Cannot enable System Restore- possible VSS problem?

Question

I'm having issues uninstalling and installing apps with Windows Installer and I've also seen Volume Shadow Copy errors in the Event viewer and I believe these are related.
I tried installing Gigabyte RGB Fusion after downloading the latest version, and the Window installer runs, says its "Preparing to install" and sits there hung.
Same problem when uninstalling apps. Some apps I can uninstall and I don't think those used the Windows Installer but I may be wrong?
I tried to enable System Restore however the Protection Settings show Available Devices "Searching" and Configure is greyed out and Create is greyed out. It eventually errored with "There was an unexpected error in the property page. System Restore encountered an error. Please try to run System Restore again (0x81000203)."
I ran MSConfig and disabled most of the STartup items and stopped most of the non-Windows services and rebooted.

Checked services:
Services related to System Restore are: - Volume shadow copy - Multimedia Class Scheduler - Remote Procedure Call (RPC) - DCOM Server Process Launcher - Plug and Play.

Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool
Version: 10.0.26100.1150
 Image Version: 10.0.26100.3194
 No component store corruption detected.
The operation completed successfully.

Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool
Version: 10.0.26100.1150
 Image Version: 10.0.26100.3194
 [==========================100.0%==========================] No component store corruption detected.
The operation completed successfully.

Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
 Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool
Version: 10.0.26100.1150
 Image Version: 10.0.26100.3194
 [==========================100.0%==========================] The restore operation completed successfully.
The operation completed successfully.

sfc/scannow
Beginning system scan.  This process will take some time.
 Beginning verification phase of system scan.
Verification 100% complete.
 Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.

Event viewer shows:

Log Name: System
Source: Volsnap
Date: 15/02/2025 5:50:35 PM
Event ID: 67
Task Category: None
Level: Error
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Computer: JDMILS02
Description:
The shadow copy of volume C: being created failed to install.

I'm thinking the Windows Installer issue is related to the VSS service as I assume it will create a restore point before any install/uninstall.

In Task Manager, I had a Background Process for Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service \ Volume Shadows Copy, which I Killed Task, and when I did, the Windows Installer for RGBFusion came to life and is now showing "Please wait while Windows configures RGB Fusion. Gathering required information." I think it's hung again.

Event viewer shows:
Log Name: Application
Source: System Restore
Date: 15/02/2025 6:17:07 PM
Event ID: 8193
Task Category: None
Level: Error
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Computer: JDMILS02
Description:
Failed to create restore point (Process = C:\WINDOWS\system32\msiexec.exe /V; Description = Installed RGB Fusion.; Error = 0x80010108).

....and....

Log Name: Application
Source: VSS
Date: 15/02/2025 6:18:07 PM
Event ID: 24
Task Category: None
Level: Warning
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Computer: JDMILS02
Description:
Volume Shadow Copy Service Warning: The Volume Shadow Copy Service is shutting down and is experiencing delay while waiting for in-progress calls to complete.

My system is:

OS Name: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro
OS Version: 10.0.26100 N/A Build 26100
OS Manufacturer: Microsoft Corporation
OS Configuration: Standalone Workstation
OS Build Type: Multiprocessor Free
Registered Owner: Me
Registered Organization:
Product ID: 00330-80000-00000-AA462
Original Install Date: 19/01/2025, 1:00:30 PM
System Boot Time: 15/02/2025, 5:54:50 PM
System Manufacturer: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
System Model: B360M AORUS Gaming 3
System Type: x64-based PC
Processor(s): 1 Processor(s) Installed.
[01]: Intel64 Family 6 Model 158 Stepping 13 GenuineIntel ~3600 Mhz
BIOS Version: American Megatrends Inc. F14, 7/07/2020
Windows Directory: C:\WINDOWS
System Directory: C:\WINDOWS\system32
Boot Device: \Device\HarddiskVolume4
System Locale: en-us;English (United States)
Input Locale: en-us;English (United States)
Time Zone: (UTC+10:00) Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney
Total Physical Memory: 16,315 MB
Available Physical Memory: 9,311 MB
Virtual Memory: Max Size: 37,819 MB
Virtual Memory: Available: 27,637 MB
Virtual Memory: In Use: 10,182 MB
Page File Location(s): C:\pagefile.sys

***Moved from Windows / Windows 11 / Performance and system failures***

Answer 1

Please try a repair installation.

Open Settings, select System> Recovery.

Under Fix problems using Windows Update, select Reinstall now.

This does a repair installation, keeping your files, apps, and settings.

Answer 2

Thank you for your reply. Details as requested:

Thank you. The UpperFilters registry value is correct, and the other service is running correctly.

I'll let you know how I go with the links you sent.

Ok. Let's know how it goes.

For now, you may turn off system restore protection for the OS partition to see if you can install .msi packages.

Answer 3

Acronis VSS Doctor found the service set to Auto and changed it to Manual. It's saying the Event log has VSS issues which I already know about. The report is here: https://www.jdmils.com/File_Hosting/AcronisVSSDoctorReport_2025-02-21-18-11-23.txt

Answer 4

Disk load is mentioned as one of the reasons for error code 0x80070079, "The semaphore timeout period has expired". I note that you've tried clean booting the system already.

Another thing I noticed is this. No VSS storage is allotted for the C drive.

Storages:

ForVolume: C:\

OnVolume: C:\

Used: 0 B

Allocated: 0 B

You may try vssadmin resize shadowstorage to increase the VSS storage for C: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/vssadmin-resize-shadowstorage

If nothing helps, open Settings → System → Recovery. Under Fix problems using Windows Update, select Reinstall now

Answer 5

This was my VSS allocation for C drive:

C:\Windows\System32>vssadmin Resize ShadowStorage /For=C: /On=C: /MaxSize=20%
vssadmin 1.1 - Volume Shadow Copy Service administrative command-line tool
(C) Copyright 2001-2013 Microsoft Corp.

Successfully resized the shadow copy storage association

I then ran your command and it shows as this:

C:\Windows\System32>vssadmin list shadowstorage
vssadmin 1.1 - Volume Shadow Copy Service administrative command-line tool
(C) Copyright 2001-2013 Microsoft Corp.

Shadow Copy Storage association
   For volume: (C:)\\?\Volume{9db72103-b8aa-11ee-a8f1-b42e9965eb24}\
   Shadow Copy Storage volume: (C:)\\?\Volume{9db72103-b8aa-11ee-a8f1-b42e9965eb24}\
   Used Shadow Copy Storage space: 0 bytes (0%)
   Allocated Shadow Copy Storage space: 0 bytes (0%)
   Maximum Shadow Copy Storage space: 293 GB (20%)
C:\Windows\System32>vssadmin Resize ShadowStorage /For=C: /On=C: /MaxSize=20%
vssadmin 1.1 - Volume Shadow Copy Service administrative command-line tool
(C) Copyright 2001-2013 Microsoft Corp.

Successfully resized the shadow copy storage association

The Maximum has changed however the allocated did not?