file/folder allocation hair pulling.....

feralkid · Post by **feralkid** » 2004 Jul 01, 21:01

Having a problem with files/folders (f/fs) remaining allocated to xplorer2. Trying to delete these f/fs always produces the hated msg "sorry, file in use".

Looking deeper into this I have found that these f/fs are indeed held by xplorer2. This usually is due to my having launched the file, or done something else with it. If I launch the file and it is opened by Word (for example) I can understand it being held/allocated by Word. But it is not. After the app ends xplorer2 still has it tied up. This was a problem also with 2xexplorer. I usually have to exit xplorer2 and start it again in order to delete these f/fs. Why can't xplorer2 cleanup these allocations?????
I'm stopping and starting xplorer2/2xexplorer a gazillion times a day.

The reason for my post is that I desperately need a solution to this. Also, there's a new twist with xplorer2. If I exit xplorer2 it doesn't really end. (I hope there isn't an option somewhere I've missed). xplorer2 stays active (even after I exit) and the f/ifs stay allocated. Clicking my desktop icon to start it up again, in order to delete the f/ifs does not work (since xplorer2 never really went away). I have to start up a process viewer utility and kill xplorer2 before trying to restart it with the desktop icon..

Any suggestions?

Thanks

JRz · Post by **JRz** » 2004 Jul 01, 22:18

This is very interesting, since we've been looking for exactly this situation and can't reproduce it. Can you elaborate on how you start X² and what environment you're in (OS, etc.)

Only thing I can say: the only known issue is deleting folders from the tree. Deleting files folders from within a pane should always succeed.

Please elaborate on your specific situation. Thanks.

Robert2 · Post by **Robert2** » 2004 Jul 02, 01:36

feralkid wrote:Having a problem with files/folders (f/fs) remaining allocated to xplorer2. Trying to delete these f/fs always produces the hated msg "sorry, file in use".

Looking deeper into this I have found that these f/fs are indeed held by xplorer2. This usually is due to my having launched the file, or done something else with it.

Greetings--
Are you sure that these files or folders are locked by xplorer² and not by the application(s) they were launched with?
I sometimes have the same problem with a file viewing utility called "FmView". It has a standalone viewer called "Fmvapp.exe". Very often, when I use this viewer and I try to delete a file (or a folder hosting that file), the file is locked.
This has nothing to do with xplorer².
The solution is to call the Windows Task Manager up (Ctrl+Alt+Del) and terminate the resident viewer ("Fmvapp.exe").
Maybe you are also using a similarly-minded application that will not surrender files gracefully?

Also have you checked that the problem files or folders are not read-only by any chance?

feralkid · Post by **feralkid** » 2004 Jul 02, 01:52

sorry for leaving this info out of my original post.
Windows XP Prof sp1
pentium 4 3.0 GHz
ram 2GB
dasd 1.5 TB in multiple RAID0 arrays (hardware and software RAID)

I start x2 by clicking an icon in the quick launch area (name??) or from desktop.

Yes it is x2 holding the files.. I use a very fine utility TaskInfo2003 to gather this information.
TaskInfo2003 can be found at http://www.iarsn.com/

I'd be happy to provide any other details you may need.

OM

fgagnon · Post by **fgagnon** » 2004 Jul 02, 02:04

feralkid wrote:The reason for my post is that I desperately need a solution to this. Also, there's a new twist with xplorer2. If I exit xplorer2 it doesn't really end. (I hope there isn't an option somewhere I've missed). xplorer2 stays active (even after I exit) and the f/ifs stay allocated.

... and I might say you are not the only one pulling out hair over what has been a confounding situation to reproduce.

Similar behaviour (x2 process not ending) has been occasionally seen by a number of us, but we have not been able to track down what causes it.
Files/folders being locked by x2 is new (unless you are trying to delete them from the tree at same time they are displayed in the active pane).
So please bear with nikos and all of the more persistently posting users who want to get to the bottom of this. Perhaps with your help we can find the root cause and nikos can stamp out the problems. (He's been very good at that in the past with other issues.

)
Any help you can give/light you can shed on the details of what you do to make this happen will be gratefully appreciated.

-Fred-
PS - missed seeing your post while I was composing mine & got interrupted

For f/fs lock, do the problems only occur with files on RAID (& not on 'normal' drive) ?
Also have you tried waiting for a while to see if there is a time-out involved?
& does x2 fail to terminate (or not) dependent on whether you are managing files with it on RAID device(s), or did so sometime during the x2 'session? etc, etc.

