Files on C drive are read-only

[Guest]

Please help!!
I just bought a new computer with Windows Vista.
I have three different word processors, with Microsoft Word being one of them.
With ALL THREE programs, any file that I save DIRECTLY to the C drive is
automatically read-only and I can not modify it. However, if I save it IN A
FOLDER on the C drive it saves as regular and I can modify it.
This is awfully strange and very inconvenient, since I usually save my files
directly to the C drive.
Can anyone please help?
I spent two hours with a Dell technician.....to no avail.
Thanks.

 

[Michael]

Strange,
I wouldn't think it would let you put files there in the first place.
Vista will not let me save files to c: from within Word 2007. I get:
You don't have permission to save to this location. Contact the
administrator to obtain permission.

Michael

 

[Guest]

Michael,

Actually you are correct. I can't save files to the C drive either, even
though with Windows 98 and XP I could.
My issue is with files I imported from my old computer (which were not
read-only, of course) which I saved to the C drive, and now they are
read-only.
It seems that Vista doesn't want us using the C drive directly, perhaps
because it has the OS.
So we have two problems.
1 - We can't save files directly to the C drive.
2 - Even files imported from another source are read-only.

Anyone know a way to change this?

Thanks.

 

[Paul Smith]

Please help!!
I just bought a new computer with Windows Vista.
I have three different word processors, with Microsoft Word being one of
them.
With ALL THREE programs, any file that I save DIRECTLY to the C drive is
automatically read-only and I can not modify it. However, if I save it IN
A
FOLDER on the C drive it saves as regular and I can modify it.
This is awfully strange and very inconvenient, since I usually save my
files
directly to the C drive.
Can anyone please help?
I spent two hours with a Dell technician.....to no avail.
Thanks.

By design. Users should be saving files to folders within their user area,
or folders they have created on the drive.

You could change it so users have write access to the root of the drive, but
I strongly recommend against doing this.

--
Paul Smith,
Yeovil, UK.
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User.
http://www.windowsresource.net/

*Remove nospam. to reply by e-mail*

 

[Adam Albright]

Please help!!
I just bought a new computer with Windows Vista.
I have three different word processors, with Microsoft Word being one of them.
With ALL THREE programs, any file that I save DIRECTLY to the C drive is
automatically read-only and I can not modify it. However, if I save it IN A
FOLDER on the C drive it saves as regular and I can modify it.
This is awfully strange and very inconvenient, since I usually save my files
directly to the C drive.
Can anyone please help?
I spent two hours with a Dell technician.....to no avail.
Thanks.

Have you tried turning UAC off? Go to Control Panel User Defaults.

Using Dell or Gateway and the word technician together is a oxymoron.

What happens if you right click on any of these read only files
properties, then unclick the read only attribute? Check if it is
colored, then has been made 'read only'. Can you change it that way or
not?

Just trying an experiement...

Have UAC turned on. Picked a file at random and tried to copy to my C
drive, not any folder. Vista responds with a nag screen "You need to
provide administrator permission to copy to this folder" Ignore that
Vista is too dumb to know copying directly to the drive letter isn't
technically a folder. I click continue and Vista allows the copy, the
file's attributes are NOT read only. Next I try to delete this file.
Again I get a nag confirmation screen, but can delete after clicking
continue.

Next I create a new folder on my C drive I call 'my stuff'. I repeat
the previous steps and no longer any nag screens. So I suggest you
simply create a folder on your root drive and move stuff there.

Why?

Vista assumes any direct activity to any "secure" area is a potential
security risk. Even though all of Vista's interals are tucked away
inside various folders it none the less hogs the C drive and treats it
"special" nagging worse than any mother-in-law, even when you do
routine things. Just poor design and shortsightedness on part of
Microsoft, in my opinion.

 

[Michael]

The root is a special place and is under tight control of the system (it was
a special place in XP but not controlled very well).
Note that the problem is not that the files are 'read-only' (right click,
properties and see that the read-only box is empty). What is happening is
that you do not have permission (as a user) to write/modify in the root.
This is actually a 'good thing' as it makes it difficult to mess up the
root. (you still can of course as an administrator but at least you get
nattered at if you try).

My suggestion is, if it hurts don't do that, i.e. is there some operational
reason to not import the files into 'Documents' for instance?

Michael

 

[PTravel]

By design. Users should be saving files to folders within their user
area, or folders they have created on the drive.

