Deleting old Lock Entries

From time to time a user may lock an object and for some reason like lost connection or program error, the lock on that object remains. All old lock entries should be analysed and corrected. Whenever a user complains about some locked entries in the system perform the following sequence of actions:

• From the User Overview screen (SM04) verify that the user whose lock entries are to be deleted is currently not logged onto the system. If the user is still logged in, ask him to log out. This is mandatory in order to detect the truly old unwanted lock entries. Otherwise, we run the risk of deleting valid lock entries that may lead to database inconsistencies.

• From the SAP R/3 main screen choose the menu option Tools -> Administration, Monitor -> Lock entries. Alternately execute transaction SM12.

• Type in the client and the concerned user name (who is currently holding the locks) in the fields ‘Client’, and ‘User name’. Click on the ‘Continue’ pushbutton (green tick pushbutton).

• In the following screen we get a display of the various lock entries for the selected user. Any long held or stuck lock will be displayed in blue color. Place the cursor on an entry in the list and click on the "detail description" pushbutton. This gives we the application server name from which the user, who has implemented the lock, has logged on. Place the cursor on a lock entry in that list and click the ‘Delete’ pushbutton. The system prompts we with a warning message regarding the consequences of deleting lock entries. We can ignore the warning, and confirm the deletion of the selected lock entry. Repeat this procedure for all other lock entries of the user.
Only long held/stuck locks should be deleted manually as deleting the normal locks might lead to data inconsistencies.