What would cause my preferences to disappear?

What sometimes happens with Windows are buggy user definitions. I had that once on my Windows 7 workstation. The solution was to simply create a new user from scratch. You will need to restore the standard Windows directories, like the document folder and you may experience rights issues on old files. 

If it is something like this, Windows is the culprit, not Photoshop.

1. Restart your computer.

2. Go to Windows Start Menu.

3. Right-click on PS 2023 icon.

4. Select More > Run as Administrator.

NOTE: If Windows prompts for permission to edit files, select YES.   That's the UAC (user account control) doing it's normal thing. 

Hope that helps.