This is what I most despise about Vista (and the general direction Microsoft
is taking). It's my computer. My "user area" is the whole computer. I'll
use it however I want. If I want to save files to the root (and sometimes I
do), I will. There's no "should" about it. I'm responsible for what I do
on my computer, and Microsoft "should" not be overriding my judgment on how
I use it.

 

[Richard Urban]

People are responsible for what they do on their computer
until............they screw it up. Then they come here sniveling and blaming
everyone except themselves. User error is the biggest windows exploit.

--


Regards,

Richard Urban MVP
Microsoft Windows Shell/User

 

[Don]

This is what I most despise about Vista (and the general direction
Microsoft is taking). It's my computer. My "user area" is the whole
computer. I'll use it however I want.

Every hacker on the internet says exactly the same thing about your
computer. Until Vista, they all had the power to do it.

If I want to save files to the
root (and sometimes I do), I will. There's no "should" about it. I'm
responsible for what I do on my computer, and Microsoft "should" not be
overriding my judgment on how I use it.

And if your machine is used to send out thousands of spam emails or
used to attack other innocent users on the internet, who is responsible
then?

Until Vista, Microsoft was directly to blame. They have finally
taken responsibility for their previous disasters and fixed them.
If you defeat the good-common-sense security of Vista, then only you
are to blame.

At this point, MS really should start teaching their customers about
security now that they've (finally) supplied the needed tools.

 

[PTravel]

People are responsible for what they do on their computer
until............they screw it up. Then they come here sniveling and
blaming everyone except themselves. User error is the biggest windows
exploit.

Yes, so? Driver error is the main cause of accidents involving automobiles.

I don't need big brother telling me where I can save files on my hard drive.
Microsoft does something similar by hiding system files. However, though
that's the default, there's a user-accessible switch.

I don't like a vendor who thinks that I'm so stupid I must be protected from
myself.

 

[PTravel]

Every hacker on the internet says exactly the same thing about your
computer. Until Vista, they all had the power to do it.

Really? Then why is it, in 30+ years of computing on Microsoft platforms,
I've never had a computer hacked? Not once, not ever.

I do not need Microsoft removing functionality in the name of "protecting
me" from threats that I am perfectly capable of managing myself.

And if your machine is used to send out thousands of spam emails or
used to attack other innocent users on the internet, who is responsible
then?

I would be, if it had ever happened to any of my machines. It never has and
it never will -- they're all protected by (non-Microsoft) anti-virus and
anti-malware, they all sit behind a hardware firewall, and I'm not so stupid
as to click on some website pop-up (though pop-ups are disabled on my
machines) that says, "Click me."

I do not need Microsoft removing functionality in the name of "protecting
me" from threats that I am perfectly capable of managing myself.

Until Vista, Microsoft was directly to blame. They have finally
taken responsibility for their previous disasters and fixed them.
If you defeat the good-common-sense security of Vista, then only you
are to blame.

How is saving a Word file to the root directory, "defeating
good-common-sense security"? My systems are secure. I've never had a
virus, never had a trojan, no machine has ever been turned into a zombie.
Not in 30+ years of using Microsoft OSs.

I do not need Microsoft removing functionality in the name of "protecting
me" from threats that I am perfectly capable of managing myself.

At this point, MS really should start teaching their customers about
security now that they've (finally) supplied the needed tools.

Microsoft hasn't supplied the tools. Calling it a tool implies the option
to use it as and when necessary.

I do not need Microsoft removing functionality in the name of "protecting
me" from threats that I am perfectly capable of managing myself.

 

[TK]

By design. Users should be saving files to folders within their user
area, or folders they have created on the drive.

You could change it so users have write access to the root of the drive,
but I strongly recommend against doing this.

Why? aren't the "protected operating system files" hidden by default anyway?
I don't put files on my root but third party programs do without trouble.

 

[TK]

Really? Then why is it, in 30+ years of computing on Microsoft platforms,
I've never had a computer hacked? Not once, not ever.

I do not need Microsoft removing functionality in the name of "protecting
me" from threats that I am perfectly capable of managing myself.


I would be, if it had ever happened to any of my machines. It never has
and it never will -- they're all protected by (non-Microsoft) anti-virus
and anti-malware, they all sit behind a hardware firewall, and I'm not so
stupid as to click on some website pop-up (though pop-ups are disabled on
my machines) that says, "Click me."

I do not need Microsoft removing functionality in the name of "protecting
me" from threats that I am perfectly capable of managing myself.


