SERVER 2022: Random failures with: Windows Backup failed to get an exclusive lock on the EFI system partition (ESP)

Question

Various new fresh installations on HP and Dell ( mainly entry level servers) Windows server 2022 essentials set simple workgroup no domain or PDC etc...s various backup disks , tried secureboot on off tried AV removed / off (Defender) checked user its running as , removed and reinstalled backup etc etc

Nothing helps keep getting occasional Windows Backup failed to get an exclusive lock on the EFI system partition (ESP) and backup fails as it wont run

Thanks anyone who can help !

Answer 1

No, we run VMWare on Lenovo servers. EDIT: I've now also seen this problem on a Fujitsu server (no WMWare); random, about 1-2 times/month.

We haven't solved the issue through Microsoft support yet, but a workaround from MS has been applied, and there's been no WSB fails the last week.

(Note that in addition to this workaround, I wrote a script that checks the status of the VSS writers and writes it to a file, and is scheduled to run just before the WSB task, and 10 and 20 minutes into the task. Not that I can see why this would have any impact on the WSB task...)

Applied workaround:

1. Open “Run” and enter “taskchd.msc” to launch Task Scheduler.
2. Navigate to Microsoft/Windows/Backup
3. Select Microsoft-Windows-WindowsBackup, right click, select properties and navigate to the Settings tab.
4. Check the box “Allow task to be run on demand”
5. You can try to select the box “If this task fails”. If this makes your backup work then you can stop here, if this doesn’t work follow the next steps.

 6. Click “OK“ to apply all the changes.

7. Open cmd and type this command:

schtasks /create /F /RU SYSTEM /RL HIGHEST /SC onevent /EC Application /MO "*[System[Provider[@Name='Microsoft-Windows-Backup'] and (EventID=517)]]" /TN "Microsoft\Windows\Backup\Retry_Backup" /TR "schtasks /run /tn "Microsoft\Windows\Backup\Microsoft-Windows-WindowsBackup""

8. Refresh the Backup folder in task scheduler.

 Note: on the command the “EventID = 517” section makes the scheduled task search for the backup failing with that event id. If for some reason the id changes then you’ll need to search for the new eventid in the event log and change it to the new eventid.

Answer 2

Hi Ian,

Hope you're doing well.

Please try using following steps:

1. Check for Other Backup or Disk Management Software: Ensure that there are no other backup or disk management tools running concurrently that might interfere with Windows Backup. Competing software may try to access the EFI partition simultaneously, causing conflicts.
2. Update Firmware/BIOS: Make sure the firmware (BIOS/UEFI) of your HP and Dell servers is up to date. Manufacturers often release updates to address compatibility issues and improve system stability.
3. Check Disk for Errors: Run a thorough disk check to identify and fix any potential file system or disk errors. You can do this using the "chkdsk" command in Command Prompt with administrative privileges. chkdsk /f /r
4. Review Event Viewer Logs: Check the Event Viewer logs for any additional error messages or warnings related to the backup failure. This might provide more insight into the root cause of the problem.
5. Temporary Disable Third-Party Services: Temporarily disable unnecessary third-party services and applications that might be running in the background. This is to ensure that no external factor is causing the exclusive lock issue.
6. Ensure that the backup disks you are using are healthy and have sufficient space. You can use the built-in Disk Management tool to check the status of your disks.
7. In addition, please run the following commands and send us the screenshots:

Open cmd as an administrator and input the following commands:

vssadmin list writers

vssadmin list providers

fltmc

I hope this helps.

Best Regards

Answer 3

No third part software installed, Is a clean fresh install.

Firware latest, (is a brand new server in all cases all firmware updates done prior to windows installation (Latest server ML30 Gen10 Plus: Version 1.90_10-19-2023 Latest Release Date Nov 14, 2023)

I am running a chkdisk on this latest server it has 4TB disks so it will take a while, But I have done this before on previous servers without results

All offending servers presented this issue on a clean install with nothing installed just perhaps a firefox browser .... Brand new disks etc etc

OutPut of commands on current test server:

C:\Users\Administrator>vssadmin list writers

vssadmin 1.1 - Volume Shadow Copy Service administrative command-line tool

(C) Copyright 2001-2013 Microsoft Corp.

