Windows 7 Backup Utility Not Working

After installing Windows 7 from a clean install I set everything up how I wanted it and was extremely pleased. I have run into a few issues, though.

As soon as I checked the action center it started telling me to turn on Windows Defender and antivirus software. I attempted to turn on Windows Defender, but it gave me an error every time. The error is "Windows could not start the WinDefend service on Local Computer. Error 193: 0xc1" This is when I try to start the service manually in the services.msc.

The biggest problem is that when I attempted to do a system image to my external drive, which worked flawlessly in Vista, and I even restored from it after a botched clean install of Vista, I get an error. The error says "Check your backup: A shadow copy could not be created. Please check "VSS" and "SPP" application event logs for more information. Details: The specified object was not found." The error code is 0x81000019. I have checked both of these services and set them to auto start and checked to make sure they were running and tried again and the same thing happened. Again, this is the same thing I tried to do on Vista without a problem.

I am running 7 Professional x64. I installed it from the RTM that I downloaded through my University's College of Engineering agreement.

 

Please do not play with services when you don't understand them.

The idea of services, is a software that ONLY RUNS on events, and not all the time. If it needed to be ran all the time, than a startup application is all is needed and much simpler to make. Windows 7 IS NOT XP, they work teh same AT ALL!


Safe to disable services (professional edition, Home Premium edition will have less ietms, and Ultimate more) that is if you are desperate to gain some few extra kilobytes of memory, out of your 4GB.
- BitLocker Drive Encryption Service (if you don't plan to connect a drive that has already been encrypted with BitLocker from a Win7 Ultimate of Enterprise edition)
- Bluetooth support (if you have no bluetooth card)
- BranchCache (if your computer is not on a domain)
- HomeGroup Listener (must disable it from the HomeGroup panel FIRST, note that you won't be able to use HomeGroup anymore)
- HomeGroup Provider (must disable it from the HomeGroup panel FIRST, note that you won't be able to use HomeGroup anymore)
- Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) (should already be disabled)
- Media Center Extender Service (if you don't have one)
- NetTcpPortSharing (should already be disabled)
- Parental Controls (if you don't use it)
- Problem Reports and Solutions Control Panel Support (if you don't use it)
- Program Compatibility Assistant Service (if it bugs you)
- RemoteRegistry (if you don't install software over the network)
- Smart Card (if you don't have a Smart Card)
- Smart Card Removal Policy (if you don't have a Smart Card)
- Tablet PC Input Service (if your system isn't one)
- Windows Biometric Service (if you dont' have a fingerprint scanner)
- Routing and Remote Access (should already be disabled, if I recall correctly)
- WLAN AutoConfig (If you don't have a wireless card.)

 

You seem to misunderstand my problem. I made no changes to the Services available until this problem started, and it seems non of my changes have actually done anything anyway. I have not turned any off, and only attempted to turn services ON that were not working. I do not enjoy being talked down to when I have done nothing wrong pertaining to your information.

My problem is that the backup service didn't work from the beginning and from the research I did both on this forum and the rest of the internet these were the fixes, but none worked.

 

I am sorry, but it really seamed that you did this, as you have a multitude of problems. It's just that you have no idea how many people start disabling practically all services, crippling the OS, and reduce system security, because they think they gain a massive improvement in FPS in their games or in <insert program name here> software, even though benchmarks shows that it does nothing, and even sometimes does the contrary (depending on what services was left).

Assuming you don't have a virus, or malware, I think you windows is corrupted. It could be due to a bad SATA controller, or driver issue, or simply bad install.

I suggest a clean install of Windows 7.
If you have Windows 7 Upgrade, boot from the disk to execute the clean install, and perform this little tweak to make the activation work (this is no hack - as long as you have a previous version of windows it's 100% legal. From what I can tell, it's Microsoft that provided such information for people who do a clean install from boot, or changes their HDD without annoying you in installing the previous version of windows first)
http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/clean_install_upgrade_media.asp

Just a reminder, backup your data first, as you will lose everything in the partition of where windows is installed.

 

I was afraid of this. I have the install disk, so I will just have to redo it and hope everything goes well. Do you know how often something like this happens? Is there anyway to tell if the corruption is actually on the disk itself and not with the .iso I burned?

