diff --git a/red.js b/red.js
index c7dc8b131..9b86357f1 100755
--- a/red.js
+++ b/red.js
@@ -101,8 +101,15 @@ if (parsedArgs.settings) {
             var settingsStat = fs.statSync(defaultSettings);
             if (settingsStat.mtime.getTime() <= settingsStat.ctime.getTime()) {
                 // Default settings file has not been modified - safe to copy
-                fs.copySync(defaultSettings,userSettingsFile);
-                settingsFile = userSettingsFile;
+                try {
+                    fs.copySync(defaultSettings,userSettingsFile);
+                    settingsFile = userSettingsFile;
+                }
+                catch (err) {
+                    console.log("Can't copy settings file. Is file system Read Only ?");
+                    console.log("You may want to set readOnly: true, in settings.js");
+                    process.exit(1);
+                }
             } else {
                 // Use default settings.js as it has been modified
                 settingsFile = defaultSettings;
diff --git a/red/runtime/locales/en-US/runtime.json b/red/runtime/locales/en-US/runtime.json
index a38f44d08..d5967c98b 100644
--- a/red/runtime/locales/en-US/runtime.json
+++ b/red/runtime/locales/en-US/runtime.json
@@ -142,6 +142,7 @@
             "restore": "Restoring __type__ file backup : __path__",
             "restore-fail": "Restoring __type__ file backup failed : __message__",
             "fsync-fail": "Flushing file __path__ to disk failed : __message__",
+            "fwrite-fail": "Writing backup file __path__ to disk failed.",
             "projects": {
                 "changing-project": "Setting active project : __project__",
                 "active-project": "Active project : __project__",
diff --git a/red/runtime/storage/localfilesystem/util.js b/red/runtime/storage/localfilesystem/util.js
index d20c46622..342b4f950 100644
--- a/red/runtime/storage/localfilesystem/util.js
+++ b/red/runtime/storage/localfilesystem/util.js
@@ -81,7 +81,11 @@ module.exports = {
      writeFile: function(path,content,backupPath) {
          if (backupPath) {
             if (fs.existsSync(path)) {
-                fs.renameSync(path,backupPath);
+                try {
+                    fs.renameSync(path,backupPath);
+                } catch(e) {
+                    log.warn(log._("storage.localfilesystem.fwrite-fail",{path:path}));
+                }
             }
         }
         return when.promise(function(resolve,reject) {