Define Projection Error Instead of Write Access Error

Description

The following error is returned when trying to define a shapefile's coordinate system that has write-access restrictions.

"Dataset already has a projection defined"

Cause

User does not have write access to the dataset.

Workaround

1. Open Windows Explorer.
2. Browse to the folder that contains the shapefile.
3. Right-click each shapefile extension (.shp,.sbx,.dbf,.shx,.prj,.sbn) one at a time and select Properties. Or, hold down the Shift key to select all shapefile-related files.
4. From the General tab on the Properties dialog, uncheck the read-only checkbox and click OK.
5. The same steps apply when removing write access restrictions to folders and subfolders.