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File explorer hangs on locked processes

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17 replies

by jbuzz

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Windows XP file explorer locks multiple processes and stops responding when trying to delete files.

This has been on ongoing problem for me with XP since its first installation. I have tried every obvious solution that I am aware of with no success.
1. Safe mode.
2. Changing msconfig for selective startup.
3. Uninstallation of unneeded applications.
4. Disabling services that are using network resources.
5. Disabling firewall and anti-virus processes.
6. All system components are fully updated.
7. Full system wipe and OS re-install.

This happens on three different systems running XP Pro SP2 so I am confident this is not hardware related.

Windows explorer.exe locks files and I am unable to modify them without stopping explorer.exe at the Task Manager and using the command line to make file changes. This is hideously inefficient. I am using freeware app WhoLockMe.exe to see that it is always Explorer.exe that has locked one (or more) processes on the files. Frequently this happens to a single file in a directory containing multiple files. It may have as many as 5 PID's locked by explorer.exe.

17 replies

by bfilmfan

Sounds like you have tried everything, but let's see here.

When you did the full OS wipe, did you remove all partitions and do a reformat of the disk?

Have you tried installing a new Windows OS by itself in a new partition and directory with no other software loaded?

You said this has occurred on 3 different systems. Are these systems networked and has that network been scanned for a worm, virus or trojan coming from a server, such as FunLove or one of the other NETBios-capable ones?

As an additional question, are the 3 different systems the same hardware aka all the same vendor and model?

Does the issue happen with just SP1 on the system?

by jbuzz

Individual systems and network traffic is monitored for mailicious apps. I use Spybot S&D, along with several other tools, but find it returns too many false positives. It falsely identifies several required graphics and print related processes as trojans.

by jbuzz

***Additional details***

Network: Yes, all affected machines are on the same IP network. Other mahcines on the network are not affected.

Hardware: one Dell laptop - P4, 1.0GB, 2 partitions
two custom built PC towers with multiple physical drives.

Partitions: No, I have not completely wiped the drives to remove partitions. Data is stored on the non-boot partitions.

Viruses: I have scanned the machines and network for all types of malicious processes. Nothing found. Additionally, I see no evidence of Trojan activity in outgoing firewall logs.

by jtakiwi

Check the switch, try resetting and see if it helps. Also, it could be a name resolution issue, make sure DNS or WINS is operating properly. Check the binding order of the NIC(s) on your server, make sure it is right for your environment.

Is the problem when you initially browse to the file, or after you open it? If the latter, ensure that firewall on pc's (or server) isn't blocking traffic (I know, sounds stupid, but I had a pc that I turned off the firewall, but all the rules stayed, intermittently).

by jbuzz

The trouble is strictly local to each machine. I am not trying to work across the network using explorer.exe. Local files are locked by instances of Explorer.exe processes on each machine.

I am not using WINS on these machines. LMHOST files direct name resolution to static print servers for some machines and central DHCP provides addressing for all.

The only change I have made to network binding is to move WebClient service to the bottom of the provider list.

There are definitely problems with network connectivity related to explorer.exe, but I don't think they are related to the file locking issue. Removeable storage (USB drives) still appear in the Network Neighborhood after the devices have been removed, causing Explorer.exe to stop responding when trying to browse the Network Neighborhood.

As far as the firewalls go, I have uninstalled local soft firewalls and disconnected the hardware firewall and still had this file locking issue.

by sgt_shultz

...when trying to delete files...
where are the files? local? network? both? are you on a domain or workgroup is time synched?

by bfilmfan

Does the issue exist when you have just SP1?

You can delete just the OS partition and leave the data ones alone.

by jbuzz

Never used XP SP1. Migrated from Win2000 SP5 to XP SP2.

I would really like to avoid to whole OS re-install process. This has been done before and the issue recurs.

My goal here is to find the root cause of this locking problem so I can avoid it altogether. Seems like the fix to every Windows problem is to re-install the OS. This is just not a realistic solution.

by jbuzz

Thank you for the tip, unlocker.exe is a nice little tool. It does seem to be more powerful than wholockme.exe that I have been using to get around this problem. Trouble is, it still requires the shutdown of explorer.exe. This is such a serious issue for me because I am constantly moving and renaming files as I work. Just dealing with the unlocking workaround is too troublesome to be considered a viable solution. It also introduces instability into the windows session requiring inevitable reboots throughout the day which take up way too much time.

I appreciate everyones input and sincerely hope that we can come up with a root cause for this behavior in Windows XP.

by ente_masta

Hello!
I have the same problem with XP SP2! We have 5000 Pc's (same Hardware) and on few machines this problem occours. I look on that Pc's what's different and i see that AcrobatWriter and WS-FTP Pro is installed (Spezial Pagemaster Users).
I think that is a problem with IE,AdobeWriter and FTP-Explorer! Do you have Adobe-Software(Writer) or WinFTP installed?

by jbuzz

Yes! Both machines are running the full Adobe Creative Suite CS2 including Acrobat. Now maybe we are on to something. I am not running WinFTP nor WS FTP. I do use FTP Genius on the affected machines.
Adobe Photoshop has a file locking problem as well. Frequently, once an image is opened and edited in Photoshop the file cannot be moved or renamed with explorer until Photoshop has been shut down. Perhaps you are right and it is a combined issue of the Adobe and MS apps.

by deadlybear

I had very similiar problem, it began when I installed a program (FinalData or VirtualLab) to rescue data from one of the hard drives I had.

It was file wdelmgr20.exe in system32 folder that messed my file deletion totally. I had the program uninstalled weeks ago but that file was left behind, freezing my explorer.exe to around 10 mins.

by obfuscated

Aug 2009: Using Windows Explorer on a WinXP Pro SP3 machine with QuickTime 7.6.2 (515), merely attempting to renamed a .MOV file causes Explorer.exe to lock (handle) the file. Nothing seems to release the lock, except for using Task Manager or Process Explorer or CMD Prompt to run "taskkill /IM /F explorer.exe" to terminate Windows Explorer.

This is horrible. I've seen many posts throughout the various online forums regarding this issue ... but all are lacking a true resolve.

I think it may have something to do with Windows trying to update the THUMBS.DB file. I would prefer *not* to disable that feature, although I know it's possible to do so.

Any thoughts?

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