File being used by another person or program

[AndieB]

Hi,

I have some files on my Server that I want to delete, but I get the errormessage "File being used by another person or program...". My question now is, is there any TOOL or way to see which user or program that is LOCKING the file I want to delete??

IF NOT, is there a workaround to delete it?

Thankful for any kind of help!

Andreas

 

[tfg13]

Have you tried to see what files have open sessions through Computer Management?

 

[AndieB]

Yes I did, and the files were not listed there.

Any other suggestion?

BR,
Andreas B

 

[ricpinto]

Can you delete the file in safe mode?

 

[AndieB]

I haven't tried that one. The things is that I cannot take down the server, there are services running that is online for users.

But thanks for the tip!

Best regards,

Andreas

 

[markdmac]

Do an online search for a utility called WHOHAS. It was originally created for Novell clients but I believe it does work in a Windows environment as well.

I found a copy here that says it's supported platforms are Win95 and WinNT, post back if it works in newer Windows versions please.

http://developer.novell.com/support/sample/tids/d4whohas/d4whohas.htm

I hope you find this post helpful. Please let me know if it was.

Regards,

Mark

 

[markdmac]

You might also want to check out this MSKB:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;228930

I hope you find this post helpful. Please let me know if it was.

Regards,

Mark

 

[AndieB]

Hi,

sorry, WHOHAS did not work.
Claimed for a file named calwin32.dll.
There was not any installation file from the link that you included!

But I am thankful for your interest in helping out!

BR,
AndreasB

 

[AndieB]

Hi again,

Too bad, but the INUSE.EXE didn't work either.
It had to have a "replacement" file in order to take away the File Lock.

I have to keep on searching. Please let me know if you find anything else!

BR,
AndreasB

 

[markdmac]

OK, got a Windows version:

http://www.gadgetfactory.com

Look for WhoHasNT.

I hope you find this post helpful. Please let me know if it was.

Regards,

Mark

 

[AndieB]

Hi again,


I tried WhoHasNT, but I get no results at all.
Don't think I'm doing anything wrong, but files
that says to be locked by the OS is not being
identified with WhoHas.

Thanks again for your willingness to help out!!

Best regards,

AndreasB

 

[markdmac]

last thing I can think of since you can't reboot the server is to stop sharing the folder for a minute. That should break the connection to the file.

I hope you find this post helpful. Please let me know if it was.

Regards,

Mark

 

[tyrantaz]

This might sound stupid, but I had the same issue not to long ago and the problem was the permission on the folder. something I over looked as an admin since the box is development and there are 6 admins on the box, one admin took out everybody else permissions. Check Security make sure you have full rights to the folder.

 

[Dray27]

If you happen to have McAfee VirusScan Pro open it up and click on "other tasks". There is a nice little tool there called "McAfee Shredder". Click on the shredder icon then navigate using the browse button until you find the problem file. Select the file, click next and VOILA! Problem solved! But you will not be able to recover the file after shredding so use this method only if you want to PERMANENTLY remove the file from your computer.

I’ve seen similar shredding tools in other programs, for instance Spybot has one. If you don't have McAfee give one of the others a try. I imagine they all use a similar process.

Good luck!

Dray