What is ‘The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process’ error in Windows 10?
In this post, we are going to discuss on “How to Fix The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process error in Windows 10”. You will be guided here with easy steps/methods to resolve the error. Let’s starts the discussion.
‘The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process’ error: It is common Windows problem occurred of Windows Operating System version including Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 and on various Windows Server versions. This error is usually appeared when you try to run ‘Netsh’ Command in your Windows computer. Some users reported that this error is appeared when they try to right-click a website in IIS (Internet Information Services) MMC (Microsoft Management Console) snap-in.
There could be several reasons behind this error including required administrator permission that you haven’t given to the command like Netsh command you want to run. You should make sure you are running Netsh Command with administrative permission. If your computer is running IIS (Internet Information Services) but not using port 80 or port 443 because these ports are used by some other processes, then you can face ‘The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process’ error.
This error can also be occurred if certain registry keys/subkey is not properly configured. You face this error with IIS (Internet Information Services) in your Windows computer usually when ‘ListenOnlyList’ registry subkey is not configured properly. You can re-configure or modify this registry subkey in order to fix the issue. Let’s go for the solution.
How to fix The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process in Windows 10?
Method 1: Fix Windows PC issues with ‘PC Repair Tool’
If this error is occurred due to some problems in your Windows computer, then you can try to fix the issue with ‘PC Repair Tool’. This software offers you to find and fix BSOD errors, EXE errors, DLL errors, problems with programs/applications, malware or viruses issues, system files or registry issues and other system issues with just few clicks. You can get this tool through button/link below.
Method 2: Run Netsh Command with Admin permission
Netsh Command – This command allows you to display or modify the network configuration of computer that is currently running. However, if you face error while trying to run this command in Command Prompt, then make sure the command is running with administrator permission means you have opened Command Prompt with administrator permission. Try this, and check if the error is resolved.
Step 1: Press ‘Windows + X’ keys on keyboard and select ‘Command Prompt as Administrator’.
Step 2: In ‘Command Prompt with Administrator permission’ opened, type the command that was causing error or type ‘netsh’ command and hit ‘Enter’ key to execute
Step 3: Please check if this command executes and error is resolved.
Method 3: Set a different IP range
Sometimes, error occurred with Netsh command is due to conflict with DNS. You can try to fix the issue by try different IP range instead of creating an exclusion range. To do so, open ‘Command Prompt as Administrator’ using ‘step 1’ of above method, and enter the following commands one-by-one to resolve DNS conflict issue.
netsh int ipv4 set dynamicport tcp start=10000 num=1000
netsh int ipv4 set dynamicport udp start=10000 num=1000
Method 4: Fix Internet Information Services (IIS) port conflict issue
As mentioned, the issue with IIS (Internet Information Services) is occurred due to port conflict issue. You can use ‘Netstat.exe’ utility to check out if another process is using port 80 and port 443.
How to run Netstat.exe utility and check if another process is using Port 80 and port 443?
Step 1: Open ‘Command Prompt as Administrator‘ using ‘Method 2’
Step 2: Now, type ‘netstat – ano’ command and hit ‘Enter’ key to execute. This will start Netstat.exe utility
Step 3: From the results appear, scroll through lists of ‘Active Connections’ and check whether the ports 80 and 443 are being actively used by different process. If yes, then follow next steps
Step 4: Close Command Prompt and press ‘Windows + R’ keys on keyboard, type ‘regedit’ in the opened ‘Run’ dialog box and hit ‘OK’ button to open ‘Registry Editor’
Step 5: In ‘Registry Editor’, navigate to following path in left pane
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\HTTP\Parameters\ListenOnlyList
Step 6: Find and modify ‘ListenOnlyList’ registry subkey in right pane but before that you will need to stop ‘HTTP Service’ that is running IIS. So, you need to skip this step this time and once HTTP service stepped, try modifying ListenOnlyList registry subkey.
Step 7: To stop HTTP Service, open ‘Command Prompt as Administrator’ using ‘Method 2’, type ‘net stop http’ command and hit ‘Enter’ key to execute, press ‘Y’ key and hit ‘Enter’ key if asked for confirmation. This will disable HTTP Service.
Step 8: Now, back to ‘step 6’ means inside ‘HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\HTTP\Parameters\ListenOnlyList’ inside ‘Registry Editor’, and find and select ‘ListenOnlyList’ subkey, and in right-pane look towards IP address and check if it is valid IP address, you can delete it or modify it to reflect an entry with valid IP address. If you can’t see ‘ListenOnlyList’ subkey, then there is no need to create one as IP address of 0.0.0.0 will be used by default.
Step 9: Once done, close ‘Registry Editor’ and restart your computer
Step 10: After restart, you need to start HTTP service and to do so, open ‘Command Prompt as Administrator’ again, and this type enter ‘net start http’ command to start HTTP service. Once you hit ‘Enter’ key after entering command, it shows ‘The requested service has been already started’ means you have successfully started HTTP service
Step 11: Now, try running IIS (Internet Information Services) again and check if the error is resolved.
Conclusion
I am sure this post helped you on How to fix The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process error in Windows 10 with several easy steps/methods. You can read & follow our instructions to do so. That’s all. For any suggestions or queries, please write on comment box below.
