Index: common.scm
==================================================================
--- common.scm
+++ common.scm
@@ -646,11 +646,11 @@
 ;;
 (define (common:simple-file-lock fname #!key (expire-time 300))
     (if (common:file-exists? fname)
 	(if (> (- (current-seconds)(file-modification-time fname)) expire-time)
 	    (begin
-	      (delete-file* fname)
+              (handle-exceptions exn #f (delete-file* fname))	
 	      (common:simple-file-lock fname expire-time: expire-time))
 	    #f)
 	(let ((key-string (conc (get-host-name) "-" (current-process-id))))
 	  (with-output-to-file fname
 	    (lambda ()