Read/Write Attributes in Xp?

I am installing Zen cart on local host running on windows Xp. Once I have developed the site, I will be moving it onto my server which uses Linux.

In the installation tutorial, it gives a list of directories where I am supposed to change the read attribute to read/write. The problem is that by design,Xp ignores read write/attributes and they can't easily be changed.

I have tried changing the attribute through the command line, [attrib -r cache,] while this appears to have worked, when I right click on the folder properties it is still read only.

Since Microsoft claim that this attribute should not make any difference, I am tempted to just try installing it but I am worried about possible complications when moving on to the Linux platform.

Has anybody any views or solutions?

Ps

Am I supposed to change the attributes for the sub folders and files as well?

While working on your test PC, don't worry about attempting to set read-only permissions. XP by default tends to treat everything as writable anyway, so you likely don't need to do anything special.
But when you set up on your live server, be sure to pay appropriate attention to all security matters.