Cannot change READ ONLY file attributes using Administrator Account

Anonymous
2009-10-31T21:41:55+00:00

I have tried windows explorer and a custom program called Directory Opus. I have tried creating several administrator accounts but no luck.

I cannot work with this problem existing.

I need a solution.

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Files, folders, and storage

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2010-02-27T20:39:32+00:00

I have the exact same issue.  Following the steps above did not work, the folder/subfolders remain Read-Only.  I am the owner of the folder and subfolders.  I'm not even sure how they became Read-Only to begin with.  Setting Read-Only on individual files works properly.  Changing folder settings does not.

***IMPORTANT EDIT:

According to a Microsoft Knowledge Base post:

You cannot view or change the Read-only or the System attributes of folders

To summarize, Windows ignores System or Read-Only settings on folders (it does not ignore those properties on FILES however).  Individual applications that you are running may not ignore the Read-Only status on a folder and may give an error.  In my situation, an application was attempting to create a new file in a folder that was marked as Read-Only and it honored the RO setting and refused to try to create the new file.

To actually change these attributes, the Properties menu will not work.  From the KB source:

  • If you click Apply changes to this folder only , the Read-only attribute is changed for all the files in the folder. However, the Read-only attribute is not changed for the folder, its subfolders, or any files in its subfolders. If you click Apply changes to this folder, subfolders, and files , the Read-only attribute is changed for all files in the folder and all files in the subfolders. However, the Read-only attribute is not changed for the folder or its subfolders.

In order to change these properties, the user must launch a command line terminal and execute the changes by hand, such as this command:

  • attrib -r +s c:\test

...which will remove the READ-ONLY setting and apply the SYSTEM setting to the folder.  Once again, changing properties of files (including files in subfolders) works as expected with the right-click Properties -> Security menu.

Knowledge Base source:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/326549

Bad support, MS.

Was this answer helpful?

300+ people found this answer helpful.
0 comments

77 additional answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2013-08-21T02:02:20+00:00

    "If you click Apply changes to this folder, subfolders, and files , the Read-only attribute is changed for all files in the folder and all files in the subfolders. However, the Read-only attribute is not changed for the folder or its subfolders."

    Aren't those two sentences directly contradictory? The first sentence says the attribute is changed for  --- no I guess not. The read-only attribute applies only to files, not to folders.

    The read-only attribute, apparently, has nothing to do with reading.

    This deeply flawed design and impenetrably dense documentation language could only result from a corporate culture in which the boss never makes a mistake.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2013-07-11T11:27:32+00:00

    A virus similarly changed all the files on my 1TB external drive into hidden as well as system reserved ones. Once I got rid of the virus ( which had replaced the original files/dirs with .lnk's), I found that my programs (photoshop, etc.) refused to find files from the drive. I had been searching on this thread when i decided to try the attrib command.

    The parameters I used were..

    attrib -h -r +s [Drive][paths] /S /D (during the first run, since the program refused to reset hidden files, i had to use -h to unhide then do the rest), then run attrib once more with parameter -s. That did the trick for me, hope someone finds it useful......

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2013-06-30T14:49:47+00:00

    I am still having this problem 2 years later on Windows 8 haha... Damn windows just gets more and more annoying!

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2013-05-31T08:47:38+00:00

    Disappointing. I would also like to see a solution to this problem. Almost every second day I can't save a file under the same name, because it is read-only, whatever solution I tried.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments