[GNC] problem obtaining lock

[Robert Heller]

To expand on Wm Tarr's response, GnuCash create a "lock" file when it opens
your books (at startup) and will delete the lock file when it closes your
books (or when you exit). You should always cleanly exit from GnuCash before
you logout, shutdown, or reboot your computer.

At Wed, 12 Aug 2026 09:55:25 -0400 Marty Landman <martster at gmail.com> wrote:

> 
> My wife and I have been using Gnucash for a few years now for our small 
> business, and the one problem that keeps happening is after my Windows 
> 11 Home edition updates and I have to restart Gnucash I get the 
> following message:
> 
> 
> Gnucash could not obtain the lock for C:
> \Users\Admin\AppData\Local\GnuCash.gnucash
> 
> That database may be in use by another user, in which case you
> should not open the database. What would you like to do?
> 
> 
> I select 'open anyway', then open, close, and then reopen it and the 
> error goes away.   What is going on? How can I prevent this error from 
> happening in the first place?
> 
> 
> Marty
> 
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