Error message: "The requested resouce is in use."

December 30, 2012 8:02 AM

Why do I keep getting the error message "The requested resource is in use" when a program won't start?

Hi,

Recently I've had trouble starting a program in Windows Vista. When I load the program I get the error message "The requested resource is in use" but nothing happens. I get the same error message when I try uninistalling the program.

This seems to happen with most programs that have a start tray icon (sorry if that's not the correct term). I've tried right-clicking then closing the programs' icons in the bottom right hand corner of the screen, but I still get the same error message.

If it's not possible to diagnose the problem from this info, can I use People Near Me or something similar to get personalised tech support?

Thank you for your assistance.

posted by Musashi Daryl to computers & internet (6 answers total)

I get that with Firefox, and I have no idea why. However, if I reboot the system, it clears that up.
posted by xingcat at 8:19 AM on December 30, 2012

look at the event log (control panel->administrator tools->event viewer) and see if it tells you more info.

Usually means a file the program needs is already open by another program and/or locked. Could be problems with anti-virus, or a virus, or other problems. (Bad hard drive, bad programming, etc etc). As mentioned, try a reboot too.
posted by k5.user at 8:32 AM on December 30, 2012

It means that windows is giving back an "ERROR_BUSY" result when the program tries to do something. There are lots of things that could potentially be giving back this error. Typically, a file will be "in use" by some other program (possibly even windows itself, or a crashed program) where it's not actually being used but rather, the program neglected to free it up when it's done. Normally restarting fixes this (few files should be in use immediately after a restart).

Without knowing which program this is, it's impossible to tell for sure.
posted by tylerkaraszewski at 8:37 AM on December 30, 2012

Sometimes logging off and on again is enough to clear up that kind of thing.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 9:03 AM on December 30, 2012

When this happens to me it's usually because a program I thought I'd closed didn't fully close all of its components. Sometimes I can fix it by simply doing Ctrl-Alt-Del and ending the task from the Task Manager. If this doesn't work, a computer restart will fix it.
posted by parrot_person at 9:24 AM on December 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

The program is called Sublminal Power. I downloaded it from Self-help Street (Bradley Thompson's useful website). It's configured to start when I load Windows, but it's icon doesn't appear.
posted by Musashi Daryl at 10:27 AM on January 12