I use Macrium Reflect ver 7.2 to create image files of my ssd. After running the backup operation, an image summary and VSS log file are created. I alternate two portable drives to store the image files On one drive I can view the image summary and the VSS file. On the other drive, I can view the image summary but when I attempt to open the VSS log file, I get an error message "Failed to open VSS log file for backup Has it been manually removed". Both portable drives are Western Digital My Passport drives. I opened a support ticket on the WD site and was told that the fault lies with the third party software. When available, I can view the log file without the drive being connected to my laptop. Any ideas as to why the VSS log file is found when backing up to one drive and not the other? I'm running Windows 10 Pro Ver 2004. Thanks very much.

The logs themselves are stored at "C:\ProgramData\Macrium\Reflect" and to my knowledge that cannot be customized to store the log files on the destination.  So I don't see why your ability to see VSS logs would depend on which drive was attached.  Are you sure that's the case, or are you saying, "For backup jobs that went to Disk A, I can see them, but jobs that went to Disk B throw an error", regardless of which disk is actually attached at the time you're trying to view the logs?  Even there I don't see why that would matter since the VSS operation itself captures a snapshot of the source volume(s), so I don't see why the destination would affect the VSS operation in some way that might potentially make the VSS log from that job unreadable later.

But just looking at the raw files in that folder, if you sort by name, do you have .vsslog files for every job log (.html), or is it in fact the case that there are several .html job logs that do not have corresponding .vsslog files?

Are you running the latest release of Reflect?  I remember an issue I worked with Macrium on where I found that some VSS log files were being purged inappropriately.  That was fixed quite a while ago, but I've noticed some people keep running old versions of Reflect for quite a while because "everything seems to be working", even when they aren't anymore. You just said you're running Reflect 7.2, which would include quite a few releases over the last 20 months.

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jphughan - 5 June 2020 10:13 PM

The logs themselves are stored at "C:\ProgramData\Macrium\Reflect" and to my knowledge that cannot be customized to store the log files on the destination.  So I don't see why your ability to see VSS logs would depend on which drive was attached.  Are you sure that's the case, or are you saying, "For backup jobs that went to Disk A, I can see them, but jobs that went to Disk B throw an error", regardless of which disk is actually attached at the time you're trying to view the logs?  Even there I don't see why that would matter since the VSS operation itself captures a snapshot of the source volume(s), so I don't see why the destination would affect the VSS operation in some way that might potentially make the VSS log from that job unreadable later.

But just looking at the raw files in that folder, if you sort by name, do you have .vsslog files for every job log (.html), or is it in fact the case that there are several .html job logs that do not have corresponding .vsslog files?

Are you running the latest release of Reflect?  I remember an issue I worked with Macrium on where I found that some VSS log files were being purged inappropriately.  That was fixed quite a while ago, but I've noticed some people keep running old versions of Reflect for quite a while because "everything seems to be working", even when they aren't anymore. You just said you're running Reflect 7.2, which would include quite a few releases over the last 20 months.

Thanks for your reply. Looks like the vss log files are being created but MR doesn't always see them when I try to open it.

Very strange. Not sure what’s going on there, but hopefully Macrium will. Just for future reference though, you posted this is in the Reflect V6 section of the forum. Chances are it will still be seen, but just in case.

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greened2062 - 5 June 2020 10:56 PM

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jphughan - 5 June 2020 10:13 PM

The logs themselves are stored at "C:\ProgramData\Macrium\Reflect" and to my knowledge that cannot be customized to store the log files on the destination.  So I don't see why your ability to see VSS logs would depend on which drive was attached.  Are you sure that's the case, or are you saying, "For backup jobs that went to Disk A, I can see them, but jobs that went to Disk B throw an error", regardless of which disk is actually attached at the time you're trying to view the logs?  Even there I don't see why that would matter since the VSS operation itself captures a snapshot of the source volume(s), so I don't see why the destination would affect the VSS operation in some way that might potentially make the VSS log from that job unreadable later.

But just looking at the raw files in that folder, if you sort by name, do you have .vsslog files for every job log (.html), or is it in fact the case that there are several .html job logs that do not have corresponding .vsslog files?

Are you running the latest release of Reflect?  I remember an issue I worked with Macrium on where I found that some VSS log files were being purged inappropriately.  That was fixed quite a while ago, but I've noticed some people keep running old versions of Reflect for quite a while because "everything seems to be working", even when they aren't anymore. You just said you're running Reflect 7.2, which would include quite a few releases over the last 20 months.

Thanks for your reply. Looks like the vss log files are being created but MR doesn't always see them when I try to open it.

Thanks for posting.

We've not seen this before but it appears as if the VSS log file is perhaps exclusively locked by another process and can't be opened.

Does the problem persists after rebooting Windows?
Can you open the VSS log in Windows notepad?

Kind Regards

Nick

Macrium Support

See our reviews on

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Nick - 8 June 2020 8:26 AM

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greened2062 - 5 June 2020 10:56 PM

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jphughan - 5 June 2020 10:13 PM

The logs themselves are stored at "C:\ProgramData\Macrium\Reflect" and to my knowledge that cannot be customized to store the log files on the destination.  So I don't see why your ability to see VSS logs would depend on which drive was attached.  Are you sure that's the case, or are you saying, "For backup jobs that went to Disk A, I can see them, but jobs that went to Disk B throw an error", regardless of which disk is actually attached at the time you're trying to view the logs?  Even there I don't see why that would matter since the VSS operation itself captures a snapshot of the source volume(s), so I don't see why the destination would affect the VSS operation in some way that might potentially make the VSS log from that job unreadable later.

But just looking at the raw files in that folder, if you sort by name, do you have .vsslog files for every job log (.html), or is it in fact the case that there are several .html job logs that do not have corresponding .vsslog files?

Are you running the latest release of Reflect?  I remember an issue I worked with Macrium on where I found that some VSS log files were being purged inappropriately.  That was fixed quite a while ago, but I've noticed some people keep running old versions of Reflect for quite a while because "everything seems to be working", even when they aren't anymore. You just said you're running Reflect 7.2, which would include quite a few releases over the last 20 months.

Thanks for your reply. Looks like the vss log files are being created but MR doesn't always see them when I try to open it.

Thanks for posting.

We've not seen this before but it appears as if the VSS log file is perhaps exclusively locked by another process and can't be opened.

Does the problem persists after rebooting Windows?
Can you open the VSS log in Windows notepad?

There is a security issue with the files that I can't open. But the file created on June 1, 2020 using a different backup definition file will open. Also files created approximately 4 months ago and prior will open. I use a local account (admin) to sign on to Windows and only one account has been
created. Thank you.

Can you right-click an inaccessible file, go to Properties > Security > Advanced and post a screenshot of that window?

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jphughan - 8 June 2020 2:26 PM

Can you right-click an inaccessible file, go to Properties > Security > Advanced and post a screenshot of that window?

Properties > Security (not General) > Advanced