got message 'file is open in another program'

goldsoft

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hi

in Windows-8 when i try to delete folder i got the message:
"The action cant be completed because the folder or file in it is open in another program"
i check and close all program, i dont see it in the task-manager
(if i reset the computer, and try again it will delete it)


another problem in Windows-8, when i copy, or delete folder - i cant see the action until i press F5 for refresh


how i can fix those problems ?
thanks,
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
hi

in Windows-8 when i try to delete folder i got the message:
"The action cant be completed because the folder or file in it is open in another program"
i check and close all program, i dont see it in the task-manager
(if i reset the computer, and try again it will delete it)


another problem in Windows-8, when i copy, or delete folder - i cant see the action until i press F5 for refresh


how i can fix those problems ?
thanks,

Hi there
this usually happens because a system or background service is running -- usually the culprit is something like Adobe updater or any of those little programs that might be running when you look at the tray on the right hand bottom of your screen --where the arrow is -- not quite to the complete right corner or you'll get the charms bar.

Go into control panel and look at SERVICES -- disable or stop the ones that are using your program. (This is different from the APPLICATIONS as the problem sounds like it's a background service which is using the file(s) you want to delete not an APPLICATION.

You'll need also to look at the task manager to see whats actually running - both applications and services.

If you can't figure it out take these 3 screenshots and maybe it should be clear what to stop.

1) Running services
2) running applications
3) name of program or file you want to delete.

Cheers
jimbo
 

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This can be a frustrating problem to resolve, even when you think you have shutdown everything and even tried a restart the error message persists. There's a useful little utility called Unlocker http://www.emptyloop.com/unlocker/ which I have found very useful on these occasions.
 

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Hi there
you don't need these -- simply look at running SERVICES and stop the service, now delete the file. On reboot service will be gone too.

In general don't add all these 3rd party bits and pieces to a running system unless you really have to. Genuine application programs are fine but system based stuff for example registry cleaners and the like -- I prefer my OS to be as 100% only Windows as possible.

Windows file explorer doesn't always refresh on actions like delete etc -- it's a known problem but not sure what the problem is. It certainly auto refreshes when MOVING a file. I've looked on Ms TechNet and there are several discussions on this -- some people it works for other it doesn't.

Can only suggest here that you apply all the latest updates. I don't think running scannow will help as nothing is actually broken,

Cheers
jimbo
 

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Hi there
you don't need these -- simply look at running SERVICES and stop the service, now delete the file. On reboot service will be gone too.

In general don't add all these 3rd party bits and pieces to a running system unless you really have to. Genuine application programs are fine but system based stuff for example registry cleaners and the like -- I prefer my OS to be as 100% only Windows as possible.

The scannow stuff is only of use is a system file say is CORRUPT -- this really has nothing to do with the OP's problem !!!!.
Please at least UNDERSTAND what the functionality of scannow does before posting it as a totally irrelevant solution to the problem

Cheers
jimbo

Wait, I suggest SCANNOW specifically for problem 2.
I suggest SCANNOW because I think problem 2 wasn't services fault. Something in explorer was blocking it from displaying changes to folders.
 

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This can be a frustrating problem to resolve, even when you think you have shutdown everything and even tried a restart the error message persists. There's a useful little utility called Unlocker UNLOCKER 1.9.1 BY CEDRICK 'NITCH' COLLOMB which I have found very useful on these occasions.

Wow! We posted at the same time! Jinx!
 

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Hi there
I've looked on Ms TechNet -- There are ongoing probs with "File Explorer" -- scannow won't fix this as nothing is actually broken yet.

For some people times auto refresh works for example when moving a file othertimes it doesn't. Other people don't have a problem.

What appears to be happening is in how the disk cache is refreshed -- often data is held in a cache to minimize disk accesses -- with an SSD of course disk access time isn't so important as it's extremely fast in any case and the cache can be quite small so it's flushed more regularly and you'll see the update almost immediately.

With classical spinners the cache can be quite large so when you press F5 a forced refresh can occur. Without F5 it might take a while for the cache to empty so you won't see the new view until then.

You can mess around with the various settings in Local policies in the administrative tools section but I'd just live with this and wait for a decent fix from Ms.

You really don't want to disable the cache when using spinners -- Disk performance is usually the biggest bottleneck on Home PC's.

I'm using an SSD and I can't replicate the delete problem on my PC so this confirms to me it's a Disk Cache handling problem.
(Note the copied / deleted files don't have to be on the SSD - Windows handles disk caching).

You might try also in control panel various options in Folder Options.

