Windows 11 folder keeps reverting back to read only

As this is an old thread and I haven't read to the bottom yet, this may be a duplicate reply. I apologize in advance if so.

IF the switch is a COMMAND and not an INDICATOR, then why when you unset the switch to issue the command to set all files to not read-only does it NOT remove the RO flag from ALL files and folders. The switch should then remain cleared because there were no more RO files)? Your response is misleading and completely unhelpful. I agree that the UI is NOT very 'clean' but that doesn't excuse an obvious bug.

The problem then is that the File Explorer has a SEVERE LEVEL 1 BUG that needs to be FIXED. There is no other way to interpret this behaviour.

There was a similar problem in the folder customization process, where you can set the folder and all its subfolders to, for example, display as "MUSIC" folders. Only it didn't. This too is a bug. There is a workaround for that - you can use the old Windows 10 File Explorer.

These are BUGS - not misunderstood usage. If a "CLEAR ALL" command doesn't "CLEAR ALL" then the command if BROKEN. Period.

The problem that myself, and potentially some others here are having, is specifically the fact that that block being filled means there is a read-only file somewhere within the target folder,

That is not correct. If you look carefully, you will see that the box is always a solid block even if there are zero files marked read-only within the folder.

It is, in fact, not an indicator at all. Microsoft should never have used a checkbox for a command. And that's all it is, a command. When you click it clear, you're telling Windows that you want to unset read-only from any files that may be read-only within the folder and its subfolders. When you check the box, you're telling Windows you want to set all files within the folder and its subfolders to read-only. Whether you set or unset, it only affects files. The read-only state of the folder, and any of its subfolders, is not affected. Only files are affected.

It's great to hear you got your issue resolved. From what you've described, it appears that it was somehow caused by OneDrive.

But, it has nothing to do with that "Read-only" item in the Properties dialog. After applying your fixes, you will see that indicator is still the same. That's because it's not an indicator. It's just a control that will let you set or unset all files in the folder read-only. Note that it says "Only applies to files in folder". You can certainly use that control to ensure that all files in the folder are not set to read-only, but it will only show a clear box temporarily. After you close and reopen the Properties dialog, it will be back to showing a solid box with a horizontal line. So, that control will not even tell you if one or more files in the folder have been set read-only. It will look the same whether zero, one, or all files in the folder have been set read-only.

Microsoft should never have used a check box for this control because it frequently causes confusion, but it's been this way forever and they're unlikely to change it.

Also note that, even if the folder's read-only attribute were enabled (and it really isn't), that would have no effect on being able to make changes in the folder. It's the NTFS permissions and/or share settings that affect access, so the Sharing and Security tabs are worth looking at. The folder Properties General tab tells you nothing about access permissions.

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 happens when I attempt to save to my computer so I can work on in remote locations. So every time i attempt to save to computer.

Every file that gets downloaded still has the read only check mark on the folder once it is transfered to another location and then is not accessible