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Every once in a while when I try to remove a file I have been working with, Windows tells me I cannot remove it, because some application is still using it.

Sometimes it's just my own stupidity, and closing the app I was working with releases the file, but sometimes I cannot for the life of me imagine any of the remaining applications holding the file.

Sometimes when I close everything I have started, it is still reported as locked and not deletable.

Is there any low-level tool that I can point at a file that can tell me which applications are holding a reference to it, to diagnose how to resolve this without resorting to a reboot and delete cycle?

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See this ServerFault question. – John Fouhy Jul 17 '09 at 3:34
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4 Answers

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Unlocker should do the trick.

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Works well... and you beat FigBug by seconds with it ;) – jerryjvl Jul 18 '09 at 0:19
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Sysinternals Handle or Process Explorer

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Unlocker will do the trick.

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Two answers 4 seconds apart, one word different. – FigBug Jul 17 '09 at 3:04
I know... I feel bad that I can only accept one of the two if it ends up working out for me ;) – jerryjvl Jul 17 '09 at 3:05
Go with the one with more confidence in their statement :p – Ray Jul 17 '09 at 3:09
Well, unlocker has not worked for me a few times before. – John T Jul 17 '09 at 3:13
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I think this needs to be settled by an old fashioned fight in the carpark :-) – Bruce McLeod Jul 17 '09 at 3:13
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I like WhoLockMe. Shows up as an explorer extension, really handy.

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