I've noticed behavior in Vista that, while not the same as what you are seeing, is related.

In Folder view (folders in left pane, files and subfolders in the right) folder name changes in the left pane are frequently weird. If I change a folder name from "Dog" to "Cat", both folders will be shown in the left pane, but only the folder called "Cat" can be accessed.

I have gotten into the habit of only changing folders in the right pane, which will reliably update the left pane.

tanstaafl.