It is very common that we cannot move, copy, delete files or folders as those are open in some process and also cannot safely remove a drive as some process is using this. It is usually very hard to know what that culprit process is. LockHunter from Crystal Rich Ltd is a tiny tool that assists you in finding such answering easily and lets you terminate those processes or simply unlock the file.

Product Homepage of LockHunter

Quick facts on Download & Installation of LockHunter

• LockHunter is available as a small download (2.88 Mb) from its product site.
• The installer is digitally signed by Crystal Rich Ltd.
• Installation requires administrative privilege.
• Installation is clean and fast.
• A “thank you” webpage opens up at installation end. That webpage sums up the basic working principle of the software.

Usage & Feature of LockHunter

LockHunter is very easy to use and as such no help file is included in the software. But you can get help from the “thank you” page or from the official manual page.

The Software can be launched from Start Menu and can be browsed for the locked file. It can also be launched directly from the context menu of locked file/folder/drive that says “What is locking this file/folder?”. LockHunter immediately displays the locking processes. You can see the details of those processes from the drop-down menu and also see its PID and nature by selecting “more details”.

You will get option to “Delete At Next Startup”, “Unlock & rename”, “Unlock & Rename”, “Terminate Locking Processes” and ” Delete Locking Processes from Disk”. You will get a final warning after an option is selected.

LockHunter can also be launched from command line, details of the command are available in the official manual page.

In all usage mode, the software will require administrative privilege.

Bugs in LockHunter

After launching it from Start Menu, you will not be able to browse for folders or Drives, you can only search for files. Also somehow I cannot see ” Delete Locking Processes from Disk” option active in any case.

The software works quite well and free and as such is recommended. Some bugs as mentioned above can be fixed. I am using it in my Windows 8 Pro 64bit OS.