template suggestion not working (page--front.tpl.php) in windows 7 env
I've seen this happen when there is another page--front.tpl.php lurking around in your directory structure and it is being picked up and used instead of the one you are looking at.  And, if that one is a copy of page.tpl.php, it will appear that it isn't being picked up. So, I'd look around and make sure you don't have one anywhere in your theme directory as Drupal will recurse through the entire tree looking for templates.  Another edge case is permissions so make sure it is readable to the world.  If all else fails, strangling the pc with the mouse brings some level of relief and entertainment :)