Exclusive — Fsdexe

A: Most likely your antivirus (running as System) is scanning the file. Wait a few seconds or exclude the file from real-time scanning.

handle.exe -a -p System -f "C:\path\to\locked\file" handle.exe -c 0x1234 -p 1234 The -c flag closes the specific handle (use only if you understand the risks).

A: fcntl() with F_SETLK and mandatory locks in mount -o mand is conceptually similar, but Windows mandatory exclusive locks are more aggressive. This article is part of an ongoing series on Windows kernel internals. For more deep dives into file system drivers, process injection, and memory forensics, subscribe to our newsletter.