Question Can't create restore point because of Shadow Copy error ?

kirkdickinson

Distinguished
Jan 18, 2001
81
0
18,630
I have the most current version of Windows 10. It is not an old computer. Ryzen 5 Asus 570 Mobo. 16G Ram.
When try to create a restore point, it churns for about to hours and kicks an error message:

The restore point could not be created for the following reasons. The shadow copy provided had an error. Check the system and application event logs for more information. (0x80042306)

In the events viewer it shows.
The shadow copy of volume C: being created failed to install.

I have 40% free of a 512GB boot drive.
I have run the Windows image SRC and DSIM repair steps shown here:
https://www.easeus.com/resource/windows-repair-command.html#Repair_Windows_CMD_SFC

I ran a complete antivirus scan both with Bitdefender and Malware bytes.

The Volume Shadow copy service is set to automatic not manual.

Not sure what to try now????
 

Ralston18

Titan
Moderator
Start by doublechecking the procedure that you are using. For example:

https://opentechtips.com/shadow-copies-in-windows-10-and-11/

= = = =

This:

"Check the system and application event logs for more information. (0x80042306) "

Look in Reliability History and Event Viewer. Either one or both tools may be capturing additional error codes, warnings, or even informational events associated with the shadow copy failures.

Consider using Task Scheduler to do the work.

Reference:

https://www.minitool.com/backup-tips/shadow-copy-windows-10-017.html

Feel free to look for other similar links.
 

DaleH

Upstanding
Mar 24, 2023
350
36
210
I have the most current version of Windows 10. It is not an old computer. Ryzen 5 Asus 570 Mobo. 16G Ram.
When try to create a restore point, it churns for about to hours and kicks an error message:

The restore point could not be created for the following reasons. The shadow copy provided had an error. Check the system and application event logs for more information. (0x80042306)

In the events viewer it shows.
The shadow copy of volume C: being created failed to install.

I have 40% free of a 512GB boot drive.
I have run the Windows image SRC and DSIM repair steps shown here:
https://www.easeus.com/resource/windows-repair-command.html#Repair_Windows_CMD_SFC

I ran a complete antivirus scan both with Bitdefender and Malware bytes.

The Volume Shadow copy service is set to automatic not manual.

Not sure what to try now????
A google search shows this:
  1. On the Start screen, click the Search tile.
  2. Type regedit in the Search window and then double-click regedit.exe.
  3. Locate the following registry entry:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\VSS\Settings
  4. Right-click ClusterOfflineTimeout, and then click Modify.
  5. Select Decimal and then type 2000000000 in the Value data box, and then click OK.
  6. Right-click ClusterOnlineTimeout, and then click Modify.
  7. Select Decimal and then type 2000000000 in the Value data box, and then click OK.
  8. Exit Registry Editor, and then restart the computer.
Note
The Decimal value can be increased as per requirement.


Recommended content
Show more
Feedback
Was this page helpful?
YesNo
Provide product feedback |
Get help at Microsoft Q&A
In this article
 

kirkdickinson

Distinguished
Jan 18, 2001
81
0
18,630
How much disk capacity have you allocated for restore points?
What is model name of your boot drive?
Check health of your boot drive.
For SSD use SSD manufacturer specific tool.
For HDD use Hdtune health.

I have allocated 100 GB... 20%
I have run CHKDSK and it found some misallocated files, but shows clean now.
The boot drive is a WD Blue SN570 500GB Internal SSD PCIe Gen 3 x4 - M.2 2280
I will use the WD diagnostic tools and see what they tell me.
 

kirkdickinson

Distinguished
Jan 18, 2001
81
0
18,630
  1. On the Start screen, click the Search tile.
  2. Type regedit in the Search window and then double-click regedit.exe.
  3. Locate the following registry entry:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\VSS\Settings
  4. Right-click ClusterOfflineTimeout, and then click Modify.
  5. Select Decimal and then type 2000000000 in the Value data box, and then click OK.
  6. Right-click ClusterOnlineTimeout, and then click Modify.

My registry does not have the ClusterOfflineTimeout key.
Screenshot-2023-04-01-151223.png
 

kirkdickinson

Distinguished
Jan 18, 2001
81
0
18,630
Start by doublechecking the procedure that you are using. For example:

https://opentechtips.com/shadow-copies-in-windows-10-and-11/

= = = =

This:

"Check the system and application event logs for more information. (0x80042306) "

Look in Reliability History and Event Viewer. Either one or both tools may be capturing additional error codes, warnings, or even informational events associated with the shadow copy failures.

Consider using Task Scheduler to do the work.

Reference:

https://www.minitool.com/backup-tips/shadow-copy-windows-10-017.html

Feel free to look for other similar links.

There was no more information than what I posted from the Event viewer in the original post. The only errors in the Reliability History shows a couple of older programs that crash regularly. No system errors came up in Reliability History.
 

kirkdickinson

Distinguished
Jan 18, 2001
81
0
18,630
What is the desire for this restore point?

Given the issues you're seeing, you want to make a full drive backup with something else, and not rely on the Restore Point thing.
Macrium Reflect, EasseUS, Acronis....

The problem is not the Restore Point. The problem is Shadow copy and that causes other problems. The Restore Point is the result. I can't make a full backup with Macrim Reflect, it throws the Shadow Copy error every time. I also can't run my regularly scheduled backups with TGRMN ViceVersa Pro with the same Shadow Copy error.
 

kirkdickinson

Distinguished
Jan 18, 2001
81
0
18,630
OK, useful info.
Everything else that depends on VSS also fails.

What was the last thing that happened before it did this?

Do you have a full drive backup from that time?

I don't think it has ever worked correctly. I just never noticed it. This is just one of many computers here in our office and something always seems to be broken on one of them. I installed windows on this computer from a Windows DVD, then did all the updates, then used PC Mover to move all the programs from the old Windows 7 computer over. PC Mover worked well, but I don't think I will use it again. I suspect that it changed some setting that makes this fail to work correctly.
 
you could disable vss
you could use the vssadmin tool and maybe resize the shadow storage if you are having space issues.
best just to fix the vss service problem if you can.
How to disable volume shadow copy? (ccm.net)

we would need to know the errors that vss is getting.
from event viewer logs and error code.
0xa1 = invalid file path error code.
(ie service trying to backup a directory that was malformed due to a typo was the last one I looked at)
 
Last edited: