Ok, so now that we know who has the file opened, how can we force them to release it ?
Specially when the file lives on a remote server and the local holder of the handle is a long dead copy of Outlook.
(System crashed because of some worm and Outlook never released the file handle even after several reboots.)
--
Camcuru
Leo
May 4, 2004 2:49 PM
Well, a reboot releases ALL file handles, so apparently something is starting on each reboot that is re-accessing the file.
On the server you can, in a command shell, type "NET FILE" to see what's open. Each will have a number, and then you can "NET FILE id /CLOSE" where id is that number, to force the file closed.
Good luck!
Abel
May 19, 2004 5:40 PM
Somehow or another it says that one of my movie files is being used by explorer.exe and thats why i cant move/rename/delate it. I've a couple times and virus-scanned with no results. Any ideas?
Leo
May 19, 2004 6:01 PM
Even after a reboot? If so, I'm kind of at a loss. It's not referenced in your startup is it? Can you share the specific location and name of the file on your machine, or where it came from?
Simcha
June 6, 2004 11:54 AM
If you can't move a file even after a reboot because its in use, there is a free utility available from Microsoft that may help. INUSE.exe allows you to schedule a file replace for the next reboot (you could do this yourrself in the registry, but inuse is neater). However, it doesn't seem to provide a way to copy the file before it's renamed. Here's where to find it:
Fugu
June 30, 2004 3:54 AM
Abel: I've bumped in to the same problem. The only way I could do it was to first kill explorer.exe process using Task Manager and then rename the movie file using command prompt. After that you can run explorer.exe again.
cacona666
July 12, 2004 8:12 AM
Is there any utility to know automatically before shutting down that there are some files in use (as in Windows 98, that the OS shows a warning that there are "connected" users).
Thanks,
Juan Carlos
Leo
July 12, 2004 8:54 AM
Not off hand. The problem is that there are *always* files in use. By the operating system, if nothing else. If you're worried specifically about files being used on that machine from other machines on the network, you could go into a command shell and type "Net File" to see what's been opened remotely.
Bernd Wechner
July 26, 2004 6:44 PM
What if I'm using a file on a the network (on a remote share) which is locked? How can I tell who has that locked?
Leo
July 26, 2004 9:32 PM
That was covered in the article. But you *do* need access to the server.
Comments
Read the article that everyone's commenting on.
May 4, 2004 10:28 AM
Ok, so now that we know who has the file opened, how can we force them to release it ?
Specially when the file lives on a remote server and the local holder of the handle is a long dead copy of Outlook.
(System crashed because of some worm and Outlook never released the file handle even after several reboots.)
--
Camcuru
May 4, 2004 2:49 PM
Well, a reboot releases ALL file handles, so apparently something is starting on each reboot that is re-accessing the file.
On the server you can, in a command shell, type "NET FILE" to see what's open. Each will have a number, and then you can "NET FILE id /CLOSE" where id is that number, to force the file closed.
Good luck!
May 19, 2004 5:40 PM
Somehow or another it says that one of my movie files is being used by explorer.exe and thats why i cant move/rename/delate it. I've a couple times and virus-scanned with no results. Any ideas?
May 19, 2004 6:01 PM
Even after a reboot? If so, I'm kind of at a loss. It's not referenced in your startup is it? Can you share the specific location and name of the file on your machine, or where it came from?
June 6, 2004 11:54 AM
If you can't move a file even after a reboot because its in use, there is a free utility available from Microsoft that may help. INUSE.exe allows you to schedule a file replace for the next reboot (you could do this yourrself in the registry, but inuse is neater). However, it doesn't seem to provide a way to copy the file before it's renamed. Here's where to find it:
June 30, 2004 3:54 AM
Abel: I've bumped in to the same problem. The only way I could do it was to first kill explorer.exe process using Task Manager and then rename the movie file using command prompt. After that you can run explorer.exe again.
July 12, 2004 8:12 AM
Is there any utility to know automatically before shutting down that there are some files in use (as in Windows 98, that the OS shows a warning that there are "connected" users).
Thanks,
Juan Carlos
July 12, 2004 8:54 AM
Not off hand. The problem is that there are *always* files in use. By the operating system, if nothing else. If you're worried specifically about files being used on that machine from other machines on the network, you could go into a command shell and type "Net File" to see what's been opened remotely.
July 26, 2004 6:44 PM
What if I'm using a file on a the network (on a remote share) which is locked? How can I tell who has that locked?
July 26, 2004 9:32 PM
That was covered in the article. But you *do* need access to the server.
To post a comment on "How can I find out who is using a "file in use"?", please return to that article's main page.