All of my created folders in WinXP are marked as "read only" and I cannot change the setting. I am the only user on the computer so there are no sharing restrictions.

All folders are read only, period. Only files can be read only or not.

Eh? Folders are not marked read only by default unless you copy them from a readonly source like a cdrom. If you go to the properties on a folder there are two boxes; read only and hidden. Make sure both are unchecked. Another place to look is the security tab. Be carefull here as you can screw up your system. HOPEFULLY you did not mess with the everyone rights and have the box checked for inheriting rights downward.

That is not so. Folders are all read only by default. That is the way Windows has decided it will be. You can change it with, apparently, great effort. Do a search in this forum for 'Folders read only' and you will find all sorts of answers.

I was confused because I had folders that were created using WinME and they were not Read Only but when I checked them after I upgraded to WinXP, the properties had changed. From what I've been reading, Read Only is the default but the actual setting doesn't mean anything (they're marked as read only but the property isn't actually attributed) and it can be changed if you use the DOS command attrib. Is this correct and does anyone know in Microsoft is going to retain the Read Only attribute for all folders, including user-created, in the future?

This has never been answered so I thought I would answer it now. The answer is that you have to use the DOS command window and use the ATTRIB command. If the folder is also hidden then you must use both attributes in the command such as ATTRIB "foldername" +R +H The quote marks are used to support long filenames. Use the minus key to remove those attributes.