Shadow Copy tab missing from local disk properties
Hello!
I am going through some servers on our network and enabling shadow copies, on necessary drives, and ran into a little problem. Two Windows Server 2003 R2 (SP2) machines are missing the appropriate tab for "Shadow Copies" under the properties of any local disk. Both the "Microsoft Software Shadow Copy Provider" and "Volume Shadow Copy" services are running. There are no error messages in the event log if I stop and start these services, and no pre-exisiting errors pertaining to anything VSS related.
I have done a lot of searching on the internet, but the vast majority of shadow copy results have to do with accessing previous versions on an XP or Vista machine using the client, or simply a detailed list of how to enable the shadow copies for a local disk.
Any ideas? Thanks in advance guys!
I am going through some servers on our network and enabling shadow copies, on necessary drives, and ran into a little problem. Two Windows Server 2003 R2 (SP2) machines are missing the appropriate tab for "Shadow Copies" under the properties of any local disk. Both the "Microsoft Software Shadow Copy Provider" and "Volume Shadow Copy" services are running. There are no error messages in the event log if I stop and start these services, and no pre-exisiting errors pertaining to anything VSS related.
I have done a lot of searching on the internet, but the vast majority of shadow copy results have to do with accessing previous versions on an XP or Vista machine using the client, or simply a detailed list of how to enable the shadow copies for a local disk.
Any ideas? Thanks in advance guys!
honmapog
What is the output of the command "vssadmin list volumes"?
ASKER
Hello honmapoq, thank you for the reply!
After running that command I received the following output:
Volume path: D:\
Volume name: \\?\volume{bfad5208-6342-1
Volume path: C:\
Volume name: \\?\volume{l1f1d5fb4-54b7-
Thanks.
After running that command I received the following output:
Volume path: D:\
Volume name: \\?\volume{bfad5208-6342-1
Volume path: C:\
Volume name: \\?\volume{l1f1d5fb4-54b7-
Thanks.
That looks fine. Try re-registering VSS components as described in the "Resolution" section of http://support.microsoft.com/kb/940032
ASKER
I went through the KB article you provided and, even though none of the errors in the article relate to what is happening for us, followed the "Resolution" section but our issue remains.
I also double checked the event logs after following the "Resolution" section, but there are still no errors to point us towards a more specific issue.
I also double checked the event logs after following the "Resolution" section, but there are still no errors to point us towards a more specific issue.
ASKER
Would anyone else have an idea on where to go/what might be wrong?
Whats the output of
vssadmin list writers
If you get an error 0x8000FFFF, see http://support.microsoft.com/kb/940184/en-us for a fix.
And please provide the output of the following commands
vassadmin list shadowstorage /for=C:
vassadmin list shadowstorage /for=D:
vssadmin list writers
If you get an error 0x8000FFFF, see http://support.microsoft.com/kb/940184/en-us for a fix.
And please provide the output of the following commands
vassadmin list shadowstorage /for=C:
vassadmin list shadowstorage /for=D:
ASKER
Hello mpfister,
Thanks for your reply!
After running "vssadmin list writers" the following writer names were all stable and reported no errors:
1. System Writer
2. MSDEWriter
3. Event Log Writer
4. Registry Writer
5. COM+ REGDB Writer
6. WMI Writer
7. BITS WRiter
"vassadmin" wasn't a recognized command, so I went under the assumption it was still vssadmin and received the following output for both commands:
"No items found that satisfy the query"
Thanks for your reply!
After running "vssadmin list writers" the following writer names were all stable and reported no errors:
1. System Writer
2. MSDEWriter
3. Event Log Writer
4. Registry Writer
5. COM+ REGDB Writer
6. WMI Writer
7. BITS WRiter
"vassadmin" wasn't a recognized command, so I went under the assumption it was still vssadmin and received the following output for both commands:
"No items found that satisfy the query"
This may not solve it either, but check if the "SYSTEM" account has all rights on the root of all your drives - propagate the rights down as well.
ASKER
Hello honmapoq,
Thanks for the reply!
I double checked that the "SYSTEM" account has all the rights, on the root of each drive, and forced the rules to propogate down just to be thorough. Unfortunately there is still no change.
