Error! File In use: SQLSERVER

Question

I am trying to copy a database from one folder to another. There is no program at all running except operating system.(I mean all windows shut)

I keep getting this :

The action cannot be completed because the file is open is another program

---

close file and try again

Try again, Try again , Try again .........

what the hell on earth is holding that file and how can I carry on with copy / delete / overwrite files(DB) as this problem is something very common.

Thanks

Answer 1

Try net stop mssqlserver /y and see what happens. Naturally I'm assuming here it's okay to stop the DB server.

Answer 2

Go to Task Manager and see, it's sqlservr.exe proccess is running. If so, kill it and try again. Also there is a useful small program called 'Unlocker' which allows to look which proccesses are attached to the file, kills them and let the file be deleted or moved.

A similar tool is WhoLockMe!

Answer 3

I usually prefer to use first party tools for this kind of thing, process monitor from sysinternals is my tool of choice for this kind of thing. Just watch out if you have a lot of background services running cause you will see lots of activity going through. Really useful for watching your registry as well.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896645.aspx

Answer 4

Open the Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio,then open Object Explorer .Right Click and you can find Restart the connection.This will stop the SQL Server and you can delete or transfer the database.