How to stop Explorer from locking video files?

[Djard]

Is there a way to stop Vista, especially Win Explorer, from locking video files. What a nuisance!

If I play a video file then decide to rename or delete it--even after exiting the software used to play the video--I often get the message that the file is still in use. Rubbish! The app is not in use as evidenced in Task Manager. Freeware Lock Hunter works most of the time in such instances, but I'm wondering if there is some registry key that could be modified to let me use my PC without having to contend with this kind of witless engineering.

[poisondeathray]

unlocker

http://www.emptyloop.com/unlocker/

[DarrellS]

What poisondeathray said.

Also, in Task Manager, look in the Processes column for the player or file that is running in the background. A lot of times, I'll try to play a movie and the player won't open to play the file. I'll look under processes and there will be two or three instances of MPC that will need to be stopped before I can play the movie.

[Ai Haibara]

Have you tried clicking on the file and then waiting a moment (maybe a minute) or two? Explorer often tries to gather details (and, if you have the option to generate thumbnails on as well, a thumbnail/preview) on a video file, and that usually causes the locked-file problem. For me, it's often a hassle with .mp4 videos.

[Djard]

Thanks for your kind response. I used to use freeware Unlocker with XP; too bad the app is incompatible with Vista. In any case, freeware Lock Hunter, in my estimation, is superior.

Waiting a minute or two for Explorer to get its act together seems a painfully long time to wait. I believe it takes only 8 seconds for an electrical signal to reach the moon.

I forgot to look at the Procesess in Task Manager. But it's 2011. Surely today's algorithms are capable of allowing video files to be treated like audio or text files.

As a student of human behavior, I get the sense that there is a consistency between Microsoft's proclivity for control of others in the political domain and it's hegemonous attitude when building software. MSNBC's socialist bent is as rigid as Microsoft's desire for monopoly. Pardon me for having the opinion that Microsoft's political leaning is visible in its most popular product.

[Ai Haibara]

Weren't the more recent versions of Unlocker supposed to have no problems with Vista/7? I thought I'd read that they'd worked out most, if not all of the problems.

[El Heggunte]

...
but I'm wondering if there is some registry key that could be modified to let me use my PC without having to contend with this kind of witless engineering.

Apparently, there is a design flaw in the media player (it leaves a "pointer" or something in the memory after being normally-closed), and Windows *does nothing* about the damn issue, since... 1995?

[El Heggunte]

hech54 wrote:

It's the software you used to play the video....not Windows.

Ideally, Windows should have been designed to be "stronger than" any poorly-written application. But no, this is a non-issue --- what really matters is create a stupid dog that runs to nowhere while the system is looking for files on a storage device ( and please do not come tell me to just disable the annoying "Search Companion", because 1) I've already done it, and 2) neither the stupid dog, nor the false magus should have been placed there, to begin with ).

[DarrellS]

hech54 wrote:

It's the software you used to play the video....not Windows.

Ideally, Windows should have been designed to be "stronger than" any poorly-written application. But no, this is a non-issue --- what really matters is create a stupid dog that runs to nowhere while the system is looking for files on a storage device ( and please do not come tell me to just disable the annoying "Search Companion", because 1) I've already done it, and 2) neither the stupid dog, nor the false magus should have been placed there, to begin with ).

I turned the dog off and set it up to run like W2k but it constantly crashes Explorer and I have to kill Explorer.exe in Task Manager and restart it to be able to use the computer.

I installed Windows Search version 4 (running XP) and although it takes time getting used to, it is way faster and doesn't crash like the old version did.

[hech54]

From the early days of WinAmp, through to Foobar2000, and now finally with VLC ....some people are smart enough to use 3rd party players instead of constantly banging their heads against the wall over and over and over again with inferior products.

[TimA-C]

. . . I installed Windows Search version 4 (running XP) and although it takes time getting used to, it is way faster and doesn't crash like the old version did.

Why on earth would you want to cripple your system's performance with that POS? Sorry, DarrellS, but any credibility you had has just been flushed down the tube which, incidentally, is where Windows Search 4 should be!

