Windows XP in a Nutshell

Name

Attrib — \windows\system32\attrib.exe

Synopsis

Change or view the attributes of one or more files or folders.

To Open

Command Prompt → attrib

Usage

attrib [+r|-r] [+a|-a] [+s|-s] [+h|-h] [filename] [/s [/d]]

Description

Attrib allows you to change the file and folder attributes from the command line — settings otherwise only available in a file’s or folder’s Properties window. The attributes can be thought of as switches, independently turned on or off for any file or group of files. The individual attributes are as follows:

R (read-only)

Turn on the read-only attribute of a file or folder to protect it from accidental deletion or modification. If you attempt to delete a read-only file, Windows will prompt you before allowing you to delete it. Different applications handle read-only files in different ways; usually you will not be allowed to save your changes to the same filename.

A (archive)

The archive attribute has no effect on how file is used, but it is automatically turned on when a file is modified or created. It is used primarily by a backup software to determine which files have changed since a backup was last performed; most backup programs turn off the archive attribute on each file that is backup.

S (system)

Files with the system attribute are typically used to boot the computer. There’s little reason ever to modify a file with the system attribute, or to ever turn on or off the system attribute for any file. If you turn off the system attribute of an important file, ...