File and Folder Read only attribute wont disable

[jasonb36]

When i create a new folder it automatically sets the read only attribute, if i try and turn it off it just turns back on again.

I have tried using command prompt to disable it as well as playing with the security settings and account permissions.

does any one have any ideas?

 

[jav]

1. First question, why are you trying to do it?

2. look here:
Unable to remove Read-Only attribute from folder
You cannot view or change the Read-only or the System attributes of folders in Windows Server 2003, in Windows XP, in Windows Vista or in Windows 7

To view or to remove the Read-only or the System attributes of folders in Windows Vista or Windows 7
Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then press ENTER..
To view the syntax for the Attrib command, type attrib /? at the command prompt.
To remove the Read-only attribute and to set the System attribute, use the following command:
attrib -r +s drive:\<path>\<foldername>
For example, to remove the Read-only attribute and to set the System attribute for the C:\Test folder, use the following command:
attrib -r +s c:\test
Be aware that some programs may not operate correctly with folders for which the System attribute and the Read-only attribute are set. Therefore, use the following command to remove these attributes:
attrib -r -s drive:\<path>\<foldername>
For example, to remove both the Read-only and the System attributes from the C:\Test folder, use the following command:
attrib -r -s c:\test
If the Run command is not listed on the Start menu, do the following:
Click Start, click All Programs, click Accessories, and then click Run..

note: Open cmd with run as administrator

 

[circatm2001]

Question about the read only attribute for folders in Windows 7.

I was trying to play warcraft III on battle.net and I got the error that the game couldn't patch the files because it couldn't write to the hdd. I then noticed that all my folders including program files were set to read only like in the following pic:

So I went to the program files folder and opened the properties, cleared the checkbox and hit apply (I'm used to previous versions of windows where read only was different). I told it to apply the setting to all the subfolders and files. A progress bar came up and it did its thing. After this I checked and all the subfolders still had the read only box checked in the same manner as the picture above, but all the files within did not (Is this how it is by default?). This did not fix the problem with patching wc3 though.

My question is: In unchecking the read only box and hitting apply, did that actually modify any of the attributes within the program files folder?

After realizing why the folders are set up this way and figuring out the correct way to fix the problem by setting the user privileges I'd rather not modify this setting.

EDIT: Judging by folders I didn't modify, all folders on my c: drive are [o] read-only and all subfiles are not. Therefore I believe that in doing what I did no changes were made to the program files or its sub-folders/files. Kinda misleading when there's a progress bar that takes a couple minutes to do nothing but fill up for show lol. Amirite?

 

[JonM33]

When i create a new folder it automatically sets the read only attribute, if i try and turn it off it just turns back on again.

I have tried using command prompt to disable it as well as playing with the security settings and account permissions.

does any one have any ideas?

I think you are seriously confusing read only attributes on a folder with read only NTFS permissions (ACL).

How to set, view, change, or remove special permissions for files and folders in Windows XP

 

[jerwen]

I am having the same problem as CircatM2001 described. In this case it is with my photos. the folder properties seems to be defaulted to "read only" and when i unset the read only in the folder properties and apply it seems to unset, but it actually doesn't. This is preventing me from editing the photos.

Any advice on how i can unset the "read only"?

Also where can i set the preferences to prevent downloaded/imported files from defaulting to read only?

Thanks

 

[squall leonhart]

Tick = Enabled
Square = Folders or files within this folder have read only flag.

the square is present because the folder contains desktop.ini which sets folder views, folder icons, folder type or ntfs hardlinking, this file is set as system and hidden at the same time which prevents modification unless you remove both flags at the same time.
Unnecessary obviously...

because your issue is caused by launching the game without Run as Admin, which in turn prevents the application from reading or writing to the Program Files(Program Files (x86) directory.

There is a easy fix for this however. simply install the Take Ownership reg patch and Take ownership of the entire Warcraft III folder. this should immediately give you full permissions over that individual folder and remove this issue without having to set the run as admin compatibility, and not compromise the entire program files folder in the process.

 

[Bill2]

Try giving yourself full permissions for the folders in question.

Windows 7 Take Ownership & Grant Permissions to Access Files & Folder

 

[squall leonhart]

Try giving yourself full permissions for the folders in question.

Windows 7 Take Ownership & Grant Permissions to Access Files & Folder

don't give him the hard way, it'll just make him ask more questions when we could just direct him straight to Add Take Ownership Option Shortcut in Right Click Menu of Windows 7

 

[jerwen]

Thanks for the advice. Yes, you were right, it is the square "read only" not the checkmark.

