The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process

Question

The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process

Dineshkumar.S 456

I tried to update me db schema in my code and after changing that if i run my application i ma getting the error as follows
The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process

but my db is not opened anywhere so how to update the db schema

my code : i have changed my db schema from 107 to 108 in my code given below

can anyone help me to solve this ? thanks in advance

 static void CheckDbCompat()
        {
            EYE.Client.EyeApiAdapter api = new EYE.Client.EyeApiAdapter();
            string mainPath = Path.Combine(api.GetSqliteDataDir(), EYE.Model.DbCM.GetSqliteEyeMainFileName());

            if (File.Exists(mainPath))
            {
                string strSchemaVersion = DbCM.GetVar("dbSchemaVersion", "");
                if (!Int32.TryParse(strSchemaVersion, out int nSchemaVersion))
                {
                    nSchemaVersion = 106;
                }
                if (nSchemaVersion < 108)  //major change so Start Over
                {
                    BaseUtil.WriteToAppConfig("BootstrapState", "");
                }
            }
            
        }

Anonymous

2023-02-16T09:04:48.1833333+00:00

Hi @Dineshkumar.S ,Is there any update in this issue?
bIOS 0 Reputation points

2023-11-03T20:17:26.6466667+00:00

got too being used by another process yellow warnings. but then i tried to ctrl alt del and deleted processes called net host or something like that, and then dotnet build worked.
Mustafa Bamboat 0 Reputation points

2024-05-14T06:16:20.01+00:00

The easiest way close the VS Studio and delete the .vs folder from the project, then open the project again; the publishing problem will be solved.
Casey Govero 0 Reputation points

2024-08-26T19:47:25.52+00:00

I've ran into this before when having a DB open in MS SQL. Occassionally something crashes or doesn't close properly and the process is left in the background. I would open up task manager and kill off any SSMS related (or DB related) processes that are happening. 9/10 it's due to a widowed process hanging around.
Scott Thomas Nieman 0 Reputation points

2025-05-11T13:42:58.83+00:00

I am experiencing the same. Use case here, in an Azure Function App, I create several files and then zip them up.

What I see is that File.WriteAllText Method doesn't see me to closing the file despite documentation saying that it will by design.

The subsequent call ZipFile.CreateFromDirectory(outputPath, outputZip) then fails, returning the same exception message.

Both methods are wrappers to many calls, and I see key params like FileAccess and FileShare that don't seem accessible in CreateFromDirectory().

This is .net8. I had no issues in .net6.

1 answer

Your answer

Anonymous

2023-02-16T09:04:48.1833333+00:00

Hi @Dineshkumar.S ,Is there any update in this issue?
bIOS 0 Reputation points

2023-11-03T20:17:26.6466667+00:00

got too being used by another process yellow warnings. but then i tried to ctrl alt del and deleted processes called net host or something like that, and then dotnet build worked.
Mustafa Bamboat 0 Reputation points

2024-05-14T06:16:20.01+00:00

The easiest way close the VS Studio and delete the .vs folder from the project, then open the project again; the publishing problem will be solved.
Casey Govero 0 Reputation points

2024-08-26T19:47:25.52+00:00

I've ran into this before when having a DB open in MS SQL. Occassionally something crashes or doesn't close properly and the process is left in the background. I would open up task manager and kill off any SSMS related (or DB related) processes that are happening. 9/10 it's due to a widowed process hanging around.
Scott Thomas Nieman 0 Reputation points

2025-05-11T13:42:58.83+00:00

I am experiencing the same. Use case here, in an Azure Function App, I create several files and then zip them up.

What I see is that File.WriteAllText Method doesn't see me to closing the file despite documentation saying that it will by design.

The subsequent call ZipFile.CreateFromDirectory(outputPath, outputZip) then fails, returning the same exception message.

Both methods are wrappers to many calls, and I see key params like FileAccess and FileShare that don't seem accessible in CreateFromDirectory().

This is .net8. I had no issues in .net6.

Answer 1

None of the code you posted actually does anything other than check for a file to exist. This code doesn't open any files so it wouldn't trigger the error you're talking about. What you need to do is look at the file that is being locked (I assume mainPath) and ensure that any calls to open the file also close the file. That is what the using statement is for.

using (var stream = File.OpenWrite(mainPath))
{
};  //File is automatically closed when done, even on error

//File is never properly closed
var stream2 = File.OpenWrite(mainPath);
stream2.Close(); //Don't do this as it is not exception safe

//Will fail because file is already open, doesn't matter that it is the same process
var stream3 = File.OpenWrite(mainPath);

If you're using some data library or something that wraps all this then you need to ensure it is cleaning things up as well.

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The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process

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