1.8.2 Selecting the investigation tool

The following two tools list the processes using file handles:

handle.exe
openfiles.exe

Table 1.7 Features of handle.exe and openfiles.exe
Item	handle.exe	openfiles.exe
Method of obtaining	Obtainable from Microsoft website	Installed as standard in OS
Setting method	Refer to "1.8.3.2 Setting handle.exe".	Refer to "1.8.3.3 Setting openfiles.exe". (Restarting the server is required on setup.)
OS performance deterioration resulting from investigation tool use	No	Yes (Enabling 'maintain objects list' reduces the OS performance.)
File for a display	All files in the system	Only the file that is used by the user executed openfiles.exe. *AdvancedCopy Manager commands or services execute openfiles.exe in this function. The files for a display are as follows. The file that is used by the user executed AdvancedCopy Manager commands.(In case of "in-use lock error" in command execution server) The file that is used by AdvancedCopy Manager startup account.(In case of "in-use lock error" in the destination server)
Maintenance	Microsoft does not provide support (file is provided "as is").	Microsoft provides support (openfiles.exe is an OS standard function)
OS	Can operate with all Windows except the following operating systems. Microsoft(R) Windows Server(R) 2003, Enterprise Edition for Itanium-based Systems Microsoft(R) Windows Server(R) 2003, Enterprise Edition for Itanium-based Systems SP2 Microsoft(R) Windows Server(R) 2008 for Itanium-Based Systems Microsoft(R) Windows Server(R) 2008 for Itanium-Based Systems SP2	Can operate with any Windows OS that supports AdvancedCopy Manager

Under Windows Server 2003 (x86,x64) or Windows Server 2008 (x86,x64), handle.exe and/or openfiles.exe can be selected but the recommendation is handle.exe because of the priority of the file for a display.

Both tools are able to identify the cause only if the process is using (i.e., if it opened) a file or directory. Thus, neither tool will be able to identify the cause if the following conditions apply:

Target volume is being used by a driver.
An application has loaded a DLL in the target volume.

If neither tool can identify the cause, then investigate whether the conditions above applied in the applications or services that were running when the error was issued.

Note

Occasionally openfiles.exe will not output any information - this problem is thought to be caused by the OS load or an OS incompatibility, but at the moment there is no means of avoiding it.

Point

We recommend that you confirm if the processes causing "in-use lock error" exist by executing handle.exe -a or openfiles.exe /query /v manually before executing backup or replication. Refer to "1.8.6 How to investigate the process where volume is used".