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Topic: Directories sometimes remain locked after exiting, Can't rename last directory edited.< Next Oldest | Next Newest >
calberga
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Posted: Dec. 21 2009,17:06
I don't think this always happens, but frequently when I close mp3/tag studio I am unable to change the name of the last directory that it was working on.  I have to re-open mt/s and select a different directory, then close it.

I'm using XP Pro with SP1-3.
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Magnus Brading
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Posted: Dec. 21 2009,18:13
I can only assume that this either has to do with some other Windows Explorer shell extension (right-click menu item) in your system, or possibly the Mp3/Tag Studio shell extension.

If only the Mp3/Tag Studio program exits as it should (check the Windows process list if it's gone), it should be a theoretical impossibility that it could still be able to lock a directory on the disk.

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calberga
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Posted: Dec. 21 2009,20:09
As I said, it doesn't happen every time.  It just "failed to fail".  I am afraid I'm in the middle of packing for a week with our son's family, so I may not be able to construct an example (if I can at all) before 2010.
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Magnus Brading
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Posted: Dec. 21 2009,21:22
No problem, merry christmas and a happy new year then. :)

My hypothesis is the following though:

1.
You open Mp3/Tag Studio through the Windows Explorer shell extension (i.e. by right clicking a folder or a file in a folder, and choose to open Mp3/Tag Studio from the shell extension menu). What you might not know is that all of your Windows Explorer shell extensions are now activated and passed this directory as a parameter, even though you don't click them! This means that any one of them that has a small bug in them can as well be the one locking this folder now!

2.
You exit Mp3/Tag Studio, but find that the folder is still locked. (which again, means that it is now actually the Mp3/Tag Studio program that locks the folder, since this is impossible in the Windows operating system, i.e. for a program to keep locking a folder after it has terminated)

3.
You open Mp3/Tag Studio again, by means of the shell extension. Just as above, this means that all your shell extensions are loaded being with this new folder as a parameter, and thus might unlock the old folder at the same time if they are the ones locking it (quite likely instead starting to lock the new folder you clicked this time), without any of this for that matter necessarily having to do with Mp3/Tag Studio at all.

Might that be a correct guess regarding your procedure?

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calberga
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Posted: Dec. 22 2009,01:46
It might well be.  Is there any way (short of parsing a RAM dump) to find out WHO has the directory locked?
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Magnus Brading
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Posted: Dec. 22 2009,03:02
A program like "Process Explorer" (free, from Microsoft) can be used to see which process is locking the folder, but the problem is that all shell extensions run inside the explorer.exe process, so that sadly won't be much help.

It is much harder to see after the fact which shell extension is locking it, so the best (although tedious) way there would be to deactivate one shell extension at the time, repeat the process, and see after which deactivation is stops locking the folder. Deactivating (and reactivating) shell extensions like this could e.g. be done with a program like ShellExView (free, from NirSoft).

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5 replies since Dec. 21 2009,17:06 < Next Oldest | Next Newest >

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