What does Windows error code 1794 (ERROR_REDIRECTOR_HAS_OPEN_HANDLES) mean?

 
Previous Next
ERROR_ACCOUNT_EXPIRED ERROR_PRINTER_DRIVER_ALREADY_INSTALLED

ERROR_REDIRECTOR_HAS_OPEN_HANDLES

The network redirector is still in use.

ERROR_REDIRECTOR_HAS_OPEN_HANDLES is Win32 error 1794 (0x702). A network redirector, such as the component serving mapped drives or UNC file access, cannot be unloaded while active handles or dependent connections remain. The result is usually a lifecycle and ownership problem: one or more processes still use redirected resources, or the system still has pending I/O, sessions, or cached references.

What can keep the redirector busy

  • applications have files or directories open on mapped drives or UNC paths
  • the current directory of a process points to a redirected location
  • services, shells, antivirus tools, indexers, or backup agents retain network handles
  • outstanding asynchronous I/O, oplocks, or reconnect activity has not completed
  • a mapped connection is persistent or shared by another logon session

Evidence to collect before forcing closure

Record the redirector or provider, mapped drive and UNC target, user and logon session, processes with open remote handles, current directories, outstanding jobs, network session state, command or API requesting unload, and the elapsed shutdown time. Avoid logging credentials or full sensitive share paths into unrestricted telemetry.

How to diagnose ownership

Enumerate open files and connections through supported administrative tools and identify the process or session that owns each reference. Check services and scheduled tasks in addition to the interactive user. A visible Explorer window is not the only source of remote handles.

Cancel new work, wait for pending I/O, close file handles, and release mappings in the same logon context that created them. If the operation follows network-provider upgrade or service shutdown, inspect whether the component stopped accepting work before it tried to unload the redirector.

Safe recovery

Close or stop the owning applications and services, disconnect mappings through supported APIs, and retry after handles drain. Forceful disconnection can cause data loss, so use it only with explicit operator approval and after identifying unsaved writes. A reboot clears handles but should not be the routine fix for a repeatable ownership leak.

Software that creates network mappings should pair every successful connection with deterministic cleanup, avoid using redirected paths as long-lived process working directories, and make shutdown wait for outstanding I/O. Telemetry should name the owning process rather than only reporting 1794.

Difference from an active server share

ERROR_SERVER_HAS_OPEN_HANDLES concerns unloading a server component that still serves open resources. Error 1794 concerns the client-side redirector path. Ordinary sharing violations are per-file conflicts and do not necessarily require redirector unload.

Example

A VPN client update tries to restart a network provider, but a backup agent still reads a UNC path. The updater receives 1794. It pauses the backup job, waits for the remote handle to close, disconnects the mapping, and then restarts the provider without rebooting the machine.

References

Looking for a different code? Search another status or error code.