alphabetizing file names

I have an NT 4.0 sp5 pc that is no longer bringing up file lists in alphabetical order in any of the programs. If I go to NT explorer, the files are alphabetized properly, and respond to clicking on the file name/date modified etc as an ordering criteria. However in any other program they seem to be randomly ordered or perhaps ordered by date modified. If I specifically chose to order them alphabetically then they will reorder, but the next time I go to that program they are no longer alphabetically ordered. This problem occurs most notably in Autocad 14, Autocad 2000, and Photoshop 5.5. Is there perhaps a registry key that could be triggering this? I appreciate any suggestions.