Transmac Drive Has Been Locked By Another Program May 2026

If you are trying to flash a DMG file to a USB drive and see the error you aren't alone. This usually happens because Windows is aggressively "protecting" the drive or another background process is scanning it the moment you plug it in.

Windows often locks drives because it recognizes a corrupted partition. Clearing the partition table usually kills the lock. Press Win + R , type , and hit Enter. Type diskpart and hit Enter.

How to Fix "Transmac Drive Has Been Locked By Another Program" Transmac Drive Has Been Locked By Another Program

Type list disk to find your USB (look at the size to identify it). Type select disk X (Replace with your USB's number). Type clean . Warning: This erases everything on the USB.

Move the USB to a rear port (if on a desktop) to ensure a more stable connection. 🛠️ Method 1: Use Diskpart to "Clean" the Drive If you are trying to flash a DMG

If you have the USB folder open, Windows "locks" it to display files. Close all Explorer windows.

Security software often "hooks" into a USB drive the second it's plugged in to scan for malware, creating a lock. Clearing the partition table usually kills the lock

Windows and macOS use different file systems (NTFS/FAT32 vs. APFS/HFS+). When you plug a Mac-formatted drive into Windows, the OS gets confused. It may try to "fix" the drive or repeatedly prompt you to format it, which keeps the drive "busy" and prevents TransMac from gaining exclusive access. If these steps didn't work, tell me: What are you using? Are you using a USB 2.0 or 3.0 drive? Did you get a specific error code ?

Windows might be trying to index the drive.