Writer name: 'Task Scheduler Writer'

Writer Id: {d61d61c8-d73a-4eee-8cdd-f6f9786b7124}

Writer Instance Id: {1bddd48e-5052-49db-9b07-b96f96727e6b}

State: [1] Stable

Last error: No error

Writer name: 'VSS Metadata Store Writer'

Writer Id: {75dfb225-e2e4-4d39-9ac9-ffaff65ddf06}

Writer Instance Id: {088e7a7d-09a8-4cc6-a609-ad90e75ddc93}

State: [1] Stable

Last error: No error

Writer name: 'Performance Counters Writer'

Writer Id: {0bada1de-01a9-4625-8278-69e735f39dd2}

Writer Instance Id: {f0086dda-9efc-47c5-8eb6-a944c3d09381}

State: [1] Stable

Last error: No error

Writer name: 'System Writer'

Writer Id: {e8132975-6f93-4464-a53e-1050253ae220}

Writer Instance Id: {9971ccdd-6d5e-4708-978b-e7e13a4a45cf}

State: [1] Stable

Last error: No error

Writer name: 'ASR Writer'

Writer Id: {be000cbe-11fe-4426-9c58-531aa6355fc4}

Writer Instance Id: {07b3cf2d-cf83-4be7-8a28-4c97653e7b84}

State: [1] Stable

Last error: No error

Writer name: 'Shadow Copy Optimization Writer'

Writer Id: {4dc3bdd4-ab48-4d07-adb0-3bee2926fd7f}

Writer Instance Id: {95045582-65e7-431c-89ce-595dd77fb8d0}

State: [1] Stable

Last error: No error

Writer name: 'Registry Writer'

Writer Id: {afbab4a2-367d-4d15-a586-71dbb18f8485}

Writer Instance Id: {9aa18ba6-c939-4862-9d52-2ee2fd391f0e}

State: [1] Stable

Last error: No error

Writer name: 'WMI Writer'

Writer Id: {a6ad56c2-b509-4e6c-bb19-49d8f43532f0}

Writer Instance Id: {e53f20fe-dafc-4e48-ae21-924e9b6413b1}

State: [1] Stable

Last error: No error

Writer name: 'COM+ REGDB Writer'

Writer Id: {542da469-d3e1-473c-9f4f-7847f01fc64f}

Writer Instance Id: {6c61638b-bae4-4e96-87c6-e73225f6dcf5}

State: [1] Stable

Last error: No error

C:\Users\Administrator>

#####################################################################

C:\Users\Administrator>vssadmin list providers

vssadmin 1.1 - Volume Shadow Copy Service administrative command-line tool

(C) Copyright 2001-2013 Microsoft Corp.

Provider name: 'Microsoft File Share Shadow Copy provider'

Provider type: Fileshare

Provider Id: {89300202-3cec-4981-9171-19f59559e0f2}

Version: 1.0.0.1

Provider name: 'Microsoft Software Shadow Copy provider 1.0'

Provider type: System

Provider Id: {b5946137-7b9f-4925-af80-51abd60b20d5}

Version: 1.0.0.7

C:\Users\Administrator>C:\Users\Administrator>fltmc

Filter Name Num Instances Altitude Frame

---

bindflt 0 409800 0

FsDepends 12 407000 0

WdFilter 12 328010 0

storqosflt 0 244000 0

wcifs 0 189900 0

WIMMount 10 180700 0

CldFlt 0 180451 0

FileCrypt 0 141100 0

luafv 1 135000 0

UnionFS 0 130850 0

npsvctrig 1 46000 0

Wof 1 40700 0

C:\Users\Administrator>

Answer 4

Hi Ian,

Thanks for your update.

Have you tried to disable firefox browser and then try to do the backup?

Best Regards

Answer 5

I have completely removed Firefox, but its not logical that not logged in not running how would Firefox affect Efi lock ?

Anyway no difference without firfox installed !