VC++ fatal error LNK1168: cannot open filename.exe for writing

Suddenly, my Visual Studio Express 2010 C++ stopped rebuilding my project. When I first hit F7 the project builds and runs fine (heck, it's a hello world example).

Then I make some changes and hit F7 again, then I get:

1>LINK : fatal error LNK1168: cannot open C:\Users\username\Documents\Visual Studio 2010\Projects\console\Debug\console.exe for writing**<br><br>

Now the funny thing comes:

1. The app is not running and it's not shown in the Task Manager.
2. Going into the project directory and trying to remove it with hands comes with success but the file APPEARS AGAIN FROM NOWHERE.
3. The system restore is disabled.
4. I also tried to take the ownership of the whole damn drive.
5. Every time I delete the file it recreates itself again but sometimes it stops doing that.
6. If I delete the file (and it recreates after that), and then I start sysinternals procmon then the file disappears.
7. If I start procmon before - then the file keeps appearing after delete like always.

OS: W7 SP1 64-bit, with latest updates

Any ideas, please?

The problem is probably that you forgot to close the program and that you instead have the program running in the background.

Find the console window where the exe file program is running, and close it by clicking the X in the upper right corner. Then try to recompile the program. In my case this solved the problem.

I know this posting is old, but I am answering for the other people like me who find this through the search engines.

Enable “Application Experience” service. Launch a console window and type net start AeLookupSvc

• http://support.microsoft.com/kb/902196

I've encountered this problem when the build is abruptly closed before it is loaded. No process would show up in the Task Manager, but if you navigate to the executable generated in the project folder and try to delete it, Windows claims that the application is in use. (If not, just delete the file and rebuild, which generates a new executable) In Windows(Visual Studio 2019), the file is located in this directory by default:

%USERPROFILE%\source\repos\ProjectFolderName\Debug

To end the allegedly running process, open the command prompt and type in the following command:

taskkill /F /IM ApplicationName.exe

This forces any running instance to be terminated. Rebuild and execute!