{nikos will likely pick up with more questions/observations in the morning, I'm going to bed now} -fg-

Post by **nikos** » 2004 Jul 02, 07:19

folder locking is a known and "documented" issue but i've never heard about file locking before. What file types are we talking here, anything or those previewed or those launched with d-click (does your explorer also block files this way?)

as for the hanging x2 process, make sure you kill it with task manager and then open a new one. Will this new one also hang?

feralkid · Post by **feralkid** » 2004 Jul 02, 13:59

Thanks for all the suggested things to look at....I'll continue to explore.

This morning I noticed I seem to be able to create a problem merely by right clicking a file! The context menu pops up. I do not select anything from the menu. Then I backspace to go up a level and try to delete the folder (containing the file I rightclicked). The folder is locked! This happens on both real/raid drives.

Thanks

Post by **nikos** » 2004 Jul 02, 14:07

this looks really weird
but whatever you try in x2 please try it in explorer too
perhaps there's something wrong with your system as a whole

fgagnon · Post by **fgagnon** » 2004 Jul 02, 17:46

feralkid wrote:... I seem to be able to create a problem merely by right clicking a file! The context menu pops up. I do not select anything from the menu. Then I backspace to go up a level and try to delete the folder (containing the file I rightclicked). The folder is locked!

I tired to duplicate your steps starting from C:\Temp\temp1\, but for me backspace has no effect until context menu is dismissed (by click-in-pane, or ESC). After that backspace takes pane(temp1) to its parent(Temp), with previous folder (temp1) selected; Delete then properly removes the folder (temp1) & its contents (to recycle bin) with no problem.

What are we doing differently from each other?
& exactly what do you do for "I do not select anything from the menu." to permit Backspace to work?

x2-Pro v1.0.0.1
XP pro + sp1
Pentium 4, 2GHz, 768 MB RAM

feralkid · Post by **feralkid** » 2004 Jul 02, 18:39

Well I have found one problem. I had an app on my system called rjhExtensions 1.3 (http://www.rjhsoftware.com). This added options to the context menu. After removing this app the problem with locking folders went away. This app was very useful as it provided functions like "path to clipboard" "Shred files" "cmd prompt" and others. I've been using it for years never suspecting....

It appears that just by opening the context menu (right click on f/f) this app can lockup the folder. I don't understand this. When I right-click (NOT selecting anything in the menu) do all the apps (with entries in the context menu) get control ?? Maybe just to say "yep I'm here"....

Could someone suggest another app that provides these functions in the context menu?

Thanks everyone for your ideas..

JRz · Post by **JRz** » 2004 Jul 02, 18:49

feralkid wrote:Could someone suggest another app that provides these functions in the context menu?

Yes, try Xplorer²

It provides all the things you mention (albeit not in the context menu)!!

pmike · Post by **pmike** » 2004 Jul 02, 18:51

feralkid wrote:This added options to the context menu. ... This app was very useful as it provided functions like "path to clipboard" "Shred files" "cmd prompt"
...
Could someone suggest another app that provides these functions in the context menu?

Yep...xplorer2

- Path to clipboard
1. Shift-Tab
2. Ctrl-C

- Shred files
1. Menu: Actions/Shred

- Command Prompt
A. You can enter commands in the addressbar
1. prefix $ to run dos commands
2. prefix > to launch windowed programs

B. Add a user command as follows (for Win NT/2K/XP):
1. Menu: Customize/User Commands/Add new...
2. Name='Shell'
3. Description='> cmd'
4. Menu: Customize/User Commands/Organize...
5. Add a keyboard shortcut to 'Shell'
6. Now, navigate to any folder, and run the user command 'Shell'

JRz · Post by **JRz** » 2004 Jul 02, 18:55

two souls, one thought pmike

!!

fgagnon · Post by **fgagnon** » 2004 Jul 02, 19:03

feralkid,

ok, so rjhExtensions was responsible for keeping f/fs locked.
This is good to know.

Next Q: Have you found any pattern for xplorer² process staying open after closing all its windows? ... or was that related to rjhExtensions as well?

feralkid · Post by **feralkid** » 2004 Jul 04, 23:53

Thanks for all your posts!

pmike: Yes, thanks...I did find all those functions in x2 after my last post... I think the problem is called RTFM...

fgagnon: Usually after finding a problem with an app like rjhextentions I remove the app and clear the problem list of "flaky problems". I consider my problem fixed -with caution- and will post anything that comes up in future.

thanks all,

zabkat support forum

file/folder allocation hair pulling.....

file/folder allocation hair pulling.....

Re: file/folder allocation hair pulling.....