ISSUE: The writer vetoed the shadow copy creation process during the backup preparation state (MS Exchange 2010 server Backup)

When performing a MS Exchange 2010 server backup on Windows 2008 / 2011 SBS installation, the following error message is received the backup report:

Backup Logs  No.  Type  Timestamp  Backup Logs 1 Info YYYY/MM/DD hh:mm Start [ Windows platform (Exch), ServosityPro x.x.x.x ] 2 Info YYYY/MM/DD hh:mm Start running pre-commands 3 ... ... ... *  Error  YYYY/MM/DD hh:mm The writer vetoed the shadow copy creation process during the backup preparation state.  (VSS_WS_FAILED_AT_PREPARE_BACKUP)

To resolve this problem, please open the Event Viewer snap-in on the affected machine to determine the cause of the error:

1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel. Click Administrative Tools, and then double-click the Event Viewer snap-in
2. Under Application, check for any Volume Shadow Copy error at the time of the backup

Also, try cleaning up the VSS snapshots on the affected server:
 

• Open an administrative command prompt and enter the following commands -
  
  >vssadmin delete shadows /all
  
  This will clean up any dead VSS snapshots, some defect system may accumulate hundreds of VSS snapshots that persist in the system and cause Windows to become un-responsive.
  
  
• On some systems, the command 'vssadmin delete shadows' may not be available. For these cases, open an administrative command prompt and enter the following commands -
  
  >vssadmin Resize ShadowStorage /For=C: /On=C: /MaxSize=300MB
  
  
• If there is no VSS writer error shown, but the system is not creating a new VSS snapshot, you may have to actually increase the max shadow storage size on your system - 
  
  Open an administrative command prompt and enter the following commands -
  
  >vssadmin Resize ShadowStorage /For=C: /On=C: /MaxSize=10GB
  
  

Check if circular logging is enabled for the corresponding information store. If it is, try disabling the circular logging option and restart the "Microsoft Exchange Information Store" service afterward.

Perform a full MS Exchange server backup instead of transaction log backup straight after disabling circular logging. This would ensure that the data on server are all backed up properly.

This should output a list of writers and their status. They should all be reported as stable, if some are not listed as stable, please re-register the Volume Shadow Copy Service by following the instructions below:

1. Download the 'RegisterVSS2008.zip' file by Clicking Here
2. Extract the zip file to ${Install-Home}\bin
3. Execute the extracted script file
4. Reboot the machine

Finally, if the problem is caused by a conflict with the SQL Server VSS Writer service, please restart the SQL Server VSS Writer service and perform a full MS Exchange server backup manually via the Servosity Professional console afterward.


Figure 1.0 - Services (SQL Server VSS Writer)


If the problem persists, please configure a pre-backup command to stop the service during the backup, and a post-backup command to restart the service afterward:

1. Select the corresponding MS Exchange 2010 server backup set in the [Backup Setting] menu, select the [Command Line Tool]
   
   
   
2. Press the [Add] button, under the Pre-Backup and Post-Backup section, enter the following entries in the corresponding text fields:
   
   

   Pre-Backup Command:		Post-Backup Command:
   Working Directory:	C:\	Working Directory:	C:\
   Command:	sc stop SQLWriter	Command:	sc start SQLWriter

   
   
   Figure 2.0 - ServosityPro (Backup Setting - Command Line Tool)
   
   
   
3. Press the [OK] button to save this settings