Find Open Files In Windows
There are times when a file is open on a windows server and you need view what user or process has it open. These open files can be locked and prevent users from editing, cause errors when upgrading software, hold up a reboot and so on.
In this article, I will show you how to quickly view open files on windows server and workstations.
Both methods use built in Windows tools and works on most Windows versions (I’ve tested this on Server 2008, 2012, 2016 and Windows 10).
If you do not know the program the file it is using then you can go to My Computer; right click; select Manage. Under System Tools Shared folders Open Files, you should be able to see the user who has locked the file. You can close file from here and then you can perform the task of rename or delete the file. Hope this helps. How to find out which handle or DLL is using a file. Open Process Explorer, running as administrator. Enter the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+F. Altenatively, click the “Find” menu and select “Find a Handle or DLL”. A search dialog box will open. Type in the name of the locked file or other file of interest. Partial names are usually sufficient.
Video Tutorial
To view the number of open files navigate to the following location in windows server 2008 Start - Administrative Tools - Share Storage Management You can then view the number of open files, and contact the appropriate users to have them close it. Be the first to comment. You can get the list of files opened by users on Windows file server using built-in Computer Management (compmgmt.msc) graphic console. Open the Computer Management snap-in on your file server (or connect to the server remotely from the management console running on your computer) and go to System Tools - Shared Folders - Open files. Nov 20, 2017 Open File Explorer from the taskbar. Select View Options Change folder and search options. Select the View tab and, in Advanced settings, select Show. There is a built-in function in Windows that shows you what files on the local computer are open/locked by remote computer (which has the file open through a file share):. Select 'Manage Computer' (Open 'Computer Management'). click 'Shared Folders'. choose 'Open Files'.
If you don’t like videos or want more details then continue reading.
Recommended Tool: SolarWinds Permissions Analyzer
Now you can quickly see WHO has permission to WHAT and answer the questions that suck up your time and patience.
SolarWinds FREE Permission Analyzer will determine a user's effective NTFS permissions for a specific file, folder or network share access. The results are displayed in a nifty desktop dashboard.
Method 1: Use Computer Management to view shared files/folder
This first method is used to view open files on a shared folder. This is the best way to troubleshoot locked files that users have left open. If you need to see what process has a file open then check out method 2.
Step 1: Right Click the start menu and select Computer Management
Another way to access computer management is to type in compmgmt.msc into the start menu search box.
You will need to open up this console on the computer or server that has the shared folder. For example, I have a server called file1 with a shared folder named HR. To see the open files on this share I will need to open up the computer management console from the file1 server.
Step 2: Click on Shared Folders, then click on open files
I can now see that the user rallen has the HR folder and the file adpro.txt open.
If I needed to I can right click the file and select “Close Open File”. This is something that needs to be done when a file is locked.
That’s it for method 1.
If you need to check who has permissions to a file or folder then check out my guide How to view NTFS effective permissions.
Methods 2: See process and file details with Resource Monitor
Sw 38 revolver serial numbers. Step 1: Type Resource monitor into the start menu search box
This is the quickest way to access the Resource Monitor.
Another option is to open up the task manager, click the performance tab and then click Open Resource Monitor.
Step 2: Click on the disk tab in resource monitor
Now that I have the resource monitor open I just need to click on the disk tab.
Now I can see all kinds of details about the disk activity such as files open, PID, read and write bytes per second and more.
You can move the columns around so you can see the full file path.
If have a lot of disk activity you go stop the live monitoring so you can view the open file activity.
Download sap netweaver. ABAP Development Tools for SAP Netweaver: ABAP Development Tools for SAP Netweaver: Install and update the front-end components of ABAP Development Tools for SAP NetWeaver (ADT) Installation Guide. This free download package contains a cross-industry logical data model to help you get started with your analytics project. Sap netweaver free download - Blaze for SAP Netweaver Gateway, Excel Add-In for SAP, SAP ODBC Driver, and many more programs.
To stop the live monitoring go to monitor, then select stop monitoring.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for more Active Directory Tutorials.
Find Who Has Files Open In Windows Server 2008
Recommended Tool: SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor (SAM)
This utility was designed to Monitor Active Directory and other critical applications. It will quickly spot domain controller issues, prevent replication failures, track failed logon attempts and much more.
Find Open Files In Windows Explorer
What I like best about SAM is it’s easy to use dashboard and alerting features. It also has the ability to monitor virtual machines and storage.