How is saving a Word file to the root directory, "defeating
good-common-sense security"? My systems are secure. I've never had a
virus, never had a trojan, no machine has ever been turned into a zombie.
Not in 30+ years of using Microsoft OSs.

I do not need Microsoft removing functionality in the name of "protecting
me" from threats that I am perfectly capable of managing myself.



Microsoft hasn't supplied the tools. Calling it a tool implies the option
to use it as and when necessary.

I do not need Microsoft removing functionality in the name of "protecting
me" from threats that I am perfectly capable of managing myself.

Looks like MS is going the the way of our facist government. No more
individual
liberties and no more control over are MS OS. Vista checks in with big
brother
(backdoor trojan) and soon we will all have subdermal implants so we can be
tracked
by GPS.

I know that sounds wild but DNA was once only taken from felons comminting
capital crimes. Now all felons have to submit DNA. Soon they will include
anybody
commiting a misdemeanor and finally someday implants for all.

 

[Ashton Crusher]

Have you tried turning UAC off? Go to Control Panel User Defaults.

Using Dell or Gateway and the word technician together is a oxymoron.

What happens if you right click on any of these read only files
properties, then unclick the read only attribute? Check if it is
colored, then has been made 'read only'. Can you change it that way or
not?

Just trying an experiement...

Have UAC turned on. Picked a file at random and tried to copy to my C
drive, not any folder. Vista responds with a nag screen "You need to
provide administrator permission to copy to this folder" Ignore that
Vista is too dumb to know copying directly to the drive letter isn't
technically a folder. I click continue and Vista allows the copy, the
file's attributes are NOT read only. Next I try to delete this file.
Again I get a nag confirmation screen, but can delete after clicking
continue.

Next I create a new folder on my C drive I call 'my stuff'. I repeat
the previous steps and no longer any nag screens. So I suggest you
simply create a folder on your root drive and move stuff there.

Why?

Vista assumes any direct activity to any "secure" area is a potential
security risk. Even though all of Vista's interals are tucked away
inside various folders it none the less hogs the C drive and treats it
"special" nagging worse than any mother-in-law, even when you do
routine things. Just poor design and shortsightedness on part of
Microsoft, in my opinion.

I was unable to save a pdf to my user directory with a "you don't have
permission" warning. I couldn't save it anywhere. I looked at the
properties of the folder and it was marked as read only. I unchecked
the read only and told the OS to reset the flags, got some nag screens
and it claimed to reset them but every time I check properties it
shows the read only flag set. Yet aside from that one program that
seems unable to save the file, I can write to the folders with other
programs. I sense a bug.

 

[Don]

Really? Then why is it, in 30+ years of computing on Microsoft
platforms, I've never had a computer hacked? Not once, not ever...

I don't know whether to admire you for your superior security skills,
or pity you for a blind fool.

Obviously, I don't have enough information to decide. Repeat: I don't
know because I can't possibly know! Neither does MS, or anyone else
except the very clever hackers who specialize in knowing your machines
better than you do.

I'm not an expert in computer security, nor will I ever be. But I've
seen plenty of people who think they are bullet-proof until it's too
late to dodge the fatal bullet.

 

[PTravel]

I don't know whether to admire you for your superior security skills,
or pity you for a blind fool.

I don't have "superior security skills." As I said, it's a combination of
using good anti-malware software, good anti-virus software, keeping my
machines behind a hardware firewall, and simple common sense: don't click on
questionable links, don't upon attachments in email, etc. Computers aren't
my profession, though I use them for my job. As with any tool, I made it my
business to learn enough about them to use them effectively.

Obviously, I don't have enough information to decide. Repeat: I don't
know because I can't possibly know!

Um, yes, so?

Neither does MS,

What I know is none of Microsoft's business. It's not Microsoft's place to
decide how I can or cannot use my computers. Rinse and repeat.

or anyone else
except the very clever hackers who specialize in knowing your machines
better than you do.

Hackers may be clever, but they're not magic. It's not that hard to keep
machines clean.

I'm not an expert in computer security, nor will I ever be. But I've
seen plenty of people who think they are bullet-proof until it's too
late to dodge the fatal bullet.

I'm not bullet proof. However, blocking my access to the root directory of
my c-drive isn't going to make it any harder for hackers to get to my
machine. Not making that kind of blocking optional is not going to make it
any harder for hackers to get to my machine.

 

[mikeyhsd]

that's the way it is, the root of the drive is protected to prevent messing around with the boot info.
get over it and store your usr files in a usr area.



