Here's my desktop.ini file from the Downloads folder. Maybe you can just copy this into your Downloads folder and reboot.
[EDIT] I hope I'm not violating any rules by posting this... It's just a few lines of text. Please remove if it's against the forum rules. Thanks! -- Some people see the glass as half full. Others see it as half empty. Jack Bauer sees the glass as a deadly weapon.
The first shows what the folder use to look like. Second one is what it looks like now.
I'm starting to think a program may be at play here, but the fact that it fixed itself before has me baffled.
I'm looking into getting a another hard drive, since this one makes too much noise. So, I guess I'll deal with it for now, but still by all means if someone knows a another way to correct it, please feel free to share.