yin74

Here is more information on this subject.

When you view the Properties/General Tab of a folder in XP, you will see that it appears to have the Read Only attribute. This setting is ignored by Windows and is by design. Simply, this means that just because you see the Read Only box selected in a folders properties does not necessarily mean that the folder has the read only attribute set.

To see the actual attributes of a folder you can either view the folder in Windows Explorer / Details View or use a command prompt to view the attributes of the folder.

NOTE: It is recommended that you DO NOT change the attributes of a folder in XP. Doing so could cause the folder to lose any customization settings. This is important, especially if the folder has special customizations set by Windows, such as the Fonts, My Pictures, My Documents, etc. These folders have special customizations that allow you to view and work with the fonts, pictures and files in special ways. Changing the attributes would cause these folders to lose these customizations. Many other folders in Windows have special customizations applied.

To see the folder in Details View, select the folder and click View/Details. Right Click at the top of the first column (Name) and you will see a list of available columns. Click the Attributes option. This should cause the Attributes column to appear.

Attributes:
A = Archive
R = Read Only
S = System
H = Hidden

To see the attribute for a particular folder using the command prompt, go to Start/Run type   cmd   and press OK. This will open the Command Window.

This will take you the root of the C: drive.
type CD\ and press ENTER.

At C:\>  type  attrib /?   (ENTER)
This will show the available syntax for the Attrib command.

(IN the following commands note the spaces)

To see the attributes for a folder called "test" on the C: drive, at C:\> type:
attrib C:\test   (ENTER)

You will see:
A     C:\test

This shows that the test folder has the Archive attribute set. If the result is:
RSH   C:\test
This would mean that the Read Only, System, and Hidden attributes are all set on that folder.

To remove an attribute from a folder, you would use the - (minus) character.
attrib -R -H -S C:\test (ENTER)
Would remove these 3 attributes from the folder.

To add an attribute to the folder, you would use the + (Plus) character.
attrib +R +H (ENTER) would add the Read Only and Hidden attributes.

If the folder or file name that you are looking at has any spaces, then you need to enclose the name in quotes. For instance a folder called my folder:
attrib C:\"my folder" (ENTER)

For a file called My File.doc
attrib C:\"my file".doc