If you cannot resolve the lock, many users find success with balenaEtcher , which often handles drive locking more effectively when flashing DMG or ISO files.
If these steps do not work, consider an alternative like the UUByte DMG Editor for creating bootable macOS drives on Windows.
: A popular open-source tool for flashing OS images to USB drives. Transmac Drive Has Been Locked By Another Program
If the drive has an incompatible partition table (like GPT), Windows may struggle to release it. Using the utility can force a reset. Command Prompt as Administrator. and press Enter. to find your USB drive's number. select disk X (replace X with your drive number). Be extremely careful to select the correct disk. to wipe all partition information. Close the prompt and try TransMac again. 4. Close Conflicting Background Processes Ensure no other software is monitoring the drive: Close any open File Explorer Exit cloud storage apps like Google Drive
Emily explained the situation, and Ryan's face lit up with recognition. "I think I know what might have happened," he said. "I was trying to use Transmac to format my own external drive, but I must have accidentally selected your drive instead." If you cannot resolve the lock, many users
This error appears when you try to perform an operation (like restoring a DMG, formatting a drive, or writing an image) and Transmac informs you that it cannot access the drive because some other software on your Windows PC has an exclusive lock on it.
: The .dmg file itself might be open in another mounting software (like PowerISO or Daemon Tools). If the drive has an incompatible partition table
: Use a USB 2.0 port if available, as some older macOS installers struggle with USB 3.0/3.1 drivers during the initial boot process. Final Tip: Formatting for Success