Read-only file can't be touched.

I have a folder on my hard drive that is giving me alot of problems. When I look at its properties (talking in XP terms here), I get a square inside of the box labeled "Read Only" meaning that only some of the subfolders and files are read-only. The properties window also says that the files are approx. 160 mb in size. I doubt this is true, because there are over 5000 files in the folder and a 3rd-party disc analyzer says that the folder is over 40 gb in size. Whats going on? I've tried to remove the read only status of the entire folder, and it just says it can't make changes to whatever's inside. I can't change the status of the files or delete them through DOS, it says it's completed but it just doesn't do anything. Is there a 3rd party program that could deal with this?
Sorry this is so long-winded, but I wanted to give all the details. Thanks in advance.