Backups fail with Event ID: 12298 Volume Shadow Copy Service error. The I/O writes cannot be held during the shadow copy creation period on volume

Article: 100004594
Last Published: 2021-06-30
Ratings: 1 3
Product(s): System Recovery

Problem

Backup jobs fail  with Event ID:12298 and following error message in the System Recovery event logs

Error EC8F17B7: Cannot create recovery points for job
Error E7D1001F: Unable to write to file.
Error EBAB03F1: Following Operating System error occurred while performing requested operation: "Insufficient system resources exist to complete the requested service." 

Error Message

Event Type:Error
Event Source:VSS
Event Category:None
Event ID:12298
Description:
Volume Shadow Copy Service error: The I/O writes cannot be held during the shadow copy creation period on volume.

Cause

The backups generally fail with this error if the Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) writers on the system are not stable. As the VSS writers are not stable they will not be able to quiesce (pause) the volumes that are being backed up and the snapshot process fails.
 

Solution

1.  Open a command prompt and run the following command: vssadmin list writers
All the writers listed should be in Stable state with no errors.  If the writers are not stable restart the server and then check them again.

2.  Install any updates for VSS (depending on the version of Windows)


If the above steps do not resolve the VSS issue please contact Microsoft technical support for further assistance on troubleshooting VSS.

 

Was this content helpful?