Up to two days ago, Reflect worked fine, but now it fails to make a backup image.

Failed - 0x8004230f - IDispatch error #8463 - Retrying without VSS Writers
ERROR: COM call "m_pVssObject->AddToSnapshotSet((LPWSTR)volume.c_str(), GUID_NULL, &SnapshotID)" failed.
- Returned HRESULT = 0x8004230f
- Error text: VSS_E_UNEXPECTED_PROVIDER_ERROR
ERROR: COM call "m_pVssObject->BackupComplete(&pAsync)" failed.
- Returned HRESULT = 0x80042301
- Error text: VSS_E_BAD_STATE
ERROR: COM call "m_pVssObject->AddToSnapshotSet((LPWSTR)volume.c_str(), GUID_NULL, &SnapshotID)" failed.
- Returned HRESULT = 0x8004230f
- Error text: VSS_E_UNEXPECTED_PROVIDER_ERROR
Gathering Windows Events - Please Wait

On another thread, I saw something done to gather more information using CMD:
----------------------                              
P:\_Installation\_UTILITIES\Cmder                    
λ vssadmin list Providers                      
vssadmin 1.1 - Volume Shadow Copy Service administrative command-line tool      
(C) Copyright 2001-2013 Microsoft Corp.                  
                               
Provider name: 'Microsoft Software Shadow Copy provider 1.0'           
 Provider type: System                       
 Provider Id: {b5946137-7b9f-4925-af80-51abd60b20d5}             
 Version: 1.0.0.7                        
                               
P:\_Installation\_UTILITIES\Cmder                    
λ vssadmin list Volumes                       
vssadmin 1.1 - Volume Shadow Copy Service administrative command-line tool      
(C) Copyright 2001-2013 Microsoft Corp.                  
                               
No items found that satisfy the query.                  
   
P:\_Installation\_UTILITIES\Cmder                    
λ vssadmin list ShadowStorage                     
vssadmin 1.1 - Volume Shadow Copy Service administrative command-line tool      
(C) Copyright 2001-2013 Microsoft Corp.                  
                               
No items found that satisfy the query.                  
 ----------------------                              

Since those query items should have been found, what is causing this? I checked and see that System Volume Information directories do exist on all my drives.

Here is the VSS log:
(Gathering writer metadata...)
(Waiting for the asynchronous operation to finish...)
Initialize writer metadata ...
- Get exclude files
- Etc...
- Get log descriptors
Discover directly excluded components ...
- Excluding writer '' since it has no selected components for restore.
- Excluding writer '' since it has no selected components for restore.
- Excluding writer 'BITS Writer' since it has no selected components for restore.
- Excluding writer 'Shadow Copy Optimization Writer' since it has no selected components for restore.
- Excluding writer 'MSSearch Service Writer' since it has no selected components for restore.
Discover components that reside outside the shadow set ...
Discover all excluded components ...
Discover excluded writers ...
Discover explicitly included components ...
Verifying explicitly specified writers/components ...
Select explicitly included components ...
* Writer 'Task Scheduler Writer':
 - Add component \TasksStore
* Writer 'VSS Metadata Store Writer':
 - Add component \WriterMetadataStore
* Writer 'Performance Counters Writer':
 - Add component \PerformanceCounters
* Writer 'Registry Writer':
 - Add component \Registry
* Writer 'WMI Writer':
 - Add component \WMI
* Writer 'COM+ REGDB Writer':
 - Add component \COM+ REGDB
* Writer 'IIS Config Writer':
 - Add component \IISCONFIG
* Writer 'MSMQ Writer (MSMQ)':
 - Add component \config
 - Add component \storage
* Writer 'IIS Metabase Writer':
 - Add component \IISMETABASE
Creating shadow set {6799da5f-c345-46d1-a7b4-4f9da70b34d9} ...
- Adding volume \\?\Volume{8a73b397-b883-4178-b723-07306de4d621}\ [C:\] to the shadow set...

ERROR: COM call "m_pVssObject->AddToSnapshotSet((LPWSTR)volume.c_str(), GUID_NULL, &SnapshotID)" failed.
- Returned HRESULT = 0x8004230f
- Error text: VSS_E_UNEXPECTED_PROVIDER_ERROR
Completing the backup (BackupComplete) ...

