MS Azure Recovery Services Agent (MARS) Scheduled Backups don't work on Windows 11 PRO

Randy Salamone 6 Reputation points
2021-11-17T16:40:54.967+00:00

On Windows 11 PRO Backups work when manually initiated but the task scheduler is unable to trigger the process. There are at least 2 issues. The first relates to the command placed into the task scheduler queue. The command argument in Task Scheduler should look like this:

-command Import-Module MSOnlineBackup; Start-OBBackup -Name "9eaad6e3-48cc-440e-bf86-ffe375ddd2331"

But when placed into the queue by the Azure Backup Agent Ver 2.0.9223.0 omits the closing quote mark. Going into Task Scheduler and adding the quote mark allows the scheduler to launch the backup agent but the agent hangs and runs forever. I haven't figured out why as I can execute the above command manually in a Powershell window and the backup runs as expected (and manually running from Azure Backup Agent also runs correctly).

I have a Window 10 Pro machine running Agent Ver 9197 that runs according to the schedule and exhibits neither problem. For the past few days I'm manually triggering backups from Agent running in MMC and I've confirmed the backups complete, get logged into the jobs history, show up in Available Recovery Points and can be restored from. I've also removed and reinstalled Agent with no change. Many other scheduled tasks are running correctly so the issue isn't in Task Scheduler (and obviously omitting the closing quote on the name parameter in the Task Schedulers command argument cannot be correct.

Is this an issue with Windows 11 or MARS? And how do I fix it?

Azure Backup
Azure Backup
An Azure backup service that provides built-in management at scale.
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Windows 11
Windows 11
A Microsoft operating system designed for productivity, creativity, and ease of use.
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  1. Randy Salamone 6 Reputation points
    2021-11-18T16:11:31.497+00:00

    I manually resolved the issue and it runs fine on Windows 11. Two things need to be manually adjusted in the Task Schedule for the backup task. The text in 'Add Arguments' field is missing the closing quote mark as I described earlier. The 'Configure for" dropdown box has to be changed to say "Windows 10" (it was defaulted by MARS to Window 7). After these 2 changes the backup gets scheduled and run as expected. Note: changing the schedule in MARS requires these changes be repeated but otherwise works as expected.

    Randy

    1 person found this answer helpful.
  2. Limitless Technology 39,361 Reputation points
    2021-12-16T17:37:44.053+00:00

    I recommend that you refer to the article below on "Troubleshooting Microsoft Azure Recovery Services (MARS) Agent":

    https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/backup/backup-azure-mars-troubleshoot

    Also, I recommend that you open a ticket on the Windows 11 team forum, because this problem may have already been reported there and already have a viable solution for you.

    To do this, access the link below and select the option "Ask a question" from the top menu and describe the entire problem, including images:

    https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_11?sort=LastReplyDate&dir=Desc&tab=All&status=all&mod=&modAge=&advFil=&postedAfter=&postedBefore=&threadType=all&isFilterExpanded=false&page=1

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