I'll sum this up quick, because I'm going crazy trying to figure it out: 'My Computer' or ANY shortcut to the c: drive itself opens the normal window that shows the c: drive contents. HOWEVER, all of the folder and file icons are still there, but the names are invisible UNTIL I highlight the file, click on it, ctrl-a, etc... It is ONLY the c: drive folder that does this. EVERY other folder is normal. Already tried resetting things in folder prefs. It is only this window, so I don't think it's a font color thing. Any ideas?

Not sure that there is an easy solution. It almost sounds as if it was the latest MS updates problem but I don't think so in this case. Consider a restore point to when it worked?

This started happening even right after a fresh install. So the only restore point is from the install itself.

Captain Rancor, If you have the view for My Computer set to show Thumbnails do the following: Open the folder to see the thumbnails. Hold the Shift key down and click on the View button and select Details. Remove your finger from the Shift key. You now see file names. Hold the Shift key down and click on the View button and select Thumbnails. You will now see thumbnails with file names under them. Tufenuf

Tufenuf, I tried that already. But my problem isn't that the file names are not there, it's as if the font is white or transparent. I can see the names clearly if I highlight them or do a ctrl-a. It's just in this folder, so I can't understand how it would be a font color setting.

You can change that in your Display Properties in the Control Panel. How to Change the Font, Size, and Colors of Desktop Items Fed up with Windows? Try Ubuntu Linux

Captain Rancor, That's strange indeed and I've never come across this problem. What happens if you click on "View" in the menu bar at the top,"Arrange icons by" and checkmark "Show in groups"? Tufenuf