Can't remove the "read-only" attribute

Hello,

I was recently working on a Windows reinstallation and made sure to move all my essential .txt files onto a separate hard drive, away from the main OS partition.

Now that the reinstall is finished, the system is flagging that entire folder as read-only.

Naturally, I went into the properties, unchecked the box, clicked apply, and selected "apply changes to this folder, subfolders and files"
-then it asks for Administrator permission, so I just hit continue
-it runs through the process, but the folders remain stuck in read-only mode :/.

I can't exactly manually copy the contents of every single file, considering we are looking at a total of 23,095 files and 3,753 folders here.
I even tried copying the whole directory over to the C: drive (where Windows is installed) to see if I could uncheck the read-only attribute there... but it’s the same story. It goes through the motions, but nothing actually changes :/

I have no idea what on earth is causing this headache. To make matters worse, these files are absolutely critical to me. Manually gathering them from a thousand different locations would be an absolute nightmare, so I find it hard to believe I'm being blocked like this...

Ownership? You talking about permissions for the whole drive or partition?

Clearly, something went sideways... which honestly isn't surprising when dealing with Windows. You've basically got two ways to handle this:

1. Grab a reliable file unlocker, like this one: http://download.cnet.com/Unlocker/30...-10493998.html

2. Or just fall back on the good old command prompt if you actually know how to navigate directories and mess around with copy and attrib commands: http://www.easydos.com/attrib.html

Well... I'm actually seeing now that it isn't just limited to that one specific folder. It looks like everything on this entire drive has switched over to read-only mode.

Are we talking about permissions for the whole disk or partition?

Where exactly would I go to fix that?

Right-click the drive icon then go to properties...

Actually, I came across this...

The issue doesn't actually stem from the folder being set to Read Only. Instead, the real problem is that since this folder was originally created on a different installation of Windows, you currently lack the necessary NTFS security permissions to access or even read the contents...

To fix this issue, please follow these specific steps to claim ownership and subsequently grant yourself full access to the folder... Right-click The folder > Properties Security Tab > Advanced Click Change to The right of Owner enter Users into box and click ok Enable The full Control Yes Completely close out of The Advanced Security Settings dialog Right-click The folder > Properties Security Tab

Right-click The folder > Properties...
Security tab > Advanced...
Right-click The folder > Properties Security Tab > Advanced Click Change to The right of Owner enter Users into box and click ok Enable The...
enter Users into box and click ok Enable The
Check the box that says "Replace owner on subcontainers and objects" and then go ahead and click Apply...
Should you encounter a prompt stating that you lack the necessary permissions to read the file, simply select Yes...
Yes Completely close out of The Advanced Security Settings dialog Right-click The folder > Properties Security Tab
Right-click The folder > Properties...
Security tab > Edit...
Add...
enter Users into box and click ok Enable The
Enable The full Control checkbox, then click OK...

izvor:I am currently encountering a bit of a technical hurdle while working within a Windows 8.1 environment. I would be most grateful if someone could offer some guidance on how to properly adjust permissions for a specific directory. The issue is that I am unable to modify certain files due to restricted access. To attempt a fix, I have tried following these steps: Right-click The folder > Properties Security Tab > Advanced Click Change to The right of Owner enter Users into box and click ok Enable The full Control. However, even after attempting this, the system seems to resist the changes... If anyone has experience navigating these specific security settings or knows of a more effective way to ensure I have the necessary administrative rights, please let me know. I would truly appreciate any insights you might be able to share...

I followed those exact steps for the entire partition—actually, for the whole drive—and I am still facing the same issue...
Actually, looking at the file itself, the "read-only" attribute isn't checked, yet it's still flagged on the parent folder... I'm not entirely sure if it was always like this or if I just missed it until now... regardless, I'm still unable to make any changes to the files...

David Gomez6 said:Actually, I stumbled upon this:

source:http://superuser.com/questions/84614...er-windows-8-1

Tried those steps on the whole partition. Like, the entire drive... still running into the same mess...
Funny thing is, the file itself doesn't show "read only" anymore, but the parent folder does. (Who knows, maybe it was always like that and I just missed it) ...anyway, still can't edit anything...

