Geek's summary: If you enter Safe Mode, the setting to "Show Full Path in Title Bar" is disabled, and remains so when returning to normal mode
Affected software
Windows 95 original right through to Windows XP SP2.
Failure pattern
Set Windows Explorer to "Display the full path in title bar" via whatever UI that version of Windows uses; in Win98SE, it's Windows Explorer, Tools, Folder Options, View tab but the details vary with Windows version.
Go into Safe Mode as per the default after Windows fails to start, or explicitly by pressing F5 on startup, or F8 and then choosing Safe Mode. I haven't specifically tested with Win.com /parameters, etc.
While you are in that Safe Mode session, you will find the full path is not displayed. You interactively apply that setting, and find it does not "stick". And most seriously, when you leave Safe mode and run Windows normally again, you find that setting has been lost.
Any loss of user settings is unacceptable, as is any other type of data loss. In this case, there are safety implications, because you need to know where you are; for example, if clearing unwanted .DLLs, there's a vast difference between:
F:\Old-PC\Windows\SYSTEM
C:\Windows\SYSTEM
\\Boss-PC\C\Windows\SYSTEM
Do I have to explain further why TSM (This Stuff Matters)?
(C) Chris Quirke, all rights reserved, April 2005