ALM Upgrade: Resolving Error ALM-V10067 – Projects with Checked-Out Entities Cannot Be Upgraded

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Applies To:

• Application Lifecycle Management (ALM)
• Versions: ALM 24.x, 25.x, and later
• Projects using Version Control (VC)

Issue:

During the project verification phase before upgrading a version-controlled project, the process fails with the following error message:

ALM-V10067: Projects with checked out entities cannot be upgraded

As a result, the upgrade process cannot proceed.

Cause:

This issue occurs when one or more version-controlled entities within the project database remain in a “Checked Out” state.
ALM prevents upgrades for any projects that contain checked-out items to avoid potential data conflicts.

Common reasons include:

• One or more entities (such as tests, requirements, or design steps) are still checked out.
• The entity was checked out by a user account that no longer exists or is inactive.
• The ALM Robot utility was unable to perform an Undo Checkout due to project locking or repository alignment issues.
• Orphaned checkout records remain in version control (VC) tables from previous upgrades or incomplete operations.

Steps:

Important Prerequisites

1. Ensure a full database backup of the project schema before making any manual changes.
2. Confirm that no users are connected to the project during this process.
3. These steps should be performed by a database administrator (DBA) or ALM system administrator.

Step 1: Attempt Undo Checkout Using ALM Robot

1. Launch the ALM Robot utility on the ALM server.
2. Connect to the ALM server and repository.
3. Select the affected project.
4. Choose Undo Checkout to clear any existing checked-out entities.

If the project cannot be selected or the checkbox appears with a red lock, proceed to Step 2.

Step 2: Identify Checked-Out Entities in the Database

Use SQL queries to identify entities that remain checked out. Execute the following query for each version control table in the project schema:
 

SELECT * FROM VC_TEST WHERE VC_CHECKOUT_OWNER IS NOT NULL;

Check the following tables, depending on your project’s modules:
- VC_TEST – Test entities
- VC_DESIGN_STEP – Design steps in tests
- VC_REQ – Requirements
- VC_COMPONENT – Business components
- VC_BUSINESS_PROCESS – Business process entities

Step 3: Manually Clear the Checked-Out Status

To remove residual checkouts, execute the following SQL commands for each affected table:
 

UPDATE VC_TEST SET VC_CHECKOUT_OWNER = NULL, VC_CHECKOUT_TIME = NULL WHERE VC_CHECKOUT_OWNER IS NOT NULL;

Repeat this for other VC_ tables (e.g., VC_REQ, VC_DESIGN_STEP, VC_COMPONENT, etc.).

Note: This action undoes the checkout and discards any uncommitted changes made by the users who checked out those entities.

Step 4: Align Version History Counters

After clearing the checkouts, ensure that the latest version of each entity is properly reflected in the version history tables.
To do this, verify that the VC_VERSION_NUMBER in the relevant VC tables matches the maximum history version of each entity.

If needed, increment the version counter to ensure consistency, for example:
 

UPDATE VC_TEST
SET VC_VERSION_NUMBER = (
    SELECT MAX(VT_VERSION_NUMBER)
    FROM V_TEST
    WHERE VT_TEST_ID = VC_TEST.VC_ENTITY_ID
);

Step 5: Verify, Repair, and Upgrade the Project

1. Open ALM Site Administration.
2. From the Projects list, select the project and choose Verify.
3. If verification completes successfully, run Repair if needed.
4. Finally, perform the Upgrade operation.

Additional Info:

• This issue is common during upgrades of version-controlled projects in ALM 24.x and later versions.
• It typically occurs when older checkouts remain unresolved or user accounts have been removed.
• Always back up the project schema before performing any database updates.
• If the issue persists even after database cleanup, review repository permissions and ensure no other utilities (like ALM Robot or Site Admin) are accessing the project during verification.

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