Event ID 12291 — VSS Writer Operations

  • Article

Applies To: Windows Server 2008 R2

Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) writers are applications or services that store persistent information in files on disk and that provide the names and locations of these files to requesters by using the shadow copy interface.

Event Details

Product: Windows Operating System
ID: 12291
Source: VSS
Version: 6.1
Symbolic Name: VSS_ERROR_UNEXPECTED_WRITER_ERROR
Message: Volume Shadow Copy Service error: Error on creating/using the COM+ Writers publisher interface: %1 [%2]. %3

Resolve

Check writer events and make sure that the COM+ Event System and VSS services are enabled

This event indicates that there is a problem with a Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) writer or that the COM+ event system or VSS service is not enabled.

To resolve this issue, first check for events from applications that host VSS writers. Then make sure that the COM+ Event System and VSS services are enabled.

To perform these procedures, you must have membership in Administrators, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority.

To open Event Viewer and view events related to VSS writers:

  1. Click Start, click Run, type eventvwr.msc, and then click OK. If the User Account Control dialog box appears, ensure that the action it displays is what you want, and then click Continue.
  2. In Event Viewer, expand Windows Logs, and then click Application.
  3. To filter the events so that only events with a Source of VSS are shown, in the Actions pane, click Filter Current Log. On the Filter tab, in the Event sources drop-down list, select the checkbox for VSS. Select other options as appropriate, and then click OK.
  4. To sort the displayed events by date and time, in the center pane, click the Date and Time heading.

Check that the COM+ Event System service is enabled

To check that the COM+ Event System service is enabled:

  1. Click Start, click Administrative Tools, and then click Services.
  2. In the results pane, double-click COM+ Event System.
  3. Ensure that Startup type is set to Automatic.
  4. Click OK.

Check that the Volume Shadow Copy service is enabled

To check that the Volume Shadow Copy service is enabled:

  1. Click Start, click Administrative Tools, and then click Services.
  2. In the results pane, double-click Volume Shadow Copy.
  3. Ensure that Startup type is set to Manual.
  4. Click OK.

Verify

To verify that the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) writers are operating correctly, perform the following procedure, and then retry the previous VSS operation.

To perform this procedure, you must have membership in Administrators, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority.

To verify that the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) writers are operating correctly:

  1. Open an elevated Command Prompt window. Click Start, click All Programs, click Accessories, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator.
  2. Type vssadmin list writers, and then press Enter.
  3. Ensure that all writers are in the Stable state and are operating without errors.

For more information about the vssadmin command, see https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=103401.

VSS Writer Operations

File Services