ERROR: A lock is not available for

[SASPhile]

I'm getting the error "ERROR: A lock is not available for". I closed the session and re-started , yet this error comes. I'm using windows environment and submitting batch jobs. 

[Astounding]

The typical scenario:  it takes patience. 

One batch job is using the data set, while another batch job wants to use the data set.  If one of the batch jobs wants to change the data set (for example, running PROC SORT on a permanent SAS data set), it is not possible for both batch jobs to access the data set at the same time.

Your programming style can have some impact here.  For example, if you add OUT= to your PROC SORT, then that step doesn't need to tie up the data set.  But in a large number of cases, patience is a virtue.

[SASPhile]

1. How to know what processes are running?

2. How to kill the processes on windows?

[Astounding]

Sorry, I don't have answers for that on Windows.

[Kurt_Bremser]

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@SASPhile wrote:

1. How to know what processes are running?

2. How to kill the processes on windows?

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If you want to make your life easier, can the toybox and switch to a real operating system. At the moment, this means UNIX.

I work on a UNIX platform, and on such this is a non-issue, as I can easily remove links to files (aka "directory entries") from the filesystem while a process is still using the file. That is because UNIX systems have a different concept of filesystem structure that is lightyears ahead of the much-too-simple method that Windows has.