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Interesting. I wonder whether the file itself is corrupted in some subtle way which confuses Word. That theory goes in-hand with the fact that you were able to copy the file, and that the copy had the exact same symptom.

Do you have access to another machine with Word installed? Are you able to take the file across on a USB stick or CD or network cable and try modifying the same file on the other machine?

If the other machine gives you the same error about the file being "locked and in use", the file is almost certainly corrupted.

Otherwise, if it works on another box, can you go boot your primary machine into safe mode (hold F8 at startup) and try to modify the file from there? There's a possibility that the entity holding your file "in use" is a kernel-mode driver, and that would not show up in Handle or Unlocker. Your anti-virus is a prime candidate. When you boot to safe mode, AV and many other things will not be running, which is why that's an interesting test.
 

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I hadn't thought of using a different machine - I do have access to one with Word 7 which is running XP. I will try that later today. Is there a way of choosing to repair a file when opening it? It seems to me I used that feature once on a previous version of Windows.
Joan
 

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Word is a complex beast and I won't pretend to understand its inner workings.

However, I'd suggest not jumping to conclusions just yet. A lot depends on the outcome of the "other machine" test. If Word on box2 also sees a copy of the file as being "in use", I'd be very confident that the error message is bogus and that the real problem is some sort of "logical" corruption in the file which does not look like a problem to the OS (hence it's duplicated into a second copy of the file), but confuses Word.

There are no doubt utilities which attempt repairs but let's cross that bridge when we come to it :)
 

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OK, thanks, I'm quite curious to find out what's wrong. In the meantime, I'm going to go collapse cos it's 4:12am here and I can no longer distinguish between the keyboard and the mouse.

You take care too.
 

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I copied the file to a thumb drive and went to the computer running XP. The file opens in 'Compatibility Mode' (which is what I want) both off the thumb drive and off the C:\ drive on that computer. The problem, then, is with the Vista machine.
Joan
 

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OK, that seemingly rules out file corruption.

Can you boot the Vista machine into safe mode (press F8 at startup) and try modifying the file from there?

If that works, and yet you persistently get the "in use" message in normal mode even though Handle says "nothing", I'd suggest temporarily uninstalling your anti-virus (on the Vista machine) as a test. There is another, deeper mechanism whereby files can be "locked", and your AV is the best candidate at first.
 

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I opened the file from the thumb drive and it is okay so I saved it to replace the one on this machine and it saved as read only.
How does one modify a file in safe mode? I'm not very confident when it comes to opening in safe mode. Can I mess up my system?
Joan
 

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"Safe mode" is perfectly safe :)

During a normal boot, Windows loads everything: all drivers, modules, bits, pieces... everyting that's on your machine and configured to load at boot time.

"Safe mode" is a different type of boot where Windows loads only those items deemed absolutely necessary for the operation of the OS. Frequently, severe problems which occur in normal mode will not happen in safe mode, thus allowing the user to remove or reconfigure the offending component which is messing things up in normal mode. Safe mode is a diagnostic tool - it's not meant to be used long-term.

In your case, the point is to check whether the same "in use" symptom occurs even when you attempt to edit Printing.doc in safe mode. If not, by a process of elimination you can zero in on the specific difference between "normal" and "safe" modes which is responsible for the problem.
 

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I am curious as to why that file is "in use' so will try the safe mode. Unfortunately, I will be out of town until next Saturday but will then have time to try this out.
Once in safe mode, will Windows Explorer work? If so, I will try to rename the file but, other than that, I have no idea what to do.
I feel badly taking up so much of your time. Do you mind sticking with it?
Joan
 

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Windows explorer and Word will both work in safe mode. Simply try to rename the file and see whether you get the "in use" message or not. My guess is you wont, which leads to the conclusion that the culprit is something which loads in normal mode but not safe mode.

I don't mind sticking with this at all, but I can't promise you that there'll be a simple solution. If there are no "handles" to an object and yet Windows still thinks it's "in use", that generally means there's a kernel-mode component (like a driver) which is responsible. It may not be simple to work out which one. Hope you're having fun though :)
 

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Hi H2SO4,
We solved the problem. Before downloading the ErrorFix program I thought I should run the two utilities I already have (Glary Utilities and CCleaner). I ran Glary first then CCleaner. That fixed the problem and the file now opens in Compatibility Mode. Running a utility did not occur to me.
I really appreciate your help.
Joan
 

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I'm glad to hear it's all better Joan :)

Personally, I don't use registry "cleaners" because I believe they do far more harm than good, but in this case the "shotgun" approach obviously worked. May your machine not suffer any nasty side-effects!
 

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I thought the ErrorFix was a registry cleaner so decided to use the others. Why do computer magazines recommend these utilities if they can cause problems with ones computer?
Joan
 

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Ah, that's an excellent question and a long story.

The uncharitable explanation would be that many computer magazine "journalists" are just hobbyists who write decent-enough prose but mostly lack a code and architecture-level understanding of the OS and of software in general.

You'll find plenty of threads here where one group praises "cleaners" and waits with bated breath for the next release of their favourite utilty, while another group (of which I'm a card-carrying member) disparages that whole industry as being on par with new-age crystals and "medicinal magnets" - it's a way for someone to make money off of naivette.
 

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Did you try rebooting into safe mode as the administrator and deleting them?
 

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  • CPU
    pair of Intel E5430 quad core 2.66 GHz Xeons
    Motherboard
    Supermicro X7DWA-N server board
    Memory
    16GB DDR667
    Graphics card(s)
    eVGA 8800 GTS 640 MB video card
    Hard Drives
    SAS RAID
H2SO4 suggested doing that before I ran the utilities and solved the problem. I'm glad the problem is solved but would like to have tried the safe mode if only to gain some experience in troubleshooting.
Thanks,
Joan
 

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I tried to remove a Disk image from my desktop using the safe boot method to no avail
I then tried to locate the offending virtual drive (daemon tools lite) once located was as easy as ejecting offending disk image then deleting from desktop problem solved but I guess it may not be as simple as that for others but it is always better to troubleshoot easiest to hardest :-) as this error message is a generic one which will be given for a number of scenarios this may not work for everyone
 

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