Cannot change READ ONLY file attributes using Administrator Account

Question

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.

Answer 1

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.

Answer 2

Solution:

Open an elevated explorer window: Go to the start menu, go to the search, type in "explorer," find "Windows Explorer," right click, Run as Administrator, find the folders you are trying to change attributes for, open properties on the folder, uncheck Read-Only on the General tab, it will pause and prompt you for an administrator permission window, click "allow."

Answer 3

Did help at first, but aftwerwards I noticed many files to be read-only again. It takes so much time to save a file under a different name and change the name of the file again. Is there no other solution?

Answer 4

This is ridiculous. But coping the file to a new folder worked.

Dont know why MS lacks in silly things like this.

I hope my hero Mr. Gates and his team will do a better job.

As a software consultant I always support MS for the big and best things they have done.

Its so tuff when you have so much coding for a big product.

I have argued with many who support Apple and Trash MS.

But this one tested me to the height.

Hope the support will realise what the users are undergoing.

Venkat (KC).

Answer 5

I had this same problem with Adobe Illustrator. I was trying to export a .eps file to a to a .xaml file and I was getting a read only error. I thought it was because the directory was read-only but it was actually due to the fact that the file was too large since Windows 7 ignores read only attributes on directories. I solved the problem by deleting some of the detail in the file. My point is that some applications give error messages that are not acurate.