How can I unlock a folder locked by ‘System’ process on Windows Server 2008?

Question

I'm on Windows Server 2008 64-bit. LockHunter identifies that a folder is locked by the "System" process. I'm not sure why this happens, but my bigger concern is how to unlock it. I'm looking for a solution that can be run from the command line.

LockHunter itself is unable to unlock it. Also, Sysinternals' Process Explorer doesn't find the locked folder's handle. Rebooting is not an option either.

Answer 1

It turns out this was caused by another computer that had an open explorer shell on the "problematic" computer. This problem persisted even after a reboot! (not at first, but it reappeared)

The only solution was to close the relevant explorer window from the other computer.

Answer 2

Have you looked at this question: How do I delete a ‘locked’ file in Vista 64?

Answer 3

I don't think you can unlock any file locked by System.

Some utilities will only schedule deletes and renames for boot-time, as answered here already.

You might prefer to solve the causes for such locks, by searching using Process Explorer for the locking process. Once you know which system process it is, you may be able to disable it. For example, an always good candidate is Microsoft Search.

EDIT

If Process Explorer doesn't find the locking process, try EMCO UnLock IT, said to work on "Windows Vista and various x64 platforms".

Answer 4

Rebooting is sometimes all you need to do; if you haven't tried that yet, do so. If it's still locked when the system comes back online, then you can use a schedule-delete-for-boot utility.