cannot complete the set up server backup wizard

Question

Trying to setup server backup on Windows Server 2016 Essentials. Get this error when including System State along with OS:

"Cannot complete the set up server backup wizard. An error occurred while configuring the backup policy. Ensure all the hard drives chosen for the backup destination are connected, or exclude those backup drives that are offline. Also, ensure all the hard drives that are to be backed up are connected to the server, powered on and writable, and then try again. If the problem persists, check for storage related alerts."

It works okay if I only select the Operating System for backup, but fails if I add System Backup (recommended). Hard drives are connected to the server (C drive), powered on, etc. Backup destination is an external Seagate USB drive with 7 TB of space! So, storage should not be an issue.

Any advice much appreciated.

Thank you.

Answer 1

Hi artzoop,

Hope you're doing well.

1. If you encounter the "Backup failed to complete. The system writer is not found in the backup" error, it might be due to incorrect permissions on certain files. Specifically, check permissions for files in the "%windir%\winsxs\filemaps" or "%windir%\winsxs\temp\PendingRenames" directories.
2. Additionally, verify permissions for the "COM+ Event System Service".
3. If you see the "The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect" error, it could be related to driver location settings. Check the location path of some drivers and ensure they are correctly configured.
4. In addition, try setting the backup destination disk to another disk to see if it works.

Best Regards,

Ian Xue

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