folder, where the desired_folder is the path to the folder you want Explorer to focus on.

If the focus should be on c:\data folder, then your Target box should look like this:

%SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /n,/e, c:\data

If you decide to configure the Windows Explorer icon in the manner described above, but then open Windows Explorer by right-clicking Start menu, obviously it won't open in c:\data. Here's one workaround: You could pin your customized Windows Explorer icon under Accessories to the Start menu by right-clicking and selecting "Pin to Start menu."