Which application locked a file

You can then close the application if you are able to do that, or just right-click the row and you'll get the option of killing the process End Process right there. Process Explorer shows you information about which handles and DLLs processes have opened or loaded. Same as Resource Monitor, an individual handle in the list can be killed by selecting it and pressing the delete key or Close Handle.

However, please be careful when deleting handles, as system instabilities may occur. Handle is a command line version of Process Explorer. I prefer to use Resource Monitor compare to Process Explorer since Process Explorer is slower especially during "Refreshing handles" process. All processes which have an open handle to that file should be listed.

WhoLockMe - Explorer extension which adds a right-click menu option. WhoLockMe appears to not work with Win 10 at least I have been unable to register it with either of the or bit versions of regsvr Have a look at Process Explorer procexp.

Process Explorer will list all processes that have a handle to the file open. Click on an entry to focus the process in the main window. LockHunter can unlock any handlers that may have locked your files or folders. Unlike similar freewares, it supports both 32 and bit Windows.

It is a free tool to delete files blocked by something you do not know. LockHunter is useful for fighting against malware, and other programs that are blocking files without a reason. Unlike other similar tools it deletes files into the recycle bin so you may restore them if deleted by mistake. The program is completely free, though the newer version is a bit slower and more bloated than the original which had a plain, unskinned GUI, but loaded pretty much instantaneously and without an annoying splash screen.

Also, the original version used to pop up automatically whenever the error you mentioned is triggered, allowing you to instantly unlock the file and perform the operation you were attempting. Still, UnlockIT is an incredibly useful program that provides a basic functionality that is critically missing from Windows. It's among the standard toolkit of utilities that I install on all Windows computers I work on.

A lot of the programs here are outdated. I finally ended up using nirsoft's OpenedFilesView which worked really well. Starting from version 1. After you enable this feature, you can right-click on any file or folder on Windows Explorer, and choose the 'OpenedFilesView' item from the menu. If you run the OpenedFilesView option for a folder, it'll display all opened files inside that folder.

If you run the OpenedFilesView option for a file, it'll display all opened handles for that file. If you do not know the program the file it is using then you can go to My Computer; right click; select Manage. You can close file from here and then you can perform the task of rename or delete the file.

Hope this helps. In older versions of Windows, you might get "Access Denied - you might not have rights, or the file might be in use". If you find through Process Explorer that the files are, in fact, not opened by anyone, odds are that there is an issue with security.

Using an administrator account, select the files in Explorer, right-click and select Properties, Security, Advanced, Owner. Odds are that the files are owned by an account that no longer exists or can no longer be verified to exist because of changing Active Directory trust settings. Apparently, this backup process leaves enough of a "ghost like file. However, I kept getting the error message:. Close any programs that might be using this file and try again.

I have created a small utility ShowWhatProcessLocksFile which shows what processes lock a selected file or folder f. It integrates into the File Explorer's context menu to allow selecting a file or folder.

Note: the application requires admin permissions. If for some reasons you don't like my program, I recommend you to try Lock Hunter. The program makes folders easily accessible to you whenever you need it. Folder lock software employ the strongest encryption algorithms. This application uses a high-level encryption key and offers many other ways like file hiding, shredding, and password. Skip to content. Here are the advantages of folder lock software: Provides the security of files and directories.

These applications keep your files locked even if your computer is suffering from malicious attacks. You can set a password that is asked when someone opens the program. It offers easy to use interface. Folder lock software provides a more secure and convenient way to modify your protected files.

Report a Bug. Previous Prev. Next Continue. Home Testing Expand child menu Expand. SAP Expand child menu Expand. Web Expand child menu Expand. Must Learn Expand child menu Expand. Big Data Expand child menu Expand. Live Project Expand child menu Expand. Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. You can also subscribe without commenting. Leave this field empty. Home About. March 29, Windows 10 Windows Server Many apps open files in the exclusive mode.

At the same time, the file is locked by a file system preventing input-output operations from other apps and process. If you close the app, the file lock is released. If you cannot delete a folder in a shared network folder, the problem is likely to be related to thumbs.

To find a process that has locked a file, it is often recommended to use the Unlocker tool.