I've got an SBS 2008 server that has a recurring issue with backups related the the SQL Server VSS writer.
The errors seem to start with Event 9001
The log for database 'xm8_27' is not available. Check the event log for related error messages. Resolve any errors and restart the database.
Followed up with 3041
BACKUP failed to complete the command BACKUP DATABASE xm8_27. Check the backup application log for detailed messages.
Event 1 from SQL VDISQLVDI: Loc=TriggerAbort. Desc=invoked. ErrorCode=(0). Process=3684. Thread=13492. Server. Instance=XACTWARE. VD=Global\{B9E65BDC-0508-4D73-BF4E-E639004C000D}9_SQLVDIMemoryName_0.
Event 8193:
SQL writer error: Unexpected error calling routine IClientVirtualDevice::GetCommand. hr = 0x80770004.
I reboot, all is fine for a few days, backups work fine and then Boom, I start getting these errors again. I can't keep rebooting every few days, I need backups to be reliable. VSS in general seems to be fatally flawed, with a single minor error killing the entire system until a reboot, and not allowing ANY part of a backup to proceed due to one minor subsystem failure.
If I stop the SQL VSS Writer, I can backup but get a warning about it.
So I have a few questions:
How can I resolve this SQL backup error once and for all without rebooting the server?
How can I force backups to continue even though a single VSS sub component has failed?
How can I restart the VSS components without resorting to rebooting the entire server when they are stuck in Failed or Waiting for Completion? There has got to be a way. Rebooting the server can not be the answer to everything.
Here is the output of vssadmin list writers:
vssadmin 1.1 - Volume Shadow Copy Service administrative command-line tool
(C) Copyright 2001-2005 Microsoft Corp.
Writer name: 'ASR Writer'
Writer Id: {be000cbe-11fe-4426-9c58-531aa6355fc4}
Writer Instance Id: {9b661b56-738d-4853-8512-ab60bfe6d40e}
State: [1] Stable
Last error: No error
Writer name: 'SqlServerWriter'
Writer Id: {a65faa63-5ea8-4ebc-9dbd-a0c4db26912a}
Writer Instance Id: {88029c64-f3aa-4e57-8542-77da948300f4}
State: [8] Failed
Last error: Non-retryable error
Writer name: 'System Writer'
Writer Id: {e8132975-6f93-4464-a53e-1050253ae220}
Writer Instance Id: {b091ada8-f28b-49b1-b3e3-572227ddea8c}
State: [5] Waiting for completion
Last error: No error
Writer name: 'SharePoint Services Writer'
Writer Id: {c2f52614-5e53-4858-a589-38eeb25c6184}
Writer Instance Id: {d863ec1e-fbc5-4b2a-8465-556e421c6c82}
State: [1] Stable
Last error: No error
Writer name: 'FSRM Writer'
Writer Id: {12ce4370-5bb7-4c58-a76a-e5d5097e3674}
Writer Instance Id: {51005bbd-02f3-4aea-9aab-ee18b9c06a44}
State: [5] Waiting for completion
Last error: No error
Writer name: 'NPS VSS Writer'
Writer Id: {35e81631-13e1-48db-97fc-d5bc721bb18a}
Writer Instance Id: {739f2abd-c9ac-4343-a653-581753c7ffbd}
State: [5] Waiting for completion
Last error: No error
Writer name: 'Microsoft Exchange Writer'
Writer Id: {76fe1ac4-15f7-4bcd-987e-8e1acb462fb7}
Writer Instance Id: {c37f45ae-9710-4171-91f6-eea6468172da}
State: [5] Waiting for completion
Last error: No error
Writer name: 'SPSearch VSS Writer'
Writer Id: {57af97e4-4a76-4ace-a756-d11e8f0294c7}
Writer Instance Id: {21eda2e6-c571-4a7f-8c1a-8b50bb3d2c0c}
State: [5] Waiting for completion
Last error: No error
Writer name: 'WMI Writer'
Writer Id: {a6ad56c2-b509-4e6c-bb19-49d8f43532f0}
Writer Instance Id: {7bf2f68d-a6ec-47c4-a63f-3de29dc25a61}
State: [5] Waiting for completion
Last error: No error
Writer name: 'BITS Writer'
Writer Id: {4969d978-be47-48b0-b100-f328f07ac1e0}
Writer Instance Id: {9c90973f-517c-44b8-ba69-e608a191bbe9}
State: [1] Stable
Last error: No error
Writer name: 'Shadow Copy Optimization Writer'
Writer Id: {4dc3bdd4-ab48-4d07-adb0-3bee2926fd7f}
Writer Instance Id: {c3aeffb3-c2e6-4670-b853-b041c368d745}
State: [1] Stable
Last error: No error
Writer name: 'TS Gateway Writer'
Writer Id: {368753ec-572e-4fc7-b4b9-ccd9bdc624cb}
Writer Instance Id: {52efe6fe-6286-481b-8af6-8ad470e97f55}
State: [5] Waiting for completion
Last error: No error
Writer name: 'FRS Writer'
Writer Id: {d76f5a28-3092-4589-ba48-2958fb88ce29}
Writer Instance Id: {476a7ae6-8864-4e1d-ad25-0c4b48f3f70b}
State: [5] Waiting for completion
Last error: No error
Writer name: 'Registry Writer'
Writer Id: {afbab4a2-367d-4d15-a586-71dbb18f8485}
Writer Instance Id: {714d824b-87b6-4ed8-ad13-c20a8a101e08}
State: [1] Stable
Last error: No error
Writer name: 'NTDS'
Writer Id: {b2014c9e-8711-4c5c-a5a9-3cf384484757}
Writer Instance Id: {0cf69da9-cc30-4211-b479-105b54d7f554}
State: [5] Waiting for completion
Last error: No error
Writer name: 'COM+ REGDB Writer'
Writer Id: {542da469-d3e1-473c-9f4f-7847f01fc64f}
Writer Instance Id: {97dbb7fb-49af-4257-8fd5-0fbeb810e86f}
State: [1] Stable
Last error: No error
Writer name: 'IIS Config Writer'
Writer Id: {2a40fd15-dfca-4aa8-a654-1f8c654603f6}
Writer Instance Id: {d2762ea3-1814-4658-8138-d5f9b7d1ff71}
State: [5] Waiting for completion
Last error: No error
Writer name: 'Dhcp Jet Writer'
Writer Id: {be9ac81e-3619-421f-920f-4c6fea9e93ad}
Writer Instance Id: {53d8ce60-9a60-42d6-aa29-48f8d534fc9b}
State: [5] Waiting for completion
Last error: No error
Writer name: 'Certificate Authority'
Writer Id: {6f5b15b5-da24-4d88-b737-63063e3a1f86}
Writer Instance Id: {86fedb23-3064-4a9e-9c38-be44dfb448b6}
State: [5] Waiting for completion
Last error: No error
Writer name: 'IIS Metabase Writer'
Writer Id: {59b1f0cf-90ef-465f-9609-6ca8b2938366}
Writer Instance Id: {9a4d6a02-8a2f-4e21-8498-f469d87eba7b}
State: [5] Waiting for completion
Last error: No error