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Druva Documentation

Backup fails with the process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process error

This article applies to:

  • OS: Windows
  • Product edition: inSync Client -  Cloud and On-Premise

Problem description

inSync backup from a Windows device fails with the following error:

The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process.

Backups may have succeeded before upgrading the client to the latest version.

Cause

inSync Client versions lower than 6.x for Windows operating systems excluded swapfile.sys. Backups fail as inSync is unable to access "swapfile.sys" which is a system file. This file is an operating system file and should not be backed up.

Traceback

The following log excerpts are only examples. Date, time, and environmental variables may vary depending on the environment.

Windows log locations:

  • C:\inSync4
  • C:\ProgramData\Druva\inSync4\Users\<username>\Logs

Entries in inSyncClient.log:

2018-07-13 09:55:09,897] [ERROR] Unable to access attributes for \\?\C:\swapfile.sys 
[2018-07-13 09:55:09,897] [ERROR] Unable to access attributes for \\?\C:\swapfile.sys 
[2018-07-13 09:55:09,897] [ERROR] ('Estimate', 8836): Errored while retrieving next change, (32, 'GetFileAttributes', 'The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process.') 
[2018-07-13 09:55:09,897] [ERROR] ('Sync', 5888): Errored while retrieving next change, (32, 'GetFileAttributes', 'The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process.') 
[2018-07-13 09:55:09,898] [ERROR] Error <class 'pywintypes.error'>:(32, 'GetFileAttributes', 'The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process.'). Traceback -Traceback (most recent call last)
[2018-07-16 09:22:40,756] [ERROR] Error <class 'pywintypes.error'>:(32, 'GetFileAttributes', 'The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process.'). Traceback -Traceback (most recent call last)

error: (32, 'GetFileAttributes', 'The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process.')
[2018-07-16 09:22:41,365] [WARNING] Backup failed. Error: (32, 'GetFileAttributes', 'The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process.')

[2018-07-16 09:22:40,756] [ERROR] Unable to access attributes for \\?\C:\swapfile.sys 
[2018-07-16 09:22:40,756] [ERROR] ('Estimate', 16184): Errored while retrieving next change, (32, 'GetFileAttributes', 'The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process.') 

Resolution

To resolve this error: 

Add the swapfile.sys in to the global exclusion list of the inSync profile assigned to the user. 

 Even if the inSync Client allows you to add the swapfile.sys under File type by default.  Instead,  ensure that the file is added under  Paths and Folders separated by a semicolon.