Hi Carlos,
This is from MS-MVP Wesley Vogel, and will explain all (and probably more
than you wanted to know <s>):
"Don't worry about it.
When you customize a folder, a file called desktop.ini gets created. In
order for Windows to read the desktop.ini file for customized folders, it
looks like the Read-only attribute is applied.
Windows Explorer does NOT allow you to view or change a folder's Read-only
or System attribute. Changing these attributes can break special folders
and screw up any of your folder customizations. You can ONLY view or change
a folder's Read-only or System attributes by using the attrib command.
So why do you think that all of your folders are Read-only?
Read-only for folders does not mean Read-only like it does with files.
A file that is marked Read-only can be read, but it cannot be changed or
deleted.
You can delete, rename, move or change a folder that has the Read-only
attribute set. But if it's a System folder, you'll get a Warning.
For folders the Read-only and System attributes are used by Windows Explorer
to determine whether a folder is a special folder or whether you have
customized the folder using the Customize tab of Folder Properties.
If you customized a folder using the Customize tab of Folder Properties, a
desktop.ini file is created in that folder.
Desktop.ini files normally have the Hidden and System attributes.
Special folders include:
Cookies, Control Panel, Desktop, Downloaded Program Files, Favorites, Fonts,
History, My Documents, My Music, My Pictures, My Videos, Recycle Bin, Shared
Documents, Shared Music, Shared Pictures, Shared Videos, SendTo, Start Menu,
Startup, Temporary Internet Files, etc.
Most of those Special Folders have a desktop.ini file. Sometimes the
desktop.ini file cannot be seen (super hidden). The desktop.ini file in
Downloaded Program Files, for example cannot be seen.
To see the desktop.ini for Downloaded Program Files...
Paste the following line into Start | Run and click OK...
%windir%\Downloaded Program Files\desktop.ini
The desktop.ini should open.
When a folder has the Read-Only attribute set, Windows Explorer reads the
Desktop.ini of that folder to see if any special folder settings need to be
set. That is all Read-only means for a folder.
The Read-only check box in Folder Properties does NOT apply to the folder.
The Read-only check box for folders is there for convenience, it allows you
to change the Read-only attribute of all the files contained in that folder.
The Read-only check box indicates whether the files in the folder are
Read-only, NOT the folder. If you select this check box all of the files
in the folder will be Read-only. If you clear the check box, none of the
files in the folder will be Read-only. If the check appears green or gray,
then some of the files in that folder may be Read-only.
If the check appears green or gray, it indicates either a mixed (some of the
files may be Read-only) or undetermined condition. Windows Explorer
displays the green or gray check because it would take too long to verify
the state of the read-only attribute for every file in the folder.
The System attribute serves to protect files from accidental deletion.
The System file attribute by default is set by the operating system or some
other program to mark files that are essentially important for proper
functioning of system.
The System attribute is usually used jointly with Hidden and Read-only
attributes to provide maximum protection of system files. The System
attribute is usually regarded by programs as a mandatory rule which forbids
any actions to be taken upon files or folders marked with this attribute.
To see all of the desktop.ini files on the C: drive...
Open a command prompt....
Start | Run | Type: cmd | Click OK |
Change Directory to C:...
Type: cd \ and hit Enter.
Type: attrib /S desktop.ini and hit Enter.
--
Hope this helps. Let us know.
Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User"
--
HTH,
Curt
Windows Support Center
http://aumha.org/