Why mkfs shows /dev/xxx is apparently in use by the system; will not make a filesystem here' error ?

Solution Verified - Updated -

Issue

  • Unable to format partition. Getting error /dev/sde1 is apparently in use by the system; will not make a filesystem here! error 
[root@test ~]# mkfs -t ext3 /dev/sde1
mke2fs 1.39 (29-MAY-2006)
/dev/sde1 is apparently in use by the system; will not make a filesystem here!

Environment

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5

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