[DarrellS]

. . . I installed Windows Search version 4 (running XP) and although it takes time getting used to, it is way faster and doesn't crash like the old version did.

Why on earth would you want to cripple your system's performance with that POS? Sorry, DarrellS, but any credibility you had has just been flushed down the tube which, incidentally, is where Windows Search 4 should be!

Well, it's good to know that I once had credibility. What would you suggest that I use if I can't use the search that came with XP.

[hech54]

Well, it's good to know that I once had credibility.

[TimA-C]

. . . I installed Windows Search version 4 (running XP) and although it takes time getting used to, it is way faster and doesn't crash like the old version did.

Why on earth would you want to cripple your system's performance with that POS? Sorry, DarrellS, but any credibility you had has just been flushed down the tube which, incidentally, is where Windows Search 4 should be!

Well, it's good to know that I once had credibility. What would you suggest that I use if I can't use the search that came with XP.

Just giving you the benefit of the doubt so don't let it go to your head. For all I know, you could be as terminally uncool as I am!

Apart from the obvious of giving files useful and informative names and putting them in sensibly named folders, and using the built-in search facilities of whichever e-mail client(s) you use, I use Total Commander (a Windows file manager util) which has a pretty good search facility, it's not as quick at finding stuff as Windows search or the built-in search in Windows 7 (we won't mention the 'V' word for obvious reasons!) but then it doesn't cripple your system's performance by constantly indexing, re-indexing, re-re-indexing, re-re-re-....re-indexing every blooming file on your hard drive the whole time your PC is switched on!

[lordsmurf]

Unlocker works in Vista, Win7, and Server 2008.

I use it in all three places.

[Djard]

Darrell, I'm impressed with your response. Man, you are all heart. Many people would have become defensive.

Looks like we are stuck with Explorer locking on to certain media files that were open and closed. By the way, I use Media Player Classic (corrects AR nicely), VLC and Adobe Media Player.

Nice to learn that Unlocker finally caught up with Vista and Win7 architecture.

Microsoft's response to the problem I described has been that Windows is merely protecting the file. Now there's a revealing statement! Until Donald Trump can proselyte Windows to behave in a manner unlike a socialist dictator, I'm opening and closing another movie file to enable delete or rename of a file that was held hostage by Explorer...that is when Lock Hunter or Unlocker fail.

[DarrellS]

That's the problem with Microsoft and it gets worse with every new OS. They increase the security features and take away user control so much that it is almost impossible to use your own computer. Luckily, there are a lot of computer geniuses out there to help us get around a lot of the roadblocks that Microsoft puts in our way. Maybe after Windows 7 has been out a few years and the experts have figured out how to get around all it's roadblocks then I might give it a try.

Maybe someone will have created a Classic View for it by then.

[usually_quiet]

My take on this is that the application previously using the file, not the OS, is at fault here for not properly releasing the resource in a timely manner. Explorer is stopping the user from deleting a file which it sees as still in use. A pop-up message window that says something like "This file is still in use. Delete anyway? Yes/No" would work, but I don't expect a change that lets a thoughtless user easily override the OS and possibly crash something in the process.

Windows is frequently used by people who want to be protected from the consequences of making stupid mistakes, and since there are definitely more people like that in the world than there are who don't want any such protection, an OS that some knowledgeable users will see as overly-protective sells better.

Those who can't live with this design philosopy can switch to a different OS that doesn't follow it. Linux seems to be a popular choice for those who feel Windows gets in their way.

[El Heggunte]

My take on this is that the application previously using the file, not the OS, is at fault here for not properly releasing the resource in a timely manner. Explorer is stopping the user from deleting a file which it sees as still in use.

Explorer "sees" things INCORRECTLY.

Unlocker does the job that the OS itself should have done.

I'm sorry, but your reasoning does sound unreasonable to me.

[usually_quiet]

My take on this is that the application previously using the file, not the OS, is at fault here for not properly releasing the resource in a timely manner. Explorer is stopping the user from deleting a file which it sees as still in use.

Explorer "sees" things INCORRECTLY.

