Two Post-Installation Problems

Hi, not sure if this is the right discussion group for these questions, so
let me know if I should drop them somewhere else.

I've just recently upgraded to Windows Vista from XP on a computer I built
myself. In case it's needed, basic specs are:

Intel Core 2 Duo 6400
Asus P5B-E motherboard (with onboard sound)
2 GB G.Skill RAM
Gigabyte 8800GT graphics card

I am having a problem with my speakers. I've got two from an old Dell
computer, and another two mounted in my monitor (an Acer AL2017). While
using XP, I just plugged the monitor's speakers into headphones plug. No
problem, everything's fine.

In Vista, that didn't work, so I set-up the monitor speakers as surround
sound speakers in the Sound settings panel. They work fine, but everytime I
boot up, the settings don't "stick", and there is no sound coming out of them
until I re-establish the sound settings. It's not a huge annoyance, but I'd
prefer not to do that.

My other issue is that I've installed a mod for one of my games, which
copies files onto my hard drive. The funny thing is, I can't see the folders
when I go through explorer, but I can see them when trying to reinstall (the
dialogue box asks where I want to install the files, and the folders are
right there). So I think the files are on my hard drive, but strangely
inaccessible. And yes, I have set Vista to show hidden and system files. No
dice.

Any help on this would be much appreciated! Thanks!