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File Locks in Express

Document ID: 10425

Synopsis

A user might see the following error message when trying to access their mail via Express. MailSite.Server.5 error '80004005' The process cannot access the file because it is being u

More Information

File Locks in Express

A user might see the following error message when trying to access their mail via Express.

MailSite.Server.5 error '80004005'
The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process.
(0x20)
?, line 0

This error can occur when IMAP cannot get an exclusive lock on the folder.imp file for that user.

Quick and Easy Resolutions

  • Make sure that the user isn't trying to connect to Express and through another e-mail client at the same time.
  • Try restarting IMAP or POP.
  • Check you don't have Anti Virus or Anti Spam solutions scanning the BOX directory as this can cause locks.
If any of the above doesn't help try the suggestions below.

Discover the locks using Process Explorer

You can download from this link Process Explorer.

In this program do a 'find' on the path to that customer inbox e.g c:\Program Files\MailSite\BOX\vicky\INBOX. This should show you what handles if any are currently open to this location.

Errors in the Event Viewer

Check in the Event Viewer for errors relating to this problem. Sometimes this issue is caused by a 'PID 4 SYSTEM error'. This indicates that the lock is not caused by MailSite but something deeper within the Kernel.

If you find this error try the following: A number of actions can be taken to remedy the problem to an extent although it cannot be totally removed as it at a deeper level beyond MailSite and within Microsoft code.

  • Please ensure that you all the latest updates from our website for both MailSite and Express.
  • Other customers have also noticed improvements in this problem by ensuring they have the latest OS Service Pack/s installed, the latest BIOS and drivers on their systems.
  • One final thing to do that also helps is to turn off 'opportunist locking' as this often holds on to locks for too long thus causing the error to occur.
    • You can deny the granting of opportunistic locks by setting the following registry entry to 0 on your file server (which stores the BOX directory)

      HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters

      EnableOplocks REG_DWORD 0 or 1. Default: 1 (Enabled by Default)

      Note The EnableOplocks value configures Windows-based servers (including Workstations sharing files) to allow or deny opportunistic locks on local files.

      The File server will need to be rebooted for this change to take affect.