 

Most of the time it's due to a quiet old hard drive, or a bad disk burn or bad downloaded iso. It's very rare that it's a SATA controller that is broken or even more rare a SATA controller driver problem.

 

Well after a clean install today, including deleting the partition that 7 was formally on, creating a new one, and then installing, the backup center still doesn't work. No services have been touched and the same error is reached.

Any more ideas? I'd rather not do another install.

 

How much free space do you have in Windows partition?
An how much free space you have in the partition or external drive you plan to put the backup?

 

The Windows partition has 12.2 GB of space left and the external drive is a 320 GB drive, the internal drive is 320 GB also. The external drive has approximately 200 GB left on it. However, this did not stop the Vista Backup Utility from performing a backup because it simply copied all data over and did not copy all blank space onto the drive.

 

Upon installing Vista on this machine, have you completely updated it through Windows update before attempting a back up? From Lenovo

In device manager, are all devices installed?

Your external drive is connected via USB? Firewire? What is its make and model?

You get the error mentioned in your original post when? When the back up starts? At the end?

Can you copy a large file from the harddisk to the external disk?

What is the current state of the VSS abd SPP services before changing?

Anything in the Microsoft-Windows-Backup log?

 

Well it's Windows 7, and I have installed all important updates, yes. All drivers that are available from Lenovo have been installed.

Some devices are not installed, but I believe these are related to my WWAN option, which I do not use. Any other devices are fully running.

The external drive is connected via USB, it is Western Digital My Passport 320 GB.

The error occurs either within seconds of starting a "backup" or about 30-45 seconds after starting a "System Image".

The VSS and SSP services are currently set to Manual and not running without any change. However, I checked them shortly after I had attempted the backup the first time and they were set to Manual but running.

The Windows Backup Log says, "A shadow copy could not be created. Please check "VSS" and "SPP" application event logs for more information. (0x81000019)"

Hope that can help give some answers.

 

You need more free space for Win7 partition... how about 50GB of free space.

 

Why exactly is so much free space needed? Vista operated just fine with 20 GB free and 7 runs even lighter so I shrunk the partition a little.

 

Do you know that, or are you speculating? I don't think you need anywhere near that much.

I was leaning toward a networking or drive controller issue

 

I am speculating. But if you said that it worked under Vista, than that is not the problem. I said this because it seams that Win7 wants to do a volume shadow copy (aka Restoration point) on that partition and fails.

Make sure that volume shadow service is running. If it's not set it to automatic and restart your computer.
You said you re-install your computer, did you install any software or drivers after Windows 7 was installed?
Just got an idea, maybe your HDD requires a firmware update?! I don't think it will help, but it's a try, well... a check to see if one exists.

 

Lenovo does offer HDD firmware updates, but it's a bootable ISO and I don't have a blank CD handy. I did run a Quick Test that they offer to check if the HDD is running well and it passed all tests.

 

can you run a file back instead of system image to test the drive and software

 

I did think of this, and I attempted to backup just some files and it failed as well.

 

Just a guess... Does the USB port power down during the backup? Check the Power Management settings and decide on whether to check the box "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power."

Again, just a guess...

Jeremy

 

Have you done what this suggests? Did you look at the VSS and SPP appication event logs? I may be stating the obvious, but the reason the backup is not running is because it can't use the Shadow Copy services it needs to function. The focus here should not be on the backup it needs to be on Shadow Copy.

Gary

 

The event log says that Volume/disk not connected or not found. It says that the Operation that this occurred on was "Processing PreFinalCommitSnapshots" So I'm not sure if this error has to deal with not finding the internal disk or the USB drive. It does say that the context is System Provider execution context.

 

And I don't think it turns off during the backup because the drive stays on when the computer is closed.

 

I know you told us about the volume shadow service and Microsoft Shadow Copy Service--what about other services? Have you disabled anything?

Specifically, DCOM Server Process or RPC Endpoint Service? Or Remote Procedure Call

 

I haven't disabled any services at all. I haven't messed with the Services page.

