Shadow Copy failing

[Bernhard]

Hello group

I've been having problems with Vista's Volume Shadow Copy Service,
which was used through normal backup functionality.

VSS reports event 12293 with hr = 0x800706be, in the event log. Doing
"vssadmin list writers" shows that some of the writers have indeed set
their states to failed:

- System Writer [7]
- MSSearch Service Writer [7]
- WMI Writer [7]

Fine, but how do I fix them, is this even the source of my problem? Is
there a way to re-configure or re-install them?

BTW: I guess that this error is there since I removed a harddisk from
my system. Might this be the cause and, if yes, why? What should I
have done to "properly" remove the drive from my system?

Thanks a million!
Bernhard

 

[solon fox]

Hello group

I've been having problems with Vista's Volume Shadow Copy Service,
which was used through normal backup functionality.

VSS reports event 12293 with hr = 0x800706be, in the event log. Doing
"vssadmin list writers" shows that some of the writers have indeed set
their states to failed:

 - System Writer [7]
 - MSSearch Service Writer [7]
 - WMI Writer [7]

Fine, but how do I fix them, is this even the source of my problem? Is
there a way to re-configure or re-install them?

BTW: I guess that this error is there since I removed a harddisk from
my system. Might this be the cause and, if yes, why? What should I
have done to "properly" remove the drive from my system?

Thanks a million!
Bernhard

Control Panel->System and Maintenance->System

In the left hand pane, select "System protection". Clear the check
boxes next to the drives in "Available Disks". Click okay.

Now, go back in to "System protection" and check the drives that you
wish to protect with shadow copies.

Now, click Start and key 'Backup Status and Configuration' hit enter.
Choose the 'Change backup settings' link and follow the prompts to
configure automatic backups. Later, you can turn it off if you want to
run your backups manually.

The thought process behind this is that when you removed your drive,
the drive letter or folders on the drive that no longer exist are
still in the backup settings. Why? That's the way it works. When you
remove a drive that was being backed up, then you need to change your
backup settings.

The errors are the system's way of saying, hey something's wrong and I
couldn't do exactly what you asked.

I hope this helps.

-solon fox

 

[Bernhard]

Hi Solon Fox & thanks for your answer.

Control Panel->System and Maintenance->System

In the left hand pane, select "System protection". Clear the check
boxes next to the drives in "Available Disks". Click okay.

But, my old drive doesn't even appear here. As a matter of fact, I
never backed that one up anyway.

Now, go back in to "System protection" and check the drives that you
wish to protect with shadow copies.

Now, click Start and key 'Backup Status and Configuration' hit enter.
Choose the 'Change backup settings' link and follow the prompts to
configure automatic backups. Later, you can turn it off if you want to
run your backups manually.

Done that, still the same error. Arr. Except: There is now a dialog
box stating "host process for Windows-Services has been stopped and
closed" (that's a translation from german, so it may differ slightly
from the real one ). What's that?

The thought process behind this is that when you removed your drive,
the drive letter or folders on the drive that no longer exist are
still in the backup settings. Why? That's the way it works. When you
remove a drive that was being backed up, then you need to change your
backup settings.

Ok, that makes sense.

The errors are the system's way of saying, hey something's wrong and I
couldn't do exactly what you asked.

Yes, but I'd still wish that the backup software would be a bit more
precise in specifying such faults to the user.

So, what could I do next? I still got the errors when calling
"vssadmin list writers". How do I debug these?

Thanks a lot for your help!
Bernhard

 

[Bernhard]

Hi Solon Fox & thanks for your answer.

Control Panel->System and Maintenance->System

In the left hand pane, select "System protection". Clear the check
boxes next to the drives in "Available Disks". Click okay.

But, my old drive doesn't even appear here. As a matter of fact, I
never backed that one up anyway.

Now, go back in to "System protection" and check the drives that you
wish to protect with shadow copies.

Now, click Start and key 'Backup Status and Configuration' hit enter.
Choose the 'Change backup settings' link and follow the prompts to
configure automatic backups. Later, you can turn it off if you want to
run your backups manually.

Done that, still the same error. Arr. Except: There is now a dialog
box stating "host process for Windows-Services has been stopped and
closed" (that's a translation from german, so it may differ slightly
from the real one ). What's that?

The thought process behind this is that when you removed your drive,
the drive letter or folders on the drive that no longer exist are
still in the backup settings. Why? That's the way it works. When you
remove a drive that was being backed up, then you need to change your
backup settings.

Ok, that makes sense.

The errors are the system's way of saying, hey something's wrong and I
couldn't do exactly what you asked.

Yes, but I'd still wish that the backup software would be a bit more
precise in specifying such faults to the user.

So, what could I do next? I still got the errors when calling
"vssadmin list writers". How do I debug these?

Thanks a lot for your help!
Bernhard