VSS Based Backups Failing (0x8000FFFF) On Legacy O/S

This post was originally published on December 4, 2016
The latest update to this post was made 7 years ago.

VSS Based Backups Failing (0x8000FFFF) On Legacy O/S

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PLEASE NOTE: THIS FIX IS FOR WINDOWS XP AND 2003 SERVER ONLY (LEGACY SYSTEMS), DO NOT USE THIS FIX ON VISTA, 2008 SERVER, 2012 SERVER OR ANY NEWER OPERATING SYSTEMS. The newer operating systems do not use this method for VSS, following these directions on the newer O/S may require a full re-install of the operating system.

RESOLUTION
Follow these steps to attempt resolution of the issue listed above.

1. VERIFY
   Log into the server as an administrator or user with admin rights.
   Open a COMMAND PROMPT
   Enter the following command at the prompt: VSSADMIN LIST WRITERS
   If a list appears (populated) : this article may not be for you, although you can still try it.
   If a list appears (blank or with errors) : this article should resolve the issue(s).
2. REMOVE BAD KEY
   Open the Registry Editor (START, RUN, REGEDIT)
   Navigate to : HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\EventSystem\{26c409cc-ae86-11d1-b616-00805fc79216}\Subscriptions
   With the ‘SUBSCRIPTIONS’ key highlighted, delete it.
   Exit the registry.
3. RESTART SERVICES
   Open the services manager from control panel/administrative tools (or START, RUN, SERVICES.MSC)
   Restart the following service(s):
   COM+ Event System
   COM+ System Application (if stopped and manual, just start it)
   Microsoft Software Shadow Copy Provider
   Volume Shadow Copy
4. RE-REGISTER SERVICES AND .DLLs
   Enter the following commands from the command prompt, you should still have open. Press ENTER after each line.
   cd /d %windir%\system32
   net stop vss
   net stop swprv
   regsvr32 ole32.dll
   regsvr32 oleaut32.dll
   regsvr32 /i eventcls.dll
   regsvr32 vss_ps.dll
   vssvc /register
   regsvr32 /i swprv.dll
   regsvr32 es.dll
   regsvr32 stdprov.dll
   regsvr32 vssui.dll
   regsvr32 msxml.dll
   regsvr32 msxml3.dll
   regsvr32 msxml4.dll
   net start vss
   net start swprv
5. VERIFY
   Enter the following command at the prompt: VSSADMIN LIST WRITERS
   If a list appears (populated) : this article fixed the issue. You can type EXIT to close the command prompt.
   If a list appears (blank or with errors) : this article did not fix the issue, you should seek alternate answers.

DISCLAIMER
Use of this fix has proven helpful to many, however, Blog Encounters is not responsible for any issues that may arise. Use at your own risk.

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Tags: #windows #vss #backup #windowsxp #server2003 #techsupport