I have downloaded and installed the Take Ownership patch and do get Take Ownership on the right click menu. i Take ownership of the folder in question (in this case i folder of .jpg pics from a friend) and get a prompt asking me if i allow the program to make changes to the computer, which i do of course and the cmd window pops up for a microsecond so it looks like the program is doing its thing...

However after doing this repeatedly, it does not change the situation: i still have a read only folder which i cannot unset the read only (square).

What am i doing wrong?

 

[squall leonhart]

you aren't doing anything wrong, just not understanding.

the square will not be removed, it cannot be on NTFS partitions.

If it still cannot write to the folder, then the only solution is to run the application as admin everytime you use it. You can do this manually via the right click menu, or enable it as a compatibility option in the applications properties.

Depending where the folder is placed, it will be restricted to the parent folders permissions if the folder inherits them.

I was about to type a bunch of unnecessary stuff, when all that needs to be done is the contents of the folder moved into a newly created folder on your drive.

 

[AussieGuy92]

i was just going to say you need to run as admin everytime you want to run it.

 

[squall leonhart]

yeah, but we're addressing 2 different people with similar but different problems.

the ops issue is the vista/7 program files permission restrictions while the second is a folder that lacks permissions for this user account i think.

 

[AussieGuy92]

yes that sounds correct account restrictions due to limited account or parental controls. or both

 

[jerwen]

Thanks squall, but the work-around of moving everything to a new folder is impractical. i have a new computer with win7 and have copied all my files from my old computer. I now have thousands of folders that are seemingly-irreversibly read-only. This is very not cool.

Is there no way to transfer folders from other computers and not end up with read-only?

Thanks

 

[JonM33]

Everyone needs to take a step back on this. These are not file permissions that are Read Only. These are ATTRIBUTES that are Read Only. There is a big difference between the two.

 

[katy5289]

I'm getting an error in my Drupal 6 website. filename.tmp in folder /tmp cannot be copied. I'm running Windows 7 64bit. I am unable to remove the Read-Only attribute on the /tmp folder. I am logged in as admin and according to the Properties tab for /tmp, I have all the permissions. I uncheck the square for Read Only and it does not change it. I did this command, attrib -r -s c:\path\tmp but it didn't work. Any suggestions?

 

[mmmischael]

1. First question, why are you trying to do it?

2. look here:
Unable to remove Read-Only attribute from folder
You cannot view or change the Read-only or the System attributes of folders in Windows Server 2003, in Windows XP, in Windows Vista or in Windows 7

To view or to remove the Read-only or the System attributes of folders in Windows Vista or Windows 7
Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then press ENTER..
To view the syntax for the Attrib command, type attrib /? at the command prompt.
To remove the Read-only attribute and to set the System attribute, use the following command:
attrib -r +s drive:\<path>\<foldername>
For example, to remove the Read-only attribute and to set the System attribute for the C:\Test folder, use the following command:
attrib -r +s c:\test
Be aware that some programs may not operate correctly with folders for which the System attribute and the Read-only attribute are set. Therefore, use the following command to remove these attributes:
attrib -r -s drive:\<path>\<foldername>
For example, to remove both the Read-only and the System attributes from the C:\Test folder, use the following command:
attrib -r -s c:\test
If the Run command is not listed on the Start menu, do the following:
Click Start, click All Programs, click Accessories, and then click Run..

note: Open cmd with run as administrator

yes, it works... but i want to hide file (not folder) as system file how can do this? : )

 

[paulio]

So what's the issue here?

Hi

I am logged in with an account that is in the administrator group, I have a folder that is not a system folder, and my account has full permissions on it.
Yesterday the app that uses this folder (and which created it) could write to it quite happily, but today it fails when trying to update the contents.
The 'attributes' for the folder show a solid square in the read-only box. If I 'un-box' the read-only and apply, when I look at the attributes again the box is still here.

So my question is, if it's not (which it shouldn't be) some sort of protected Windows folder, and I have full permissions on the folder (supposedly), why does Windows not respect my wishes, get out of the way, and let me set it to what I want it to be?

Many thanks.

 

[Tobytja]

I have the same problem. I need to upload license file to a folder, but I am unable to. I tried that from administrator account (so I have full control NTFS permissions), there is no desktop.ini file anywhere (yes, I did view hidden and system files), but still the read-only persists. I am not even able to remove inheritance for NTFS permissions or to modify them in any way. Not even from builtin administrator account. Obviously, running as administrator won't help, since I want to copy a file in a folder, not to run an application. Command line command does not work, it always says "file not found". Anyone has some PowerShell script or something to solve this?