Why does my Windows Explorer no longer refresh itself?

I suggest you have a look at this thread in the Microsoft TechNet forums. This may be related to a known issue with Windows 7.

For me it was caused by an unreachable network drive.

As soon as I deleted it from Network Places, the problem went away.

I've also struggled with this problem, and I've found a workaround from here.

This edit has been added by soandos: The post suggests that you install Classic Shell from sourceforge.net. You can set the right pane auto-refresh like this: Start > All Programs (or Programs) > Explorer Settings > Navigation Pane > Always navigate to the selected folder
Answer by Ciove: The above is only partially true and, in my mind, doesn't solve the problem satisfactorily. See my comment below for details.

Classic Shell has also classic XP Start menu, if you want it.

SYSTEM: Windows 7 SP1 32bit

SYMPTOM: Files deleted in the "Documents" folder of the user (working with Admin rights) "Libraries" did not disappear immediately, but only after a subsequent refresh of the folder view.

SOLUTION: Right-click on the "Documents" folder, select "Properties". Under "Optimize this library for:" (translated from Spanish, sorry if not entirely correct) change "Documents" to "General elements".