For now this will be a place to jot down some of my notes on troubleshooting Macrium Reflect backup issues. I hope to one day organize it all in a more digestible format.
Issues with VSS
Technical abstract of what helped in my situation:
Check for any errors:
vssadmin list writers
vssadmin list shadowstorage
vssadmin list shadows
vssadmin list providers
SFC /SCANNOW
chkdsk c: /f
Re-register VSS components:
cd /d %windir%\system32
net stop vss
net stop swprv
regsvr32 /s ole32.dll
regsvr32 /s oleaut32.dll
regsvr32 /s vss_ps.dll
vssvc /register
regsvr32 /s /i swprv.dll
regsvr32 /s /i eventcls.dll
regsvr32 /s es.dll
regsvr32 /s stdprov.dll
regsvr32 /s vssui.dll
regsvr32 /s msxml.dll
regsvr32 /s msxml3.dll
regsvr32 /s msxml4.dll
vssvc /register
net start swprv
net start vss
Run Tweaking.com repair
hard shutdown (admin command prompt shutdown /s) followed by cold start power
restart each one individually.
COM+ Event System
COM+ System Application
Microsoft Software Shadow Copy Provider
Volume Shadow Copy
Reference #1: https://www.tenforums.com/backup-restore/75366-cannot-backup-macrium-reflect-free-2.html
"I bet your system disk is to full which means that there is not enough free space for VSS to do its work. You could delete some older restore points and see if that helps. Better consider upgrading to a larger disk is space is low. Do a surface test with Crystal Diskinfo and Macrorit Disk scanner just to eliminate the most basic possibility.
Reference #2: https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/KNOW/VSS+fails+due+to+modification+by+3rd+party+software
"Uninstall ShadowProtect
Remove the registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\VSS\Providers{24602736-bed9-4619-91b0-243447c6409c}.
Restart Windows.
If you don't have the registry key above then check you only have the following entry for VSS software providers in your registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\VSS\Providers
Copy this text to Windows notepad:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\VSS\Providers{b5946137-7b9f-4925-af80-51abd60b20d5}]
@="Microsoft Software Shadow Copy provider 1.0"
"Type"=dword:00000001
"Version"="1.0.0.7"
"VersionId"="{00000001-0000-0000-0007-000000000001}"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\VSS\Providers{b5946137-7b9f-4925-af80-51abd60b20d5}\CLSID]
@="{65EE1DBA-8FF4-4a58-AC1C-3470EE2F376A}
Save as VSSWriters.reg.
Double click VSSWriters.reg in Windows Explorer to import the entries in your system registry.
If you have not been able to fix your issue using the solution above download and run one of the below programs to fix your problem.
http://updates.macrium.com/reflect/utilities/vssfixx64.exe
Reference #3: https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/vssebadstate-message-during-system-state-backup
To verify if it fails when handling the raw volume, the Microsoft VSS tracing tool vsstrace.exe can be used. This tool retrieves more detailed information about all related modules. The tool is included in a Windows Software Development Kit (SDK). If the tool is installed, it is located in this directory:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\8.0\bin\x64.
If it does not exist, download the Windows Software Development Kit (SDK):
https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/downloads/windows-8-sdk
Reference #4: https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/258653
During troubleshooting of problems with SystemState backup or Open File Support/Online Image using VSS, it is sometimes useful to test the VSS portion by itself.
You can start diskshadow and logging all outputs to a file by starting a Command Prompt and launching this command:
diskshadow /l c:\diskshadow.out
From the diskshadow prompt, issue the following commands:
reset
list writers
list writers status
list writers metadata
list writers detailed
list providers
exit
The output of all the above commands will be found in c:\diskshadow.out.
Test a snapshot of SystemState
When dealing with SystemState backup failures, sometimes the problem is with Tivoli Storage Manager, sometimes on Windows either with VSS itself or with one of its writers. Testing outside Tivoli Storage Manager helps determine if the problem is within Tivoli Storage Manager or some other area.
You can start diskshadow and logging all outputs to a file by starting a Command Prompt and launching this command:
diskshadow /l c:\diskshadowsys.out
From the diskshadow prompt, issue the following commands:
reset
set verbose on
set option differential
set context volatile
add volume c:
add volume d: (if the system is on more than one disk, add them one by one)
create
exit
The output of all the above commands will be found in c:\diskshadowsys.out. Review this file for errors. Any failure during the create phase indicate a problem either with VSS or one of the writers which should be pursued with Microsoft.