ERROR: COM call "m_pVssObject->BackupComplete(&pAsync)" failed.
- Returned HRESULT = 0x80042301
- Error text: VSS_E_BAD_STATE
- Setting the VSS context to: 0x00000010
Creating shadow set {d5fed6cb-6fe9-452d-9268-c552d50e8bb4} ...
- Adding volume \\?\Volume{8a73b397-b883-4178-b723-07306de4d621}\ [C:\] to the shadow set...

ERROR: COM call "m_pVssObject->AddToSnapshotSet((LPWSTR)volume.c_str(), GUID_NULL, &SnapshotID)" failed.
- Returned HRESULT = 0x8004230f
- Error text: VSS_E_UNEXPECTED_PROVIDER_ERROR

I am technically challenged, so I don't know what to do next. I hope someone can guide me through to solve this problem.

John

+x

 

JohnDeaux - 1 June 2023 12:22 AM

Up to two days ago, Reflect worked fine, but now it fails to make a backup image.

Failed - 0x8004230f - IDispatch error #8463 - Retrying without VSS Writers
ERROR: COM call "m_pVssObject->AddToSnapshotSet((LPWSTR)volume.c_str(), GUID_NULL, &SnapshotID)" failed.
- Returned HRESULT = 0x8004230f
- Error text: VSS_E_UNEXPECTED_PROVIDER_ERROR
ERROR: COM call "m_pVssObject->BackupComplete(&pAsync)" failed.
- Returned HRESULT = 0x80042301
- Error text: VSS_E_BAD_STATE
ERROR: COM call "m_pVssObject->AddToSnapshotSet((LPWSTR)volume.c_str(), GUID_NULL, &SnapshotID)" failed.
- Returned HRESULT = 0x8004230f
- Error text: VSS_E_UNEXPECTED_PROVIDER_ERROR
Gathering Windows Events - Please Wait

On another thread, I saw something done to gather more information using CMD:
----------------------                              
P:\_Installation\_UTILITIES\Cmder                    
λ vssadmin list Providers                      
vssadmin 1.1 - Volume Shadow Copy Service administrative command-line tool      
(C) Copyright 2001-2013 Microsoft Corp.                  
                               
Provider name: 'Microsoft Software Shadow Copy provider 1.0'           
 Provider type: System                       
 Provider Id: {b5946137-7b9f-4925-af80-51abd60b20d5}             
 Version: 1.0.0.7                        
                               
P:\_Installation\_UTILITIES\Cmder                    
λ vssadmin list Volumes                       
vssadmin 1.1 - Volume Shadow Copy Service administrative command-line tool      
(C) Copyright 2001-2013 Microsoft Corp.                  
                               
No items found that satisfy the query.                  
   
P:\_Installation\_UTILITIES\Cmder                    
λ vssadmin list ShadowStorage                     
vssadmin 1.1 - Volume Shadow Copy Service administrative command-line tool      
(C) Copyright 2001-2013 Microsoft Corp.                  
                               
No items found that satisfy the query.                  
 ----------------------                              

Since those query items should have been found, what is causing this? I checked and see that System Volume Information directories do exist on all my drives.

Here is the VSS log:
(Gathering writer metadata...)
(Waiting for the asynchronous operation to finish...)
Initialize writer metadata ...
- Get exclude files
- Etc...
- Get log descriptors
Discover directly excluded components ...
- Excluding writer '' since it has no selected components for restore.
- Excluding writer '' since it has no selected components for restore.
- Excluding writer 'BITS Writer' since it has no selected components for restore.
- Excluding writer 'Shadow Copy Optimization Writer' since it has no selected components for restore.
- Excluding writer 'MSSearch Service Writer' since it has no selected components for restore.
Discover components that reside outside the shadow set ...
Discover all excluded components ...
Discover excluded writers ...
Discover explicitly included components ...
Verifying explicitly specified writers/components ...
Select explicitly included components ...
* Writer 'Task Scheduler Writer':
 - Add component \TasksStore
* Writer 'VSS Metadata Store Writer':
 - Add component \WriterMetadataStore
* Writer 'Performance Counters Writer':
 - Add component \PerformanceCounters
* Writer 'Registry Writer':
 - Add component \Registry
* Writer 'WMI Writer':
 - Add component \WMI
* Writer 'COM+ REGDB Writer':
 - Add component \COM+ REGDB
* Writer 'IIS Config Writer':
 - Add component \IISCONFIG
* Writer 'MSMQ Writer (MSMQ)':
 - Add component \config
 - Add component \storage
* Writer 'IIS Metabase Writer':
 - Add component \IISMETABASE
Creating shadow set {6799da5f-c345-46d1-a7b4-4f9da70b34d9} ...
- Adding volume \\?\Volume{8a73b397-b883-4178-b723-07306de4d621}\ [C:\] to the shadow set...

