Home › Forums › Tickstory Lite › Issue/Bug tracking › FXT is being used by another process
-
AuthorPosts
-
Hi there,
I have problems saving FXT-files in the MT4 FXT Editor. When I have edited the FXT file (i.e. the Max lot) and try to save the FXT file I get an error message telling me that the process cannot access the file [location and name of the file] because it is being used by another process. I have tried several things to solve this issue but haven’t found the solution so far. I have rebooted my pc and immediately tried to edit the file, I have moved all my FXT files to the same drive as where my Tickstory folder is located, I have copied the FXT file and tried to edit this copied file but nothing is solving the problem. The strange thing is that it’s sometimes, but that’s a real exception, possible to save the FXT file. And what is strange as well, is that I can’t save the FXT file, but when I tried to change the name of the file in Windows Explorer, it’s no problem, that’s working even when the file is open in Tickstory. So my guess is, that it’s something in Tickstory. Does anyone have a suggestion how to solve this issue?
Hi Marcel,
The most likely reason for this error is that you are running Metatrader at the same time you are trying to edit the FXT files. This will not work since MT4 locks the files from being written to by other processes. The simple solution should be to quit your Metatrader, edit the FXT file in Tickstory and then start Metatrader again.
If you are still having problems, you can download a program like ‘WhoLockMe’ (http://www.dr-hoiby.com/WhoLockMe/) which will tell you what application is locking the file.
Hope this helps.
Thanks for your reply. tickstory, but that’s definitely not the case that I am running Metatrader in the background. Even after a reboot the first thing I tried to do is to edit the FXT file (without starting MT4) and then it’s already locked. Sometimes, I am able to edit a file and save it, like this morning but the second file I tried to save is already giving the error message.
I have tried to install WhoLockMe but that was not working on my pc (Vista 64 bit), so I installed another application called IObit Unlocker and this is showing me that the FXT file is not locked, which is in line with my previous comment that I am still able to change i.e.the filename in Windows Explorer while Tickstory FXT Editor is telling me that the file is locked. It looks like Tickstory is locking the file by itself.Hi Marcel,
Are you able to run the IObit Unlocker once you get the “file locked” error message in Tickstory? This will hopefully confirm what application/process has the file locked. Would you have the exact steps you are using to get this error message so we can try reproduce it?
Thanks.
Sorry to “reawaken” an old thread but I’m having the exact same problem. I was however able to find the “culprit” which is none other than “TickStory” itself! 😮
When I got the exact same problem and message, I used the “Unlocker” tool to find out which process was “hogging” the file, and on that list, the only process was “TickStory” itself. So, as a last ditch attempt, I instructed “Unlocker” to unlock the file from “TickStory” itself and then proceeded to click the “Save” button on “TickStory”; and guess what – it worked! The alterations to the file were then saved without the error message. 😀
In other words, this is in fact a BUG in “TickStory” (both in v1.5 and v1.6) and is probably locking the file up in a different thread to the one that is saving the file, causing it to think that “another” process is “locking” it, when it is “TickStory” itself that is causing the problem.
So, I would humbly ask the developer(s) to look into this and fix the problem please, since the work-a-round for the problem is not really that practical. 😥
Should the developer(s) need any further information or technical details, please feel free to contact me directly via email.
Hi FMIC,
Thanks for your report. If you are able to outline the steps you took to cause this issue then we’ll try reproduce it on our end. At the moment, the only way we know this could happen is if an export currently in progress (eg. via another instance of Tickstory).
Thanks.
There are no special steps. It happens EVERY TIME I use the “MT4 Data Editor” on any “.fxt” file on any drive, whether it is previously set to read-only or not.
Example Procedure:
1. No other application is running, therefore not even the MetaTrader application is open.
2. Open “TickStory” application.
3. Navigate to the menu option “Tools”->”MT4 Data Editor”.
4. Click “Open FXT…”
5. Select any “.fxt” file and click “Open”
6. Change any parameter to a new value
7. Click on “Save”
8. A notification window appears with the message “Error occurred while saving: The process cannot access the file ‘???’ because it is being used by another process.” where ‘???’ is the full path to the “.fxt” file in question.No work around the problem, I do the following:
9. Press OK to close the error notification on “TickStory”.
10. In Windows explorer, I right-click the “.fxt” file in question and choose the “Unlocker” tool.
11. Enter in the Administrator password as the tool runs in Administrator mode.
12. The process list window is presented where only the “TickStory” is listed as holding the file handle locked.
13. I select that process and click “Unlock”.
14. I return to the still opened “MT4 Data Editor” window and click “Save” again.
15. “TickStory” silently saves the file but does not present any message that it has been saved.
