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

I get the same output after deleting all shadows. So I guess it's normal.

Please confirm if you've deleted the MiniNT registry key mentioned in the link I posted earlier.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\MiniNT

If that key exists, rename or delete it.

Answer 3

That reg key does not exist on my system.

I tried MSCONFIG by turning off all non-Microsoft services and disabling all startup items and I still have the issue.

When I reverted the MSCONFIG changes, I ran a test:

I ran the command as shown without issues:

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%)

I then opened System Properties and my C drive has protection ON so I clicked the Create button which resulted in a new dialog stating "Creating a restore point" and a cycling progress bar, however that has now been running like that for about 15 minutes. I ran the above command again and here's what I get:

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

The command seems to be hung.

I'm still getting these errors:

Error	24/02/2025 8:31:03 AM	Volsnap	67	None

The shadow copy of volume C: being created failed to install.

Error	24/02/2025 8:31:03 AM	VSS	12289	None

Volume Shadow Copy Service error: Unexpected error DeviceIoControl(\\?\Volume{9db72103-b8aa-11ee-a8f1-b42e9965eb24} - 0000000000000204,0x0053c008,000001B88D5076E0,0,000001B88D50C4D0,4096,[0]).  hr = 0x80070079, The semaphore timeout period has expired.

Answer 4

Hi, Julian Mils

Restart VSS and Related Services:

Open the Run dialog (Win + R), type services.msc, and press Enter.

Find the "Volume Shadow Copy" service, right-click on it, and select "Restart".

Ensure the "Microsoft Software Shadow Copy Provider" service is also set to "Automatic (Delayed Start)" and started.

Check Disk Space:

Ensure there is enough free space on the volume where the shadow copies are stored. VSS requires sufficient disk space to create snapshots.

Re-register VSS Components:

Open Command Prompt as an administrator.

Run the following commands one by one:

Restart VSS and Related Services:

Open the Run dialog (Win + R), type services.msc, and press Enter.

Find the "Volume Shadow Copy" service, right-click on it, and select "Restart".

Ensure the "Microsoft Software Shadow Copy Provider" service is also set to "Automatic (Delayed Start)" and started.

Check Disk Space:

Ensure there is enough free space on the volume where the shadow copies are stored. VSS requires sufficient disk space to create snapshots.

Re-register VSS Components:

Open Command Prompt as an administrator.

Run the following commands one by one:

net stop vss

net stop swprv

regsvr32 /s ole32.dll

regsvr32 /s oleaut32.dll

regsvr32 /s vss_ps.dll

regsvr32 /s msxml3.dll

regsvr32 /s msxml4.dll

regsvr32 /s msxml6.dll

regsvr32 /s vssapi.dll

net start swprv

net start vss

Check Event Viewer:

Open Event Viewer (Win + X, then select "Event Viewer").

Look for any relevant error messages or warnings related to VSS in the Application and System logs. This can provide more insight into the issue.

Configure System Restore Settings:

Open the Group Policy Editor (Win + R, type gpedit.msc).

Navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > System Restore.

Ensure that "Turn off System Restore" is set to "Not Configured".

Set Event Log Size:

Open Event Viewer.

Right-click on "Application" under "Windows Logs" and select "Properties".

Set the maximum log size to 64 MB.

Perform a Clean Boot:

Open the System Configuration tool (Win + R, type msconfig).

Under the "Services" tab, check "Hide all Microsoft services" and then click "Disable all".

Under the "Startup" tab, click "Open Task Manager" and disable all startup items.

Restart your computer and see if the issue persists.

Check for Third-Party Software Conflicts:

Some third-party software, especially backup or disk management tools, can interfere with VSS. Try disabling or uninstalling any such software temporarily to see if it resolves the issue.

Answer 5

Thank you to everyone who helped. It seems that @Ramesh has fixed the issue with this solution:

Under Fix problems using Windows Update, select Reinstall now

I never knew this option existed! I have not had a VSS error in EV for a few hours now- thank you!!!!

I can now see ShadowStorage without issues:

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: 815 MB (0%)
   Allocated Shadow Copy Storage space: 14.7 GB (0%)
   Maximum Shadow Copy Storage space: 293 GB (20%)