Microsoft Windows 7 Explorer Numerical Sort Order

In Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Windows Explorer sorts filenames into a different alphabetical sort order than earlier versions of Windows.

With the default (or disabled) setting, Windows Explorer will sort file names numerically by increasing number value
for example:
3.txt
22.doc
111.tif

If you enable the "Turn off numerical sorting in Windows Explorer" policy setting, Windows Explorer will sort file names literally by each digit in a file name (as in previous versions of Windows)
for example:
111.tif
22.doc
3.txt

To Turn off numerical sorting in Windows Explorer:

1) Type gpedit.msc in the Start menu’s search box and then press Enter.

2) Navigate to User Configuration>Administrative Templates>Windows Components, and then select Windows Explorer in the left column of the Group Policy editor.

3) Double-click Turn off numerical sorting in Windows Explorer in the Settings section of the Group Policy editor.

4) Select Enable and then click OK to save the changes.

Alternatively you can change the setting in the Registry database:

To turn off numerical sorting:
In [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
Set NoStrCmpLogical to 1 - that is: "NoStrCmpLogical"=dword:00000001

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