Thanks for the reply!
I double checked that the "SYSTEM" account has all the rights, on the root of each drive, and forced the rules to propogate down just to be thorough. Unfortunately there is still no change.
Yes sorry for the typo, of course its vssadmin ...
To me there is no shadow storage area reserved for your shadow copies. So just create one:
vssadmin add shadowstorage /for=<ForVolumeSpec> /on=<OnVolumeSpec> [/maxsize=<MaxSizeSpec>]
i.e.
vssadmin add shadowstorage /for=C: /on=C:
Repeat this for the volumes you want shadow copies.
See http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc788051.aspx
To me there is no shadow storage area reserved for your shadow copies. So just create one:
vssadmin add shadowstorage /for=<ForVolumeSpec> /on=<OnVolumeSpec> [/maxsize=<MaxSizeSpec>]
i.e.
vssadmin add shadowstorage /for=C: /on=C:
Repeat this for the volumes you want shadow copies.
See http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc788051.aspx
ASKER
Hello mpfister,
Thanks for the reply. I checked out your article and ran the appropriate command, received a "successfully added the shadow copy storage association" message, but I still can't access the Shadow Copies tab under either of the local disk properties. I did further read about the tool and successfully created a shadow copy using the "create shadow /for=c:" command, though.
I have also stopped and started the appropriate services, after making those command line changes, just in case.
Thanks for the reply. I checked out your article and ran the appropriate command, received a "successfully added the shadow copy storage association" message, but I still can't access the Shadow Copies tab under either of the local disk properties. I did further read about the tool and successfully created a shadow copy using the "create shadow /for=c:" command, though.
I have also stopped and started the appropriate services, after making those command line changes, just in case.
And what does it show when you run
vssadmin list shadowstorage
now?
vssadmin list shadowstorage
now?
ASKER
The output I receive from that command is:
For Volume <d:>\\?\volume<bfad5208-63
Shadow Copy Storage volume: <d:>\\?\volume<bfad5208-63
Used Shadow Copy Storage: 0 B
Allocated Shadow Copy Storage space: 0 B
Maximum Shadow Copy Storage space: 3.418 GB
For Volume: <c:>\\?\volume<1f1d5fb4-54
Shadow Copy Storage volume: <c:>\\?\volume<1f1d5fb4-54
Used Shadow Copy Storage space: 0 B
Allocated Shadow Copy Storage space: 0 B
Maximum Shadow Copy Storage space: UNBOUNDED
For Volume <d:>\\?\volume<bfad5208-63
Shadow Copy Storage volume: <d:>\\?\volume<bfad5208-63
Used Shadow Copy Storage: 0 B
Allocated Shadow Copy Storage space: 0 B
Maximum Shadow Copy Storage space: 3.418 GB
For Volume: <c:>\\?\volume<1f1d5fb4-54
Shadow Copy Storage volume: <c:>\\?\volume<1f1d5fb4-54
Used Shadow Copy Storage space: 0 B
Allocated Shadow Copy Storage space: 0 B
Maximum Shadow Copy Storage space: UNBOUNDED
That looks better. But I do not understand why the shadow copy tab is still missing...
I don't like that Shadow Copy Storage for C: is unlimited. Please issue this command to limit it. Vary the MaxSize paramter to your needs:
vssadmin Resize ShadowStorage /On=C: /For=C: /MaxSize=5GB
You should get the message: Successfully resized the shadow copy storage association.
I don't like that Shadow Copy Storage for C: is unlimited. Please issue this command to limit it. Vary the MaxSize paramter to your needs:
vssadmin Resize ShadowStorage /On=C: /For=C: /MaxSize=5GB
You should get the message: Successfully resized the shadow copy storage association.
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
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ASKER
Hello mpfister,
Sorry about responding so slowly, but manually setting up the scheduled task seems to work just fine. Although it is still a mystery why the appropriate tab is missing, what I really wanted to get accomplished can be done with your solution.
Thanks for your help!
Sorry about responding so slowly, but manually setting up the scheduled task seems to work just fine. Although it is still a mystery why the appropriate tab is missing, what I really wanted to get accomplished can be done with your solution.
Thanks for your help!