Windows 11 folder keeps reverting back to read only

Wait I think I just found a fix, my game launched!

-First I had my ransomeware protection turned off, this is just saving your files to onedrive so you dont lose much turning it off unless you actually fall victim to a rare case of ransomeware.

-Second, I logged into one drive, because I wasn't. Then I unchecked every backup option I could at the end of the setup, it still forced documents folder to be saved but thats ok. I then moved whatever files I wanted to save from the one drive folder to my users folder under C:\Users<MY USER>. Then I deleted the files from one drive, including the documents folder. For Instance, in windows 11 all common directories like your desktop, downloads, screenshots, videos, etc. which was local by default in windows 10 is saved on onedrive by default in windows 11.

In this screenshot I am showing the path to my user, which is C:\Users\thero for me. Usually, the files like desktop documents and pictures which are in this folder will be empty by default if I remember correctly. What windows 11 does is have the same files in the OneDrive folder you can see in the screenshot, and in there the same files can be found, with your files inside of them. So as I said move those out of one drive back to your personal user folder, it won't cause any issues with applications surprisingly.

-Third, after I deleted all files within the OneDrive foldier, as seen in the picture below, I opened the system tray, which is found at the bottom right of your screen on the taskbar next to your keyboard language. (Second Image)

-Fourth, I right-clicked the OneDrive Icon.

-Fifth, I clicked on Recycle bin

-Sixth, I selected all the folders which I wanted to delete, mainly the documents folder since it's the one that causes most problems when saved

-Seventh, I went back to the OneDrive icon in the system tray and clicked on "Settings"

-Eighth, I clicked on "Unlink this PC"

this will have the effect of stopping onedrive from backing up any files on your PC and I guess is what makes this whole thing work, I am not quite sure, but after this it was fixed.

Ninth, I went back again to the OneDrive icon and quit onedrive, after this I was able to launch my game without issues, and without having to go back to the file and remove it from "read-only".

This is what worked for me, I am guessing it will work for you all too, if the original poster could test this solution and mark it as solved if it works I would appreciate it cuz I personally couldn't find this fix anywhere online. Also I do not know which of these steps exactly are required to fix the issue, if someone else wants to do more testing and do a more concise answer it would be great!

Finally, windows security defender will nag you about setting up onedrive forever and you will have to keep declining to be able to see real virus notifications but I guess thats the cost of being able to even use your files on windows 11 >:C.

(I will add, in case it's part of the fix, I went into the folder my game told me was on read-only, and went through every file to check if any had read-only. One of them indeed did have read-only put on, and so I removed it from that individual file among the others before attempting this fix. Doing that on its own did not fix my issue though)

It actually is in read only, I am trying to open a game, but the save file which is found in the documents folder, which is protected by onedrive ransomeware protection even when i turn off ransomeware protection, this is only an issue on windows 11 which forces my files on onedrive instead of letting me have agency like in windows 10 and it's super annoying. I attach both the screenshot proving that documents folder is always protected it seems and the fact that in fact my file and his probably actually are in read-only and cannot be ticked off by a human due to the control done by microsoft defender.

If you know how to fix this it would be amazing but I am guessing its a new useless over-the-top security feature companies cant stop shoving down our throats.

this file here called 765..... is a file found in my documents folder forced on read only which contain the save file for my game

Dear god John! Thank you!

Read through 12 pages, 2 youtube videos. yours is the only thing that worked.

3 decade linux user here, and just wasted 30 min just coping files on windows 11!!!

This nonsense that you are claiming that every folder in windows has always had a read only attribute attached to it for the files inside is preposterous and categorically false.

I've never made such a claim. What I've stated is that the "Read-only" checkbox in the folder properties dialog will look the same for every folder. That is, it will be a solid black box on Windows 10 or a solid blue box with a horizontal line on Windows 11. Go take a look at the properties of any folder on your computer. That checkbox will look the same on all of them.

We have all been conditioned to expect that a checkbox gives us some useful information. This is a case where it does not. That checkbox is just a control that will let you set all files within the folder to read-only or clear the read-only attribute from all files in the folder. Try that on a test folder and then close and re-open the folder properties. Whether every file in the folder is read-only or none of the files in the folder are read-only, that checkbox will look the same.

And even if it was true a read only attribute would never be meaningless, seeing as the main reason for the possession of any computer for the vast majority of people is so the they can create and write new changes to files.

Also, as I've stated many times, that checkbox does not change the read-only attribute of the folder. It's only used to change the read-only attributes of files within the folder (and it states that right there on the screen).

But let's pretend for a moment that your folder's attribute was changed to read-only. Would that prevent creating, deleting, or changing a file within the folder? No, not at all. A folder's read-only attribute does almost nothing. To prove that to yourself, create a folder and use the attrib command to set its read-only attribute (e.g. attrib +r c:\test). Then try to create, delete, or change files in that folder. You will find that you still have full access. You can even delete the folder itself in Explorer without a warning. The only difference you will see is an error if you try to delete the folder at the command line.

A truly read-only folder is one where your effective permissions only allow read access. That can be a situation where the NTFS permissions are set to restrict access or a situation where a network share is set to read-only. You didn't mention a network, so I'll assume we're talking about a local drive in your case. If you check the Security tab for your folder and find that somehow the NTFS permissions have been changed so that you now have effectively read-only access, that's obviously a serious problem, but it has absolutely nothing to do with the "Read-only" checkbox that you see under the "General" tab.

Microsoft support themselves could not fix it last night while taking control of my PC.

No surprise there. I suggest taking advantage of one of the many enthusiast online forums, such elevenforum.com. Present your problem there with screenshots. You may find that someone there has already been in the same situation and knows the answer. Or maybe not. There's no guarantee, but it's worth a shot. Reddit can also be a good place to present such issues.

YOU are the one barking up the wrong tree by spreading misinformation as a generalized truth.

The only misinformation has come from misunderstanding what I've written. I have provided facts to try to prevent people from wasting their time looking at something that is irrelevant to their issue. If you wish to prove that I have made an error, please quote my actual statements and provide proof, in the form of screenshots, that show I've made an error. I am happy to admit my mistakes when I make them. I am not perfect, but I'm sure I have made correct statements in regards to this issue.