16. I close the “MT4 Data Editor” Window and then call it up again.
17. I reopen the “.fxt” file with the “Open FXT…” and confirm that the data has indeed been changed.That is it!
Hi FMIC,
We have tried the following (exact) steps to try reproduce the problem but cannot:
1) Start Tickstory
2) Start up the FXT editor and select any FXT file.
3) Edit a field in the FXT
4) Save the file.The file save successfully with no locking error. Are there some other steps you are taking prior to step 4)?
Thanks.
The problem is occurring on two different machines, one is running Windows 2008 R2 Standard Server (64 bit) and the other is running Windows 7 Ultimate (64 bit).
In both cases, TickStory was installed to a non-standard folder (i.e. not “Program Files”) and not on the C: drive. On one it as “S:TradingTickstory Lite” and on the other it is at “D:TradingTickstory Lite”.
HI FMIC,
Can you please confirm that the 4 steps I outlined above causes the problem? I’m not sure if this error will have anything to do with the installation directory, however if you have specified a “Data store location” that is on a removable drive (S: or D:?), perhaps there could be some issue where the file isn’t being released.
Thanks.
Yes, I confirm that the 4 steps are just as I have outlined with nothing else being done in between those steps. Had there been any other steps, I would have stated them.
Yes, the Data store is on the same drives as the installation, and both S: and D: are fixed internal hard drives (not removable) and formatted as NTFS.
However, what does the Data Store have to do with it? This is not an export problem, but to do with the “MT4 Data Editor”!
Just as I have stated before, with the help of the “Unlocker” tool, “TickStory” is the only application accessing the file. There is no other access to the file by any other application/process. The fact, that by unlocking the “TickStory” process from the file (with “Unlocker”), allows it to continue with the save operation, clearly indicates, that “TickStory” is the one locking the file for some unknown reason under particular conditions. No other application is to blame.
However, I do agree that some particular environmental differences may be causing “TickStory” to behave is this peculiar manor. If you have a debug version of TickStory which produces a debug log, I would be happy to run it for you on my systems in order to find the problem.
Hi FMIC,
Thanks for the clarifications. We just need to clarify as much as possible just in case we’ve missed something. We have never seen this issue occur unless some other applications are involved in the mix somehow. For example, if MT4 is running, it is still a potential candidate for fully reproducing the problem since it can be using the file and causing a knock-on effect somewhere in Tickstory. If you can confirm that no other applications that potentially use the FXT are running, then this would be appreciated. Tickstory does not open any FXT file on a fresh start, so it is a bit confusing how a single instance can be locking a file it reportedly cannot open for writing.
Re: “Data store”, apologies, what I was referring to was the MT4 data location and whether it was on the above-mentioned drives. Obviously if you are exporting MT4 data, there is a potential that the files are still locked for some reason. However, since you have confirmed you are only performing the 4 steps described from a clean start, then this shouldn’t be the cause.
We can only determine at this stage that the lock may be due to either 1) An error that occurred while writing the file, causing it to be left open (although this does not appear to be the case) or 2) The operating system not having flushed the file to the disk yet, causing the file to be locked.
At this stage, we still cannot reproduce the error with the mentioned steps. Thanks for the suggestion to review the issue further on your machine. We will need to review the code to see if we can trouble-shoot with the information you have given us first.
Thanks.
I am now confirming for the THIRD time, that no other application is running and that no other process is locking the file!!!!
With regards to disk cache flushing, I’ve previously tested that possibility by forcing a complete system file cache flushing of all drives, but the lock remains active on the file by “TickStory”.
However, If I leave “TickStory” and the “FXT Editor” dialog box window open for approximately 5 to 10 min and then check on the lock status again, by then “TickStory” has release the lock on the file and is then able to save it properly, but as soon as it does this, it locks it again and is not able to save changes for a second time without waiting another 5-10 mins for the lock to be released.
PS! I am a software developer and IT consultant by trade!
Thanks for the last piece of information. It sounds like there’s something O/S-related that we’ll need to see if we can work around and let you know.
-
AuthorPosts
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.