Did you run the ownership take-over recursively? Using some admin accounts or what?

It looks like I actually managed to pull it off in the end... essentially by blindly following the instructions, though I didn't click after this step:

-Enable the checkbox Replace owner on subcontainers and objects then click Apply

...that little checkbox at the bottom that says: "Replace all child object permission entries with inheritable permission entries from this object"

And honestly, I can't even begin to describe how disorganized and buggy this whole process feels, especially when even the interface itself seems glitchy. For instance, in the step "Enable the Full Control checkbox then click OK," once you hit OK, all the checkmarks suddenly vanish and the selection in the top menu changes... so then you have to go back to the top list, switch back to Users, and grant full control all over again. If you catch my drift...

Also, if anyone could explain something to me... because these folder permissions and actions just don't make sense to my brain...
Basically, I'm often halted by the interface, telling me I need to get administrator permission for an action. Then I just click "Continue" and boom, permission granted.
I mean, wtf? If someone else were sitting at the computer, they’d just click "Continue" too, so does that permission really protect anything? Here, if I actually needed protection, it would just be a nuisance...

It would seem logical that when I boot up the computer, I should log in as an administrator so I'm not constantly nagged with that "Continue" button, since that button isn't actually a barrier to anything...
..and if the computer isn't running as an administrator, there probably should be some kind of password required instead of just a simple "Continue" action that doesn't stop anyone...

...unless perhaps this is intended as an extra layer of control for when an application wants to delete or modify specific folders? Though, one would think Windows would distinguish between an action performed through the Windows interface versus an action triggered by an external application...

I suppose I've been looking at this entire thing as one big nonsense, assuming I was simply missing something. But after experiencing this kind of mess, it's quite clear that it's all just poorly put together and rather pointless....

David Gomez6 said:Hey,

I was doing a Windows reinstallation and moved all my essential .txt files onto a secondary hard drive—not the one running the OS.

Now that the reinstall is finished, the computer is telling me that the entire folder is set to read-only.

Naturally, I went into properties, unchecked the box, hit apply, and selected "apply changes to this folder, subfolders and files."
-Then it asks for admin permission, so I just click continue.
-It runs through the process, but the folders stay stuck on read-only :/.

I am obviously not going to manually copy the contents of every single file since we are talking about: 23,095 Files and 3,753 Folders.
I tried copying the whole folder over to the C: partition (where Windows lives)... attempted to uncheck the read-only attribute there too... and the exact same thing happens. It runs the process, but nothing actually changes :/

What the hell is messing with this? To make matters worse, these files are critical. I could theoretically scrape them together from a thousand different places, but I refuse to believe I'm getting screwed over by something this basic.

Try setting yourself as the administrator. You can also grant yourself full control permissions for a specific file or an entire folder; after that, things should work fine.

Regards

David Gomez6 said:Actually, I stumbled upon this:

source:http://superuser.com/questions/84614...er-windows-8-1

I went ahead and applied those steps to the entire partition—essentially the whole drive—and yet, wouldn't you know it, I'm still stuck with the exact same issue...
To make matters even more ridiculous, the specific file itself doesn't even show as "read-only" anymore, but the parent folder containing it does. Who can say? Perhaps it was always like that and I simply failed to notice until now... regardless, the bottom line remains that I am still unable to make any changes to my files.

I actually tried the same thing on my end since I just finished reinstalling Windows. As far as I can tell, it shows the folders as being read-only, yet I can modify the files inside them perfectly fine because the individual files themselves aren't flagged as read-only.

Try right-clicking the file or folder -> properties -> security -> Edit
then under Group or user names, select everything one by one and set them all to enable The full Control.

...I’ve been riding with file managers since the days of MS-DOS and Win 3.0. I went from Commander to Windows Commander and eventually landed on Total Commander, mostly just using things like "Files"-"Change attributes" to get stuff done. It's just how I work. Honestly, I never run into those kinds of issues 😁