Final answer:
A disk may be locked by another process when a process opens a file on the disk and gains exclusive access to it, preventing other processes from accessing or modifying the file until it is released.
Step-by-step explanation:
A disk may be locked by another process in certain scenarios. When a process opens a file on a disk, it gains exclusive access to that file. This means that other processes cannot access or modify the file until the first process releases it. If another process attempts to access the locked file, it will be denied access and the disk will be locked by the first process.
For example, let's say Process A opens a file on a disk for writing. Until Process A finishes writing and closes the file, no other process can read or write to that file. If Process B tries to access the same file while it is still locked by Process A, it will be unable to do so. Process A essentially has a lock on the disk for that particular file.
It's important to note that disk locks are typically managed by the operating system to ensure data integrity and prevent conflicts between processes. The operating system keeps track of which files are locked and by which processes. Once a process finishes accessing a file, it releases the lock, allowing other processes to access it.