ERROR: COM call "m_pVssObject->AddToSnapshotSet((LPWSTR)volume.c_str(), GUID_NULL, &SnapshotID)" failed.
- Returned HRESULT = 0x8004230f
- Error text: VSS_E_UNEXPECTED_PROVIDER_ERROR
Completing the backup (BackupComplete) ...

ERROR: COM call "m_pVssObject->BackupComplete(&pAsync)" failed.
- Returned HRESULT = 0x80042301
- Error text: VSS_E_BAD_STATE
- Setting the VSS context to: 0x00000010
Creating shadow set {d5fed6cb-6fe9-452d-9268-c552d50e8bb4} ...
- Adding volume \\?\Volume{8a73b397-b883-4178-b723-07306de4d621}\ [C:\] to the shadow set...

ERROR: COM call "m_pVssObject->AddToSnapshotSet((LPWSTR)volume.c_str(), GUID_NULL, &SnapshotID)" failed.
- Returned HRESULT = 0x8004230f
- Error text: VSS_E_UNEXPECTED_PROVIDER_ERROR

I am technically challenged, so I don't know what to do next. I hope someone can guide me through to solve this problem.

John

Thank you for collecting the evidence by using the vssadmin command.   It shows you have not allocated any space for shadow storage, which is required when using Reflect.   The User Guide / Knowledge Base has an article about a slightly different error code.  It applies to your situation as well, and it shows you how to increase Shadow Storage.    You can pick a size as the example shows, or you can give it percentage of total space.  The command line help for vssadmin resize ShadowStorage /? shows how to specify a percentage.  This space is also used by Windows Update and others for creating System Restore Points, which remain until manually deleted.  Reflect's snapshots are one-time use space only during a backup.  I'd recommend a minimum of 3%.  You can refine that size value when you see how much is used by Reflect after resizing the space by asking VSS (while Reflect is running a backup) vssadmin List ShadowStorage.     On my laptop, I allocate a maximum of 10% for Shadow Storage and System Restore Points on volume C:. YMMV.

Edited to add:  You may also interactively configure the Shadow Storage allocation via (in Windows 11)  Settings / System About / System Protection.

This is possible because the reserved space is shared with VSS. 


L.W. (Dan) Danz, Overland Park KS
Reflect v8.1.7638+ on Windows 11 Home 22H2 22621.2361+  

@DanDanz
Did not work. When I first read your instructions and the other article you referenced I thought, wow, this looks right on. Especially because I knew System Restore also is not working for me. But, here is what happened while running the CMD instructions:

Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.19045.3031]
(c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\WINDOWS\system32>Vssadmin list shadowstorage
vssadmin 1.1 - Volume Shadow Copy Service administrative command-line tool
(C) Copyright 2001-2013 Microsoft Corp.

No items found that satisfy the query.

C:\WINDOWS\system32>vssadmin resize shadowstorage /For=C: /On=C: /MaxSize=50GB
vssadmin 1.1 - Volume Shadow Copy Service administrative command-line tool
(C) Copyright 2001-2013 Microsoft Corp.

Error: The shadow copy provider had an error. Please see the system and
application event logs for more information.


C:\WINDOWS\system32>vssadmin list shadows
vssadmin 1.1 - Volume Shadow Copy Service administrative command-line tool
(C) Copyright 2001-2013 Microsoft Corp.

No items found that satisfy the query.

C:\WINDOWS\system32>vssadmin delete shadows /all
vssadmin 1.1 - Volume Shadow Copy Service administrative command-line tool
(C) Copyright 2001-2013 Microsoft Corp.

No items found that satisfy the query.

C:\WINDOWS\system32>vssadmin resize ShadowStorage /?
vssadmin 1.1 - Volume Shadow Copy Service administrative command-line tool
(C) Copyright 2001-2013 Microsoft Corp.

