How to stop Windows Task Manager from interfering with VS build

Question

I often get the following error after an app under debugging crashes:

DEP1000: Cannot copy file "E...\MY_APP\bin\x64\Debug\MY_APP.exe" to layout "E...\MY_APP.UWP\bin\x64\Debug\AppX\entrypoint\MY_APP.exe". IOException - The process cannot access the file 'E...\MY_APP.UWP\bin\x64\Debug\AppX\entrypoint\MY_APP.exe' because it is being used by another process. [0x80070020]

The remedy is closing Windows 11's Task Manager. Is there a way to prevent the Task Manager from interfering with the build process?

Answer 1

Hi @Hong, 

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A! 

You can enable Task Manager Efficiency mode to reduce process interference. 

Furthermore, you can use the Process Explorer or File Locksmith tools to check what process is locking the file. 

Besides, for the issue, you can close all running VS instances and manually delete the bin and obj folders in your project folder. Then, re-launch the VS. 

If you have any anti-virus software, please temporarily disable it. 

Sincerely,

Anna

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