But there are also situations where it is not as easy. Situations where the file operation cannot be executed even if there is no visible process locking that file. That’s when programs like FileAssassin or the previously reviewed Unlocker come into play.

FileAssassin can be downloaded as a portable version or as an installer. The installer integrates the options into the right-click menu in Windows Explorer so that selected files and folders can be unlocked easily. The portable version does not add those entries and can only be used from within the interface therefor.

Files and folders can be dragged and dropped into the interface or loaded by using the file browser. FileAssassin will then try several methods of unlocking the file so that it can be modified or deleted. The software in particular will

• unlock locked file handles
• unload modules
• terminate the file’s process

It is optionally possible to delete the file. If the delete option is not selected FileAssassin will try to unlock the file only.

FileAssassin is a good alternative to everybody’s favorite file unlocker Unlocker. It can be downloaded from the software’s project site over at the Malwarebytes website. The program is compatible with most versions of the Windows operating system including Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7.

It integrates itself in the right-click context menu just like Unlocker does. Like Unlocker LockHunter becomes only active when the user right-clicks an item and selects the What is locking this file / folder option from the menu.

LockHunter will then display the path of the file and folder plus the processes that are locking the file.

Each process is listed by name and file path with the option to display additional information by clicking on the plus sign in the front.

The three buttons at the bottom of the interface provide the means to unlock the selected file or folder, delete it right away or to close or delete the process that is locking the file or folder on the computer system.

Options to unlock, close or delete the selected process become also available after right-clicking on them in the main window of the application. The main difference to Unlocker are the 64-bit support of the file unlocker and the amount of information that are displayed in the LockHunter interface.

File And Folder Unlocker is basically a similar application. It does however work in a different way.The software can be started manually by double-clicking its program file. It does integrate itself into the right-click menu as well but behaves differently than Unlocker does. The portable software will list all running processes on the computer system and a search box that can be used to search for specific processes, files or folders. The search box will be automatically filled with information if the software has been integrated into the right-click menu. An alternative to listing open objects is to double-click any process to list all of its open objects in the second box in the interface.

All objects will be listed including their location on the computer system, their owner and handle / offset. File And Folder Unlocker is definitely not as handy as using Unlocker when it comes to specific files or folders that are locked by the computer system. It does however provide extensive information that Unlocker does not provide.

This can be useful to analyze the current situation in depth. Might for example be useful if a file, process or folder is locked every time the system is shutdown. This program can help the user find out why it is locked while Unlocker would only be able to unlock it so that the computer system could be shutdown. The list of open objects can be exported for further analysis.

It can also deal with all of the following situations:

• Access denied.
• The file is in use by another program or user.
• The source or destination file may be in use.
• Cannot delete file: It is being used by another person or program.
• Cannot delete Folder: It is being used by another person or program.
• The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process.
• There has been a sharing violation.
• Close any programs that might be using the file and try again.
• Make sure the disk is not full or write-protected and that the file is not currently in use.

File And Folder Unlocker is a 36 Kilobyte freeware that is compatible with Windows 2000 and Windows XP.

Unlocker is freeware and adds a right-click menu entry called Unlocker after installation. If you encounter a file or folder that can’t be deleted use unlocker to either kill the process or unlock the file so that the deletion can commence.

I know that I already wrote about Unlocker before but a new version was released two days ago which corrects some bugs and adds another language to the program. Here is the complete changelog:

• New language: Belarusian thanks to Aleg Azarousky
• New feature: Access to Delete / Rename / Move options from command line
• Improved behavior: Power users do not need rights to modify registry anymore to run Unlocker as long as Unlocker was installed by an administrator on the machine
• Fixed bug: Renaming now works again.
• Fixed bug: Renaming and Moving on boot now work again.

Other error messages where Unlocker is able to help with.

• Cannot delete file: Access is denied
• There has been a sharing violation.
• The source or destination file may be in use.
• The file is in use by another program or user.
• Make sure the disk is not full or write-protected and that the file is not currently in use.

You see, it might be a good idea to install the program and have it at hand because those errors seem to happen frequently on Windows.