Resize ShadowStorage /For=ForVolumeSpec /On=OnVolumeSpec /MaxSize=MaxSizeSpec
- Resizes the maximum size for a shadow copy storage association between
ForVolumeSpec and OnVolumeSpec. Resizing the storage association may cause shadow
copies to disappear. As certain shadow copies are deleted, the shadow copy storage
space will then shrink. If MaxSizeSpec is set to the value UNBOUNDED, the shadow copy
storage space will be unlimited. MaxSizeSpec can be specified in bytes or as a
percentage of the ForVolumeSpec storage volume. For byte level specification,
MaxSizeSpec must be 320MB or greater and accepts the following suffixes: KB, MB, GB, TB,
PB and EB. Also, B, K, M, G, T, P, and E are acceptable suffixes. To specify MaxSizeSpec
as percentage, use the % character as the suffix to the numeric value. If a suffix is not
supplied, MaxSizeSpec is in bytes.

Example Usage: vssadmin Resize ShadowStorage /For=C: /On=D: /MaxSize=900MB
   vssadmin Resize ShadowStorage /For=C: /On=D: /MaxSize=UNBOUNDED
   vssadmin Resize ShadowStorage /For=C: /On=C: /MaxSize=20%

C:\WINDOWS\system32>vssadmin Resize ShadowStorage /For=C: /On=C: /MaxSize=10%
vssadmin 1.1 - Volume Shadow Copy Service administrative command-line tool
(C) Copyright 2001-2013 Microsoft Corp.

Error: The shadow copy provider had an error. Please see the system and
application event logs for more information.

C:\WINDOWS\system32>vssadmin resize shadowstorage /For=C: /On=D: /MaxSize=50GB
vssadmin 1.1 - Volume Shadow Copy Service administrative command-line tool
(C) Copyright 2001-2013 Microsoft Corp.

Error: The shadow copy provider had an error. Please see the system and
application event logs for more information.


I tried your System Properties suggestion without success. Here is what I got:



(I'm not sure in what order I got these two.)

So, I'm still stuck. Anything else you can see to recommend? Thanks, John

You seem to have an aversion to look at error codes.  Both failures reported errors.  You didn't show the messages in the Event Log.  Fortunately, System Restore gave it to us: 0x81000203.  Google for this error code.  You'll find that it involves your system not running TWO REQUIRED services.  In addition, one of the hits also talks about the cause being 3rd party software: AVG TuneUp Utilities is known to cause error 0x81000203.  
SInce you say MR used to work, do either of these possibilities ring a bell about recent changes you made to your system?

L.W. (Dan) Danz, Overland Park KS
Reflect v8.1.7638+ on Windows 11 Home 22H2 22621.2361+  

@JohnDeaux What's the status of troubleshooting this problem?  Have you been able to resolve it? 


L.W. (Dan) Danz, Overland Park KS
Reflect v8.1.7638+ on Windows 11 Home 22H2 22621.2361+  

+x

 

Dan Danz - 14 June 2023 12:26 PM

@JohnDeaux What's the status of troubleshooting this problem?  Have you been able to resolve it? 

Not resolved. I'm sorry not to have updated you sooner. I tried numerous suggestions from dozens of articles I researched but none worked. I let it go for a while when other priorities interfered. Coincidentally to now I just started to give it another go. But I wouldn't blame you if you closed this out. Otherwise, I will update this soon. 

+x

 

JohnDeaux - 14 June 2023 3:58 PM

+x

 

Dan Danz - 14 June 2023 12:26 PM

@JohnDeaux What's the status of troubleshooting this problem?  Have you been able to resolve it? 

Not resolved. I'm sorry not to have updated you sooner. I tried numerous suggestions from dozens of articles I researched but none worked. I let it go for a while when other priorities interfered. Coincidentally to now I just started to give it another go. But I wouldn't blame you if you closed this out. Otherwise, I will update this soon. 

I'm sorry to hear that.  This is not like a support ticket, that can be closed.   So, we (myself and other users of this forum) will try to help.  We depend on you to post detailed information about errors you encounter. 

I've just finished helping another user who had strange results that eventually were diagnosed that ShadowStorage area on the C:\ volume was full of System Restore Points. Once that user deleted the System Restore points, Reflect was again able to use the ShadowStorage area for snapshots.  I made the observation that System Restore points are redundant if you have a Reflect image backup of all the partitions on the physical drive, especially if you have a total failure of the drive and have to restore from the backup to a replacement drive. 


L.W. (Dan) Danz, Overland Park KS
Reflect v8.1.7638+ on Windows 11 Home 22H2 22621.2361+