Unlocker does the job that the OS itself should have done.

I'm sorry, but your reasoning does sound unreasonable to me.

The application is not completely releasing the resource as soon as it (the application) closes. If the application wasn't at fault here, unlocker would be needed all the time. It isn't. I have never used it.

The phrase you quoted "the OS needs to be stronger than any poorly-written application" is one of the axioms of computing, but it means make the OS crash resistant, not what you take it to mean, that the OS should automatically clean up any kind of mess left behind by poorly written programs.

[Edit] If it is a left-over stray pointer causing this issue, then likely the OS is cleaning it up, but garbage collection is always a low-priority task.

[Djard]

One of the things that I do for a living is interpret psychological data to facilitate the making of a psychiatric diagnosis. Just by opening Explorer on somone's PC tells me a lot about the user--so often, stuff is downloaded everywhere. Since DOS 3.2, Microsoft has indeed tried to protect the unwitting from stuffing up the OS, but in doing so the knowledgeable end-user has lost much control over the working of his OS. Even with "elevated" admin. privileges, Vista and Win 7 do not allow as much control as in previous versions. And I'd love to get rid of the UAC nag that appears after disabling it. With UAC on, you'll wear out your mouse in no time! OK, I'm 'zaggerating a bit. Still....

Apple is nice, but the poverty-stricken shell menu is a real turn off, not to mention the very limited freeware available. I repaired a friend's Apple notebook recently and played with the OS: I was disappointed by the lack of logic and RESTRICTIONS--no wonder Apple is more stable.

Here's something that must be totally alien to the Apple user and will make a PC geek's mouth water: I can work with Windows' registry as if I'm using Explorer. I call this freeware app "RegLite." No longer am I hesitant to try out new software because of all the junk that gets left behind in the registry after a so-called uninstall. If you want a copy, download it from my downloads page; but FIRSTLY read the caveat in the guide I compiled that is included. (mednetconnection.com)

[davexnet]

Doesn't unregistering shmedia.dll work anymore ? It used to work OK with XP

[Seeker47]

I can't recall Explorer ever locking a video file here . . . but then I never use it to launch them. (MPC_HC, VLC, GOM, or -- very rarely -- WMP.) I've gone to great lengths to deny default file associations to Explorer. (That's both Windows Explorer and the other Exploder, IE, which is not my default browser.) Ideally, the only use I give IE is for Windows Update and to Win Explorer for installing apps, because those functions are tightly integrated into the OS.

Windows Search version 4 was an accidental update, which I tossed overboard immediately. Yecchh ! Got rid of other stupid MS stuff like the "search pup" early on as well, probably with something like XP Powertoys, which did the job right. Generally speaking, you do NOT have to let these things get in your way.

[Djard]

Please share more about unregistering "shmedia.dll" that I understand might prevent Explorer from locking video files.

When working with video files, such as preparing a compilation, renaming titles and folders, etc., Explorer is handy. Accessing the same from a media player is not only tedious but, to the best of my knowledge, just gets back to Explorer. I've switched to 'Free Commander' that doesn't lock video files, but its shell menu is not as comprehensive as that of MS Explorer.

[davexnet]

There's plenty of info all over the net about this, here's one example, take note of what it says about the
explicit path:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regsvr32

It does not remove the file from the OS, it just makes it unavailable for use. Give it a try and see if it solves the problem
As mentioned in the article, to re-enable the dll, re-enter the command without the /u.

[Djard]

Thanks for the direction. The command with the /u switch failed on my system. I ran a search for "regsvr32.exe" and, as so often before, Vista's lame search feature couldn't find it. So I navigated to the "System32" folder, and there it is. Running the command yielded a message that "The module "shmedia.dll" failed to load...the specific module could not be found." I used the following steps:

1. Start -> Run -> type CMD -> Enter.
2. Type the following command: REGSVR32 /U SHMEDIA.DLL
3. Enter.

I think I know what the "sh" stands for in "shmedia.dll."

I guess I'll use Free Commander until I catch up to Win 7, which I hope is better engineered.