System restore fails with 0x80042306. No repairs help.

Question

Suddenly one of my Windows 11 laptops won't do anything
that has to do with "System Restore". Just get an error
about "Shadow copy error 0x80042306".

• Tried "dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth
• Failed at about 80% (could not find something)
• Tried "sfc /scannow"
• Failed at about halfway
• Tried "in-place upgrade/repair install"
• Went through without any errors or warnings

Still same error on all "System restore" operations

• Tried agin "dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth
• Went through without any errors or warnings
• Tried "sfc /scannow"
• Went through without any errors or warnings

Still same error on all "System restore" operations

• Tried "chkdksk /f"
• Went through without any errors or warnings

Still same error on all "System restore" operations

Now I'm kind of out of options :-(
Anyone got any ideas on what to try?

Answer 1

This is almost hilarious (if I hadn't wasted so much time before I accidently saw this).

Something (I don't have any idea on what) seems to have messed with the Defender settings.

"Protected memory access" (translated from norwegian so sorry if not exact) was removed for:

• "rstrui.exe" on "\Device\HarddiskVolume2" (that is the C: drive with "System Restore")
• "SystemPropertiesProtection.exe" on "\Device\HarddiskVolume2"

As soon as I added them to the trusted applications System Restore worked again.

Answer 2

1

Please provide full details on the problems you are experiencing with Windows that you need to perform a system restore on your laptop.

2

Click your Start Button, then just type winver and press enter, please provide a screenshot of the resulting dialog box.

Answer 3

The error code 0x80042306 typically indicates a problem with the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS), which is essential for creating restore points in Windows. Here are some steps you can take to troubleshoot and potentially resolve this issue:

1. Check VSS Service Status: Ensure that the Volume Shadow Copy service is running. You can do this by:
   • Pressing Win + R, typing services.msc, and hitting Enter.
   • Finding Volume Shadow Copy in the list and ensuring its status is set to Running. If not, right-click and select Start.
2. Re-register VSS Components: Sometimes, re-registering the VSS components can resolve issues. Open an elevated command prompt and run the following commands one by one:

      vssadmin stop service
      vssadmin delete shadows /all
      vssadmin register vss
      vssadmin register swprv
   

3. Check Disk Space: Ensure that there is enough disk space on the drive where Windows is installed. System Restore requires sufficient space to create restore points.
4. Run Disk Cleanup: Use the Disk Cleanup tool to remove unnecessary files that could be taking up space. You can access it by searching for Disk Cleanup in the Start menu.
5. Use DISM and SFC Again: Since you mentioned running DISM and SFC, ensure that you are connected to the internet when running these commands, as DISM may need to download files from Windows Update.
6. Check for Corrupted System Files: If the issue persists, you might want to check for corrupted system files again using SFC. Run sfc /scannow in an elevated command prompt.
7. Consider a System Restore Point Creation: If you can access the System Properties, try to create a new restore point manually to see if the error occurs during that process.
8. Third-Party Software Conflicts: Sometimes, third-party backup or security software can interfere with VSS. Try disabling or uninstalling such software temporarily to see if it resolves the issue.

If none of these steps resolve the problem, you may need to consider more advanced recovery options, such as performing a repair install of Windows or restoring from a backup if available.

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References:

• System Restore is unable to complete Restoration