 

Found these links which might give some insight on the VSS errors:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa384623(VS.85,loband).aspx

http://www.vistaforums.com/Forum/Topic145343-52-2.aspx#bm150962

Those two looked the most relevant out of:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=Processing+PreFinalCommitSnapshots&aq=f&oq=&aqi=

Gary

 

It appears that I have fixed this issue. After looking over the pages that Scuderia posted I remembered that while I had Vista installed I was very annoyed by the amount of space that Shadow Copies were taking up on my C:\ drive so I got into the resized the max amount of space that Shadow Copies could take up down to the smallest amount, which I believe is 300 MB.

I'm not sure if these settings are hardware implanted, which I would find hard to believe, but it seems that by increasing the Shadow Copy space on each partition to 500MB I have solved the problem. I don't know if 7's backup center requires more space to make the initial shadow copy and then transfer it to the external, or what, but it seems that has fixed it and it is currently creating a system image and working on the C: drive.

Thank you all for the help provided and I hope this will be the last that will be heard of this issue. Hopefully people googling the same problem can find this thread and not have to reinstall like I did.

 

This is why I stick with the default values. I never remember half the tweaks I end up implementing unless I write them all down. And I don't feel like updating my current list.

 

Good job. I almost went there earlier, and typed out a request for you to run
vssadmin List ShadowStorage

I deleted it, though because you said you did a clean install.

I didn't think that information survived a clean install.

I am wondering, though, if you could answer a question for my own edification.

When you said clean install, did you simply format, but leave the existing partition? Or did you actually remove the previous partition?

If you did the former. I can see where the volume restriction would have passed from the Vista to Windows 7 installation.

If you did the latter, though, I cannot see how it survived.

 

Yes gerryf19,

It seems hard to fathom HOW that setting survived a clean install, even one where the partition remained. That implies some info being stored in the partition table itself.

Gary

 

Well the first time I simply formatted the partition and then installed the OS on the existing partition. However, when I installed again thinking it would help I deleted the partition, created the two that Windows makes (the System Reserved and the rest of the space), merged the two partitions and then installed on the total space.

So I too do not understand how it survived TWO instances of a clean install.

 

If I am not mistaken, the shadow volume copy service uses the same area--the system volume information--as restore points.

A quick format clears information about a disk from the boot sector allowing files to be written anywhere..a full format does that, plus checks each sector for read and write ability while blanking each sector.

What does a quick format do with two specific hidden system folders (system volume information and recycler), though. I assumed they were treated the same as other folders, but now I am wondering.

I have on occasion had to go into system volume information to manually recover restore points and found two (or more) volumes referenced with restore points. I have also found additional volumes referenced in the hidden recycle folder.

Never had a good reason for this as I don't see this on machines I have set up and the history of the machines I have seen it on have been murky. I've suspected it resulted from installing windows twice or maybe a quick format, but ever had the desire (or time) to go ahead and recreate multiple circumstances where this might occur.

Its all kind of irrelevant, though, since cpark did both a quick format and blew away the partition I cannot see it surviving a deleted partition.

 

That is precisely the point that gave me pause, too. I think we are missing something in this story.

Gary

 

Yeah, I don't quite understand it either. It's not even that the partition that I remade was the same size as the original, either. I shrunk it from 50 GB to 30 GB, so the data may be stored at the beginning of the drive sector that the partition is on. Though I still don't see something like this, something that is affected by software, staying on hardware somehow.

 

I don't see it either. I can't imagine WHERE in the hardware it would be stored! This really doesn't make ANY sense at all.

Gary

 

Do you mean Volume Shadow Copy? If so, then it's in System Volume Information (hidden folder) folder where no has access to except the OS. Volume Shadow Copy only stores bits that differs from the new version of whatever that has now changed. Therefor it saves significantly amount of space.
If you use a program like O&O defrag where it shows you all fragmented file, you will see Volume Shadow Copy data in the program as fragmented (as they are just bits, and not whole data files. In result it will always be fragmented no mater what you do.

 

No, we are trying to figure out why, after a clean install and even a partition wipe, the OS would continue to use a user modified setting about how much space to allocate for the shadow copies. The poster claims that is what happened. But no one could figure out how it could possibly be so.

Gary