Windows 10: Read-only file/folder properties

As a long-time user of Windows OS in all its iterations, what I'm going to ask y'all has me totally stumped. I've looked on-line for solutions but have not found anything definitive. I apologize if anything like what I'm going to describe has been asked/answered; I only looked through about the first five pages in this section.

My system: Win10 Home, 64-bit, v1809; 1 TB C: drive.

The issue for Win10 involves the following: I work off of a 2TB WD portable USB drive for all of my genealogy files (census images, etc., that I find and need to source in my genealogy program). I back up any changed files to a 2TB Seagate USB portable drive every night. Just recently, like in the last week or so, Windows Explorer is not updating the "date modified" for any file or folder nor is my main Windows Explorer dual-pane replacement program - xplorer2. I am the Owner of this pc, as I'm the only one using it, and as you would expect, I am the Administrator.

I've checked folder properties on the WD drive, and for some inexplicable reason the "read only" radio button is marked. I did not make these changes!! I uncheck that radio button, look at the Security tab and all is in order, do "apply" and then "ok" and the property box closes. Immediately after, I go look at the properties for the same folder again, and it went right back to being read-only!!! What the..........?????????????

This file modification date/time issue is a real problem because in xplorer2, I can synchronize files in the dual-pane mode and copy any new/changed ones from my WD to my Seagate. If there's no updated file date, there's no way the program knows what to synchronize. Grrrrrrrrrr...........!!!!!

Why is this happening and is there a fix? Many, many expletives later, I'm hoping somebody here can help. Thank you!

- - - Updated - - -

I figured out the problem on files not showing updated date/time in Windows Explorer/xplorer2. As my subject line says, "Nevermind" a la Emily Latella, SNL.

But I still want to know why any folders/files on USB drives are "read-only," as I did not set them to be that way.

Any ideas? Thanks.

:)

 

Read only folder

Hi Jim,

We appreciate you for being part of Windows 10.

Before proceeding, we need more information to help you better.

• 
  Do you want to change the permissions to certain program/folder?
  
• 
  Have you signed in through Microsoft/Local account?
  

A read-only file is protected from accidental deletion and changes to its content.

Step 1: What is a read-only file or folder?

A read-only file is protected from accidental deletion and changes to its content. To change a file to read-only, right-click the file, and then click
Properties. In the Properties dialog box, click the
General tab, and then select the
Read-only check box. To make changes to a read-only file, clear the
Read-only check box, or save the file with a different name.

Step 2: Prevent changes to a file or folder (read-only)

Setting your important or personal files to read-only can help protect them from unintentional or unauthorized changes. When a file is set to read-only, it cannot be changed.

• Right-click the file or folder you want to set to read-only, and then click
  Properties.
• Click the General tab, select the Read-only check box, and then click
  OK.

If you need to make changes to the file or folder later, you can turn off the read-only setting by clearing the
Read-only check box.

I hope the above information helps. Kindly let us know if you need any further assistance with this issue. We are glad to assist you.

Thank you.

 

File Properties question, "read only"


Most any folder you right click on and select 'properties' will give you a list of that folder's attributes. One of them always says: Read-only (Only applies to files in folder)

I've never been able to figure out what that means. The files in the folder I'm investigating can be changed or deleted so what is the "read only" attribute?

 

Files folders and storage

Hi Peter,

We need more information to be bale to help you better with this issue. Are you facing any issues when saving the word documents or when composing any documents?

If the issue is with saving documents, where are you trying to save them and what is the error message displayed?

I would suggest you to check if the users folder is displayed as "read only'. Open File Explorer, click on the driver where windows is installed, and open the users folder. Right click on the users folder, and then check in the general tab, if it is shown
as 'read only'. If yes, I would suggest you to try these steps and check if the issue persists:

• Open the properties of the main user profile folder where the files are
  
  located (such as Documents, Pictures, etc).
• Go to the Security tab and click Advanced.
• Check the box at the bottom of this window. It is labeled "Replace all child
  
  object permissions with inheritable permissions from this object" and then click
  
  Ok.