Windows Server 2016 Freezing VSS & Volsnap Errors

Question

Our Windows Server 2016 has been frequently crashing and we've been unable to figure out how to fix it. We are rebooting the server nightly which has helped somewhat, but the server will still freeze up once or twice a week and I'll have to reboot from ESXi to fix it.

Our system is entire NVMe storage based, the VM that crashes has 112GB RAM, and has 16 cores assigned. It's ran for years and years without this problem. Windows Server 2016 is up to date.

ID 25 - Error - Volsnap

followed by

ID 12289 - Error - VSS

followed by

ID 25 - Error - Volsnap

It seems as the Volume Shadow Storage copy runs out of space (~100GB) and when this happens it freezes the system. As far as I can tell, none of what we use should even use the VSS. We run a Prolaw SQL database which I've been told does not use the VSS for backups, Acronis for data backups, SentinelOne for AV. Acronis is the only recent change but they've informed us they don't use the VSS.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Answer 1

Hello,

Thank you for posting in Microsoft Community forum.

Based on the description, I understand your question is related to Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) and Volsnap errors. 

According to your description, if VSS is not used, you might consider disabling it. Disable VSS will affect some kind of backup but if your database do not need it, you can disable this service and monitor the machine performance.

High disk I/O might also cause VSS and Volsnap errors. Monitor your disk usage and try to reduce the load during backup operations.

Also, it is recommended to check if any other software might be interfering with VSS.

Have a nice day. 

Best Regards,

Molly

Answer 2

Thank you Molly,

1. How do I check everything that is using the VSS?
2. How to I disable the VSS?

Answer 3

Hello,

1. You can use below command to list vss:

vssadmin list shadows

vssadmin list shadowstorage

2. How to disable the VSS?

Double-click on Volume Shadow Copy.

Change the Startup type to Disabled.

Click Stop to stop the service if it is running.

Click Apply and then OK

Best regards,

molly