Vista won't delete files on external drive

I am trying to delete files from my Sansa Express which I use as an external USB drive. When I try to delete at the folder level, Vista tells me the "storage is write-protected" and that I should remove write-protection and try again. I am able to delete the files individually, however, with no problem at all.

When I go to Properties, the folders are read-only. The individual files are not read-only, and they delete fine individually. The problem is only encountered when I select a folder and try to delete it. I can not disable read-only from Properties, because it is grayed out.

It may or may not be relevant that most of these folders were loaded onto the drive from my other computer, which runs XP. However, not all those folders are running into this problem: only the ones which say "read-only" in Properties.

Things I've already tried:
There is no write-protection switch on the device. There is a hold switch, and that is definitely in the off position. So a switch is not the issue here.

I've gone through the lengthy and confusing process of taking ownership of files before, but there is no way to do that here. The only tab in the Properties screen is "General" and there's nothing in there I can click on or change.

I've also tried running Windows Explorer as Administrator, but that doesn't help either.

Formatting the drive is not a practical solution for me, because I can't just format it every time I encounter this problem.

Suggestions? Solutions?

try this Add "Take Ownership" to Explorer Right-Click Menu in Vista :: the How-To Geek

I actually have that installed already, but thanks for the suggestion

It works fine elsewhere, but the "take ownership" option is not showing up in the context menu for any of the folders on this device.

Hello Nomad,

Welcome to Vista Forums.

Right click on the folder and select properties/security tab/edit. Click on your username and check 'Full control'. You should then be able to uncheck the read only attribute.

Hope this helps. Please keep us posted.

Gary

When I right click and go to Properties, whether for the device itself or the folders on it, I only get the General tab. No Security tab or any other tabs appear in the Properties screen.

I've tried Device Manager, but the only options it will let me edit for the device are related to the driver.