Cheers
jimbo
 

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Hi there
I've looked on Ms TechNet -- There are ongoing probs with "File Explorer" -- scannow won't fix this as nothing is actually broken yet.
Sometimes auto refresh works for example when moving a file othertimes it doesn't.

What appears to be happening is in how the disk cache is refreshed -- often data is held in a cache to minimize disk accesses -- with an SSD of course disk access time isn't so important and the cache can be quite small so it's flushed more regularly and you'll see the update almost immediately. On classical spinners the cache can be quite large so when you press F5 a forced refresh can occur.

You can mess around with the various settings in Local policies in the administrative tools section but I'd just live with this and wait for a decent fix from Ms.

You really don't want to disable the cache when using spinners -- Disk performance is usually the biggest bottleneck on Home PC's.

I'm using an SSD and I can't replicate the delete problem on my PC so this confirms to me it's a Disk Cache handling problem.
(Note the copied / deleted files don't have to be on the SSD - Windows handles disk caching).

You might try also in control panel various options in Folder Options.

Cheers
jimbo

Oops, my bad:eek:.
Yup, HDD's are the tightest bottleneck in PC's nowadays.
However, problem 2 never occurred on any computer that I used, including various school computers.
 

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Hi there
I've looked on Ms TechNet -- There are ongoing probs with "File Explorer" -- scannow won't fix this as nothing is actually broken yet.
Sometimes auto refresh works for example when moving a file othertimes it doesn't.

What appears to be happening is in how the disk cache is refreshed -- often data is held in a cache to minimize disk accesses -- with an SSD of course disk access time isn't so important and the cache can be quite small so it's flushed more regularly and you'll see the update almost immediately. On classical spinners the cache can be quite large so when you press F5 a forced refresh can occur.

You can mess around with the various settings in Local policies in the administrative tools section but I'd just live with this and wait for a decent fix from Ms.

You really don't want to disable the cache when using spinners -- Disk performance is usually the biggest bottleneck on Home PC's.

I'm using an SSD and I can't replicate the delete problem on my PC so this confirms to me it's a Disk Cache handling problem.
(Note the copied / deleted files don't have to be on the SSD - Windows handles disk caching).

You might try also in control panel various options in Folder Options.

Cheers
jimbo

Oops, my bad:eek:.
Yup, HDD's are the tightest bottleneck in PC's nowadays.
However, problem 2 never occurred on any computer that I used, including various school computers.


Hi there
I remember school computers too -- but those computers were SO OLD that I doubt if the disks in those days even HAD caches's !!!

In any case the response time usually was so bad that even editing 2 lines of text - and saving you could go and grab a sandwich while waiting for the save to complete -- those were the days. :dinesh:

Cheers
jimbo
 

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Which services? OP can't delete a folder how's he supposed to identify the services that may be using it. Good utilities have their place.
 

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  • OS
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Which services? OP can't delete a folder how's he supposed to identify the services that may be using it. Good utilities have their place.

Hi there
it's usually fairly easy by just looking at the services there's often a .dll or .exe with the same name that he's trying to delete.

I did also ask him to post screenshots .

I'm not also saying NEVER use these utilities - but always try and use the built in commands and features before installing any special "System" utility. If you HAVE to then do so but in general these aren't a good idea and can cause all sorts of unrelated problems later - some of these programs can also include spy / ad / other nagware which while not viruses in themselves can cause exploits for other more nasty programs to use -- especially if they can get access to the registry.

Some of the ad / spyware /nagware probably won't be picked up by some AV software especially if it isn't attempting to access the Internet as it's not actually doing any harm to the OS so any other virus could potentially use these programs as a backdoor to mess around with your registry.

Some of these programs are "Planted" -- they don't do any harm at date xxxx but the install website has data of where this stuff has been downloaded and at some future date nasty pgm yyyy could attempt to access the loopholes in the original program. Sometimes this stuff is activated by an innocuous "New version found - do you wish to install and download update".

I'm not saying all pgms of this type are bad - but these days there are more and more insidious ways of attacking computers so my take on this is to leave the OS as "Virginal as possible" and don't expect AV software 100% for protection as no AV software on this planet can be 100% effective until we use Quantum computers - and then we wouldn't need protection as mathematically it can be proved these are 100% IMPOSSIBLE to Hack.

(Nagware are those pgms that always ask you to "Go Pro" or equivalent for (of course) a fee).

Cheers
jimbo
 

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Very often you will find if a folder won't delete, you may need to delete the individual sub-folders or files before deleting the parent, sometimes you will find despite all that and killing the process for a file type Windows still won't release it and allow in delete. That's when you need a utility to help. Unlocker is freeware, no nags, no malware. I wouldn't recommend it otherwise.
 

