What does HRESULT 0x8004280B (VDS_E_DISK_IS_READ_ONLY) mean?

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The selected VDS disk is currently read-only and cannot perform the requested write operation.

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VDS_E_DISK_IS_OFFLINE	VDS_E_PAGEFILE_DISK

VDS_E_DISK_IS_READ_ONLY

VDS exposes two related read-only flags. VDS_DF_READ_ONLY is the Windows-maintained disk attribute that applications can set or clear through VDS. VDS_DF_CURRENT_READ_ONLY reports the actual current device state and can also reflect read-only hardware, a read-only LUN, or a virtual disk stored on read-only backing storage.

Why this state matters

This distinction is essential for diagnosis. Clearing the Windows read-only attribute does not guarantee that the disk becomes writable when the underlying storage remains read-only. Log both flags before and after the attempted change. If CURRENT_READ_ONLY remains set, investigate the storage layer rather than repeatedly calling ClearFlags.

Diagnostic focus

Capture both VDS_DF_READ_ONLY and VDS_DF_CURRENT_READ_ONLY.
If only the maintained attribute is set, clear it through the supported VDS disk flag operation and reread properties.
If current-read-only persists, check LUN policy, hardware write protection, and virtual-disk backing volume state.
Keep read-only diagnosis separate from offline state; a disk can be offline, read-only, or both.

Technical references

VDS_DISK_FLAG · VDS_DISK_PROP · IVdsDisk::GetProperties · IVdsDiskOnline::Online · VDS common return codes

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