Error: Can't Save file. The file is locked or in use. ID: -54

[influxxmedia]

Hi all

I recently replaced an internal hard drive with an internal SSD. I cloned the drive using SuperDuper, copying ACLs.

A side effect of this is ever since that replacement, I can no longer save EXSISTING Illustrator files. I have to resort to Save As... each time. I get the -54 error every time I try to save a file. It's getting really annoying.

I thought it might be a drive permissions issue at first and reset all ACLs and permissions, even turned off ownership for that drive. Nothing made any difference.

Any ideas????

Cheers m'dears

Adam

[Anshul_Saini]

Hi there,

Sorry to hear about the issue you are facing. I would suggest you log in to root user on your Mac device. Then, create a new document and see if you are able to overwrite that newly saved document. Also, I would request you to share a few more details like:

• The exact version of macOS and Illustrator
• Are there any recent changes made to your system after cloning your drive? For example, any antivirus, system updates, or web extensions installed recently.

Looking forward to your response.

Regards,

Anshul Saini

[influxxmedia]

Hello Anshul

I am on MacOS El Capitan 10.11.5

Illustrator CC18

I am in fact able to create new documents and save and overwrite them - on the same day. It's only files created prior to the new storage drive was installed. Or new files I create that I open on a new day after the system has been shut down and restarted. Wierd

No other changes were made to the system other than the new storage. No anti virus is installed on this machine.

I'm guessing this is more to with a system level thing. Would like to know what the Adobe Error ID54 means though

Thanks

Adam

[Anshul_Saini]

Thank you for sharing the details. I would recommend you to update Illustrator to v25.4.1 and macOS to v11.5.2 if possible. You can install a new illustrator and retain your old Illustrator version without deleting it. Error 54 occurs because Illustrator is unable to get the version of the file or read the Adobe file path.

Regards,

Anshul Saini

[influxxmedia]

Well thats no help at all. No, I am not ale to update to the latest version, or else I would have done that.

[Monika Gause]

Running an old system myself, I know what you're talking about. But that's just the way it is. The systems are no longer supported and doing a migration of files like you did has never been supported. In fact you can be glad that this cloning operation has worked at all. There have been a lot of people reporting in this forum that this kind of migration has failed for them completely.

So having to use "Save as" is clearly the smaller drawback compared to not being able to use the application at all.

[influxxmedia]

What utter nonsense. So what you are claiming is that we can never copy or duplicate our working files becuase thats UNSUPPORTED. What you are claiming would put every design and ad agency out of business if they had to resort to recreating every iteration of their work instead of duping and modifying.

My dear, I dont know how you got to be a so-called community expert with incorrect and ignorant advice like that, but thats just indicative of the low levels Adobe had fallen to in recebt years. Stick to talking about what you know nothing about.

[Anshul_Saini]

Sorry about that. I would like to know if you have tried log in to root user on your Mac device? Also, you may try creating a new user account, install Illustrator there and try saving the files. Let us know how it goes.

Regards,

Anshul Saini 

[rslygh]

I know this is a very old thread, and my system config is different, but adding something about the -54 file lock that I only discovered today in case you're still chasing a solution or someone else comes across this thread and it helps them.

We've been experiencing the file lock -54 error for a while occasionally. We're running macOS Monterey and most are opening files from a macOS Monterey file server. We've used the file server for years and never had this problem until getting new M1 Macbook Pros running Monterey. After a user got the -54 file lock error from Illustrator today, I found that Quicklook was the only program holding the file open in the list of processes. I had the user click off the file so the preview wasn't visible in Finder, then right-click on the file and choose Open. Sure enough it worked without any -54 error. To test again I had them click back on the file so the preview would show in Finder and try to open, and again the -54 error appeared. Click off the file to stop the preview, then right-click to Open again and the file opened fine. I don't know what the underlying cause of the problem is yet, but a workaround for now could be avoiding having a preview shown in Finder.

[Kevin Stohlmeyer · Accepted solution]

This is an underlying issue of the Mac OS not refreshing connections to servers and causing the files to show locked, in use or errors.

If you force quit your Finder - the files may resolve.

This is why Adobe officially does not support saving or working directly off a network share or remote location.

Drag to local, edit, save and drag back to server.

That or invest in a DAM system that checks files in and out for usage.

[influxxmedia]

Nothing to do with my scenario. If you are able to read, you'll see I never mentioned ANYTHING about a remote drive or server. Do you even know what an SSD is?

Sheesh the experts around here leave a lot to be desired, eh.

[Kevin Stohlmeyer]

@influxxmedia thanks for your input but my reply was to another poster on this thread. Take a moment before you go on flame.

As @Monika Gause using a cloner/migration tool to move the software is the cause of the issue. Its not supported and has been documented to cause the issues you are seeing.

[HARSHIKA_VERMA]

Hi Molly32119904lawo,

We apologize for the bad experience. We'd love to investigate this further and help resolve the issue.

Could you please share more details about the problem you're experiencing, along with the version of Illustrator installed on your machine and your operating system?

Once we have that information, we’ll be happy to assist you further.

Thanks,
Harshika

[Troy33294440d204]

Currently experiencing this issue.  Just updated to latest version of Illustrator and running ventura.  I can save an old file to a new place, but if I try to move it to the original folder and replace the original file I am unable to do so.  The warning that I get when I try to save directly over an old version is "Can't save illustration. The file is locked or in use. ID -54"

[Anubhav M]

Hello @Troy33294440d204,

I'm sorry to hear about your experience. Could you confirm the version of the OS/Illustrator installed and the exact folder location where you encounter this problem (including a screenshot if possible), so I can better assist you?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Anubhav

[Troy33294440d204]

I've been using a google drive folder for 3 years and things have worked perfectly until yesterday.

OS Ventura

I just did the Adobe Cloud Cleaner, took everything off and reinstalled it all and still seeing the same warning

[Anubhav M]

Hello @Troy33294440d204,

Could you try saving your file to a different folder location (not on an external/network drive or a cloud-synced folder like iCloud Drive/Google Drive/etc) to check if it works there?

Also, try enabling full-disk access (https://adobe.ly/46uhb5U) for Illustrator, and share your observations.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Anubhav

[Renee LL]

you solved my problem too. thank you so much. i didnt realize it was dropbox that was the problem for me