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Hi there
you don't need these -- simply look at running SERVICES and stop the service, now delete the file. On reboot service will be gone too.

Agreed. And it's also what I usually do, and yes some Adobe updater always does that to explorer folders: usually one PDF or flash that was opened blocks the whole thing. Then I look for the services or running programs and there's something in 32bit with adobe... in description or name that I terminate to solve the thing.

BUT still I don't think this method will be accepted as an easy one buy the average user.
It is a good method but I don't know many people who would try it on their own.
 

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I am having a similar frustrating problem using Windows 8. Fairly frequently lately, I have tried to rename a folder with pictures in it, only to find that a message pops up saying something like the file is in use. I looked and found a file in the folder was displayed in Microsoft Picture Manager. I closed Microsoft Picture Manager and tried again and I got the same message. The exact same thing happened a few days ago, I believe. It seems like once you close Microsoft Picture Manager, the OS or Windows Explorer still thinks that the file is in use.
I have tried hitting F5 and that didn't help. I looked in Services but there is a lot of stuff there and I didn't see anything about Microsoft Picture Manager listed there. Perhaps someone could let me what I should look for. It's interesting that one of MS's own programs appears to be associated with this issue I'm having.

I hope that MS can fix this problem soon. Restarting the computer every time this occurs is not an acceptable way to resolve this.

Thanks.

Thanks.
 

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    Did have an Adaptec 2405 RAID card but because of BSODs coming out of Sleep Mode, it was replaced with a LSI 9271-4i RAID card which resolved the issue.
I am having a similar frustrating problem using Windows 8. Fairly frequently lately, I have tried to rename a folder with pictures in it, only to find that a message pops up saying something like the file is in use. I looked and found a file in the folder was displayed in Microsoft Picture Manager. I closed Microsoft Picture Manager and tried again and I got the same message. The exact same thing happened a few days ago, I believe. It seems like once you close Microsoft Picture Manager, the OS or Windows Explorer still thinks that the file is in use.
I have tried hitting F5 and that didn't help. I looked in Services but there is a lot of stuff there and I didn't see anything about Microsoft Picture Manager listed there. Perhaps someone could let me what I should look for. It's interesting that one of MS's own programs appears to be associated with this issue I'm having.

I hope that MS can fix this problem soon. Restarting the computer every time this occurs is not an acceptable way to resolve this.

Thanks.

Thanks.

Don't begin with services. Those areemore difficult to sort out.

Begin by looking in Task Manager, as I said in previous post.

Are you using Adobe programs (Bridge for instance?).
What other programs do you have installed that can be related to imaging and thumbnail preview?

You can do a test and see if disabling the thumbnails might sort it out.

folder-options.png

It's a test. Pay attention to task manager and see any programs (explorer or adobe updaters run in the background).

That's it.
 

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    Chromium, Pale Moon, Firefox Developer Edition
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    Windows Defender
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    That's basically it.
You can find what process has a handle on a file with Process Explorer available on TechNet Process Explorer

Yes, I use this. Remember to run it as Admin otherwise you'll not see who is locking your file.

I also had issues with Adobe so I stopped all their services. I'm not saying it is your problem but do consider it as others have said.
 

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I changed the Folder View to always show icons and that didn't help. I tried Unlocker and it reported that it couldn't find a lock. I was able to eventually rename the folder using Unlocker's Rename option. I have not run any Adobe product lately and I don't know if any Adobe service running in the background has anything to do with this.

It was suggested that I could use Process Explorer but what process would I look for?

Thanks.
 

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    Windows 8.1 64 bit
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    ASUS Sabertooth 990FX Rev 2
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    Mushkin 8GB, 997000 PC-12800
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    INVIDIA Quadro 600
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    Mouse
    Cirque SmartCat
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    Did have an Adaptec 2405 RAID card but because of BSODs coming out of Sleep Mode, it was replaced with a LSI 9271-4i RAID card which resolved the issue.
Hey, i think i've solved it.

I've been googling for solutions for hours, tried nearly everything.

Tried unchecking the "launch in a separate process" checkbox — was unchecked already, didn't help.

Tried removing almost all software (even uninstalled K-lite pack, only an old version of Winamp left) — didn't help.

Installed a "Lockhunter" unlocking tool — did help, but is annoying by itself, cause i usually shuffle A LOT of mp3 albums.

Tried using Local Group Policy Editing to disable that thumbnail caching thing — didn't help.

Tried enabling Item Checkboxes — didn't help

What did help was going to the same page of GPEDIT.MSC: User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Explorer. And then selecting

Turn on Classic Schell

at the top of the list. Enable it. So far no more annoying 'in use by another program' message!!
 

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