VSS history suddenly deleted

Question

Hi, there!

I have a question in regards to VSS history.

I attempted to check the VSS history on 18 March. Howerver I found that VSS history prior to 16 March seddenly disappered.

On that day, We carried out the organizational restructuring measuers.

The tasks implemented on that day are as follows.

1. Rebootiing prodauction server.
2. tasks of file copy using Robocopy.
3. granting permissions to folder.

We notified the users of not using shared folder before rebooting production server in advance.

Could there be any potential causes or factors, including whether the organizational restructuring measures directly contributed to the disappearance of the VSS history?"

Answer 1

Hello,

It sounds frustrating to lose important VSS history like that. There are several potential causes for the disappearance of VSS history, especially considering the tasks you performed during the organizational restructuring:

Server Reboot: Rebooting the production server can sometimes lead to the loss of shadow copies if the VSS service was not properly configured or if there were issues during the reboot process.

File Copy Using Robocopy: If Robocopy was used with certain flags, it might have affected the shadow copies. For example, using the /MIR (mirror) flag can delete files in the destination that are not present in the source, potentially impacting VSS history.

Permission Changes: Granting new permissions to folders might have inadvertently affected the VSS settings or the shadow copies themselves, especially if the permissions were not correctly applied.

VSS Configuration: It's also possible that the VSS configuration was altered or corrupted during the restructuring process. Checking the VSS settings and ensuring they are correctly configured might help prevent future issues.

Have a nice day.

Best Regards,

Hania Lian

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