Backup Error about a Shadow Copy Storage File

Topic

New Reply

I am Win10/Pro 22H2, currently updated through the October Tuesday patches.

Before I install the November Tuesday patches (which WUSHOWHIDE has hidden), I am trying to do backups and create a system image, but it won’t happen. I keep getting 0x81000019. This error is about not being able to create a Shadow Copy.

I’ve always been able to do backups and create a system image before this. Even now, when I click on the Properties of a file and open the Previous Versions tab, there are previous versions listed. Does that mean that a Shadow Copy Storage File currently exists? If so, it looks like something has changed that prevents it from from adding new data? If so, what could that be?

What can I do to make it possible to create a Shadow Copy for a new backup?

Reply | Quote

Replies

The Details: part of the error message indicates

Insufficient storage available to create either the shadow copy storage file or other shadow copy data.

So the first thing you should do is ensure whatever drive you’re saving the backup to has enough free space to actual contain the backup and that your OS drive has enough free space for the temporary files it’ll create while doing the backup.

1 user thanked author for this post.

WCHS

Reply | Quote

The 4T external drive has a capacity of 3.63TB — 2.64TB is free. I’ve even tried the backup with a new 5TB external drive that has a capacity of 4.54 TB — 4.54 free.

The OS (C:) drive is 461GB and it has 278GB free.

Where is this Shadow Copy Storage File? on the external backup drive? on the OS (C:) drive? in some hidden partition (maybe the WinRE partition)?

Reply | Quote

With the sufficient extra space you have on your system that generic error is referring to the amount of space you have allowed the shadow copy services to use. To fix this and allow a new shadow copy to be made you need to either delete prior shadow copy files (restore points) or increase the amount of space you allow shadow copy services to use. With your space and as a long term solution, I suggest the latter.

The amount of space shadow services is allowed to use is controlled by a setting and not how much space is left on the drive or needed for the next shadow copy. In this space that the shadow services uses it stores the restore points for your system. If the restore points fill up all or nearly all of the allocated shadow services space there will not be enough space for another restore point OR the space shadow services needs while creating an image file that is stored on another drive is too little for those transition files for the image file you will get the generic error message you got.

To find out if this is the problem you need to look at your shadow services storage.
Open an Administrator’s Command window
At the prompt (>) copy and paste the following command and press the enter key.

vssadmin list shadowstorage

For you C: drive look at Used, Allocated, and Maximum space. If the Used and Allocated are the same amount or very close then the shadow copy storage space is full of restore point files. This is not a problem as the shadow services will delete the oldest restore point to create space to add a new restore point. Now compare the difference in the amount of space between the Allocated and the Maximum space listed. When the Allocated space is full (or nearly full) the amount of space between Allocated and Maximum is all the space the shadow services has to create the transition files in making the backup image. If the amount of space is too small for shadow services to use to make the backup image this cause the error you displayed. Usually a good rule of thumb is to have the Maximum space set to 2% more than the Allocated space amount which Windows tries to maintain.  Exactly how much space this is depends upon how big your drive is and what % of the drive is Allocated. Generally I find 10% for Allocated and 12% for Maximum to work well for restore points and image backups.

The value for Maximum storage size can be controlled by a command as follows.

If you wish to increase the size of the shadow copy service storage for Maximum copy the following command and replace the XX with the number of GBs you want to increase the size of the shadow copy space and press Enter.

vssadmin resize shadowstorage /For=C: /On=C: /MaxSize=XXGB

You can run the vssadmin list shadowstorage again to confirm that the Maximum size has been increased.

I would reboot before trying to make a backup image.

HTH, Dana:))

1 user thanked author for this post.

WCHS

Reply | Quote

Let me show you what the vssadmin command prompt says:

I don’t understand how there can be no used or allocated Shadow Copy Storage space — when I click on the Properties tab on many, many of my data files and click on Previous Versions, a number of versions are listed. Here is an example. If you scroll down to “a long time ago”, there are 20 more versions listed that are not visible in the snapshot. I update this file monthly.

Here are the restore points that are listed:

Reply | Quote

WCHS wrote:

Where is this Shadow Copy Storage File?

To check current shadow copy storage run CMD as admin :
vssadmin list shadowstorage

To change shadow copy save location run CMD as admin :

vssadmin add shadowstorage /for=<drive being backed up> /on=<drive to store the shadow copy> /maxsize=<percentage of disk space to allow to be used>

Shadow copy is usually saved in hidden System Volume Information.

1 user thanked author for this post.

WCHS

Reply | Quote

What are your settings for System Protection ?

1 user thanked author for this post.

WCHS

Reply | Quote

WCHS wrote:

I don’t understand how there can be no used or allocated Shadow Copy Storage space

You do not have any Restore Points saved in your Shadow copy storage space. The list you displayed in the Restore window are your prior system images you made thru image backup. I assume those were stored on another drive. A Restore point will be a System or Manual as Type of backup and be labeled as Automatic Restore Point or the name you give a manual restore point. You might try increasing the Allocated space to see if that lets you backup.

To see any saved Restore points enter the following command in the Administrator’s Command window

vssadmin list shadows

Do you have Restore points turned off (like in Group Polices)?
The amount of space for shadow copy services being allocated to 0% points to Restore points being turned off. Not sure if that is the cause of the error and I don’t use the GP editor enough to know where that setting is.

On a side note: You have a lot of image backups listed as having been made. If you have those backups going to the same external drive, did you know that unless you move the image file Windows will overwrite the last image with the image being made.
If you have never moved the image file then you have only the last image made.

HTH, Dana:))

1 user thanked author for this post.

WCHS

Reply | Quote

WCHS wrote:

I keep getting 0x81000019

One of the reasons I use a 3rd party backup. Better error messages. 🙂

The lack of space is on C drive, not the backup location. You need to allow (much) more space for system protection (Shadow Copy storage space).

cheers, Paul

1 user thanked author for this post.

WCHS

Reply | Quote

Alex5723 wrote:

Shadow copy is usually saved in hidden System Volume Information.

Alex,

I noticed that you have your System Protection Storage space is Allocated for 3.0 GBs. Since I have restore points that get to 5.0 GBs do you ever see errors when a restore point over the storage limit you set can’t bet set because it is over 3.0 GBs?

That being said, I really don’t use restore points. That is what I have backups for because Restore points don’t always restore what I want restored, but backups do. For me the Restore points are a side effect of the System Protection system that I use to make backup images.

HTH, Dana:))

Reply | Quote

Drcard:)) wrote:

do you ever see errors when a restore point over the storage limit you set can’t bet set because it is over 3.0 GBs?

Allocation is set to 7.14GB

Reply | Quote