(e-mail address removed)

By design. Users should be saving files to folders within their user
area, or folders they have created on the drive.

This is what I most despise about Vista (and the general direction Microsoft
is taking). It's my computer. My "user area" is the whole computer. I'll
use it however I want. If I want to save files to the root (and sometimes I
do), I will. There's no "should" about it. I'm responsible for what I do
on my computer, and Microsoft "should" not be overriding my judgment on how
I use it.

 

[ptravel]

that's the way it is, the root of the drive is protected to prevent messing around with the boot info.
get over it and store your usr files in a usr area.

(e-mail address removed)

Yes, I understand that is Microsoft's attitude. It is exactly that
attitude that I don't like. Neither Microsoft (nor you) should be
telling me what my "best practice" should be.

 

[Adam Albright]

Yes, I understand that is Microsoft's attitude. It is exactly that
attitude that I don't like. Neither Microsoft (nor you) should be
telling me what my "best practice" should be.

Vista treats your entire root drive like it belongs to Windows and
will nag excessively, often over nothing. A couple simple fixes short
of turning off UAC.

1. Reduce the size of your C partition. Just don't over do it.
Remember Windows needs some wiggle room, place to store shadow
files, updates, etc. and also by default places any application you
install in the program files folder. Also remember many
applications by default will write to their sub folder under
program files UNLESS you direct them to store your data
elsewhere by using "save as" which is part of most every
application's file menu choices, so make allowances accordingly.

Making/changing the size of your partitions is easy... if you
use some third party application to do it that will leave any
of your data unharmed. Doing some of the same things directly
from within Windows while you can, may be far more dangerous,
especially if you aren't that familiar with how Windows works.

2. Avoid writing any file directly to the root.

Example:

wrong way: C:\myfile.doc
right way: C:\mystuff\myfile.doc

Where 'mystuff' is a folder you create. In many cases with UAC enabled
you won't get nag screens IF the file is in some folder NOT considered
part of the Windows File System protected areas. However if you write
directly to the root meaning simply copying/moving files directly to
C:\ then UAC may and often will consider such action a potential
security threat and nag about it.

 

[PTravel]

Vista treats your entire root drive like it belongs to Windows and
will nag excessively, often over nothing. A couple simple fixes short
of turning off UAC.

1. Reduce the size of your C partition. Just don't over do it.
Remember Windows needs some wiggle room, place to store shadow
files, updates, etc. and also by default places any application you
install in the program files folder. Also remember many
applications by default will write to their sub folder under
program files UNLESS you direct them to store your data
elsewhere by using "save as" which is part of most every
application's file menu choices, so make allowances accordingly.

Making/changing the size of your partitions is easy... if you
use some third party application to do it that will leave any
of your data unharmed. Doing some of the same things directly
from within Windows while you can, may be far more dangerous,
especially if you aren't that familiar with how Windows works.

This raises another kettle of fish. On all of my machines, except my Vista
laptop, I designate the C: drive for programs and system files, only, and
use other drives (and partitions) for everything else. When I ordered my
laptop, I specified a 100 gig drive, based on my drive usage on the older XP
machine it replaced. I did not, however, account either for the usurpation
of close to 10 gigs for system backup, or the vastly increased size of
Vista. I am reluctant to partition this drive because I really need every
scrap of storage available.

2. Avoid writing any file directly to the root.

No, I will not avoid writing any file directly to the root. There are
specific times when I want to do this and for specific reasons, e.g.
creating a .bat file, dumping something temporarily, etc. I've been using
the c: drive root for this purpose for 30+ years and have absolutely no
reason to change my practice.

Example:

wrong way: C:\myfile.doc
right way: C:\mystuff\myfile.doc

Right way: c:\createnetmappings.bat
Wrong way: c:\somesubfoldersomewhere\createnetmappings.bat

Where 'mystuff' is a folder you create. In many cases with UAC enabled
you won't get nag screens IF the file is in some folder NOT considered
part of the Windows File System protected areas. However if you write
directly to the root meaning simply copying/moving files directly to
C:\ then UAC may and often will consider such action a potential
security threat and nag about it.

I've turned off UAC. The incremental benefit that it offers, i.e. ensuring
against the possibility that some rogue software that shouldn't have gotten
on my machine in the first place might do some damage, is outweighed by the
sheer annoyance of having to approve all the software that I use that I run
as administrator.

With all due respect, did you read my post? I know what I'm doing. It's
the "we know better than you attitude" of Microsoft which I object.