All the sudden we are getting the following errors in the event log for the
VSS service... We have Veritas Backup Exec version 9. whats going on? we
haven't found much information on this event ID...

Event Type: Error
Event Source: VSS
Event Category: None
Event ID: 12302
Date:  6/9/2005
Time:  3:24:16 AM
User:  N/A
Computer: MAILSERVE
Description:
Volume Shadow Copy Service error: An internal inconsistency was detected in
trying to contact shadow copy service writers.  Please check to see that the
Event Service and Volume Shadow Copy Service are operating properly.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Data:
0000: 42 55 45 43 58 4d 4c 43   BUECXMLC
0008: 33 38 33 33 00 00 00 00   3833....
0010: 42 55 45 43 58 4d 4c 43   BUECXMLC
0018: 33 37 38 35 00 00 00 00   3785....


Event Type: Error
Event Source: VSS
Event Category: None
Event ID: 12302
Date:  6/9/2005
Time:  3:24:16 AM
User:  N/A
Computer: MAILSERVE
Description:
Volume Shadow Copy Service error: An internal inconsistency was detected in
trying to contact shadow copy service writers.  Please check to see that the
Event Service and Volume Shadow Copy Service are operating properly.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Data:
0000: 42 55 45 43 58 4d 4c 43   BUECXMLC
0008: 33 38 33 33 00 00 00 00   3833....
0010: 42 55 45 43 58 4d 4c 43   BUECXMLC
0018: 33 37 38 35 00 00 00 00   3785....


Event Type: Error
Event Source: VSS
Event Category: None
Event ID: 12301
Date:  6/9/2005
Time:  3:24:16 AM
User:  N/A
Computer: MAILSERVE
Description:
Volume Shadow Copy Service error: Writer MSDEWriter did not respond to a
GatherWriterStatus call.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Data:
0000: 42 55 45 43 58 4d 4c 43   BUECXMLC
0008: 33 38 39 31 00 00 00 00   3891....
0010: 42 55 45 43 58 4d 4c 43   BUECXMLC
0018: 33 37 38 35 00 00 00 00   3785....

Hi Brian,

According to my experience, Volumn Shadow Service (VSS) depends on the
Windows backup service. Is there clues in the Windows backup log ?

I suggest you use the following steps to isolate this issue:

Step 1: Check the backup log
===============================
Please open the backup log located to c:\Documents and
Settings\username\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Windows
NT\NTBackup\data\ folder.

Check if the following file contains the following information:

Backup Status
Operation: Backup
Active backup destination: File
Media name: "BackupG.bkf created 01/19/2004 at 06:00"
Error returned while creating the volume shadow copy:80042301  <---------
Reverting to non-shadow copy backup mode.

Step 2: Run Vssadmin command
==============================
Open the CMD and issue the following command:

Vssadmin List Writers

What is the result? Do you observe the following output:

Vssadmin list writers
-------------------------
vssadmin 1.0 - Volume Shadow Copy Service administrative command-line tool
(C) Copyright 2001 Microsoft Corp.

Error: 0x8000ffff


If you get the result above, it is possible that the
HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlset\Control\ContentIndex\Catalogs contains an
invalid or Missing "Location" registry value. The value of  "Location" 
must exist for every catalog and must be a valid path.

You can run the following command from a command prompt:


REG.EXE QUERY HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlset\Control\ContentIndex\Catalogs
/s


Then look at the output to see if the
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\ContentIndex\Catalogs\Sy
stem\Location entry is valid.

I would like to list the sample broken key as follows:

! REG.EXE VERSION 3.0

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlset\Control\ContentIndex\Catalogs

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlset\Control\ContentIndex\Catalogs\Sy
stem

If this is the case, the following keys are missing:


HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlset\Control\ContentIndex\Catalogs\Sy
stem\Properties
    A4790B72-7113-4348-97EA-292BBC1F6770 5      REG_SZ  31,500,1,1
    A4790B72-7113-4348-97EA-292BBC1F6770 6      REG_SZ  31,500,1,1

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlset\Control\ContentIndex\Catalogs\We
b
    Location    REG_SZ  C:\Inetpub
    IsIndexingW3Svc     REG_DWORD       0x1
    IsIndexingNNTPSvc   REG_DWORD       0x0
    W3SvcInstance       REG_DWORD       0x1
    GenerateCharacterization    REG_DWORD       0x1
    FilterFilesWithUnknownExtensions    REG_DWORD       0x0
    MaxCharacterization REG_DWORD       0x140

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlset\Control\ContentIndex\Catalogs\We
b\Scopes

    c:\inetpub\wwwroot\ REG_SZ  ,,3
    c:\windows\web\printers\    REG_SZ  ,,3
    c:\windows\help\iishelp\    REG_SZ  ,,3
    c:\program files\common files\business
objects\3.0\crystalreportviewers11\REG_SZ  ,,3

Please copy the following contents into a notepad file, save the file as
*.reg file and import the reg file:


! REG.EXE VERSION 3.0

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlset\Control\ContentIndex\Catalogs

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlset\Control\ContentIndex\Catalogs\Sy
stem
    Location    REG_SZ  C:\System Volume Information
    IsIndexingW3Svc     REG_DWORD       0x0
    IsIndexingNNTPSvc   REG_DWORD       0x0

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlset\Control\ContentIndex\Catalogs\Sy
stem\Properties
    A4790B72-7113-4348-97EA-292BBC1F6770 5      REG_SZ  31,500,1,1
    A4790B72-7113-4348-97EA-292BBC1F6770 6      REG_SZ  31,500,1,1

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlset\Control\ContentIndex\Catalogs\We
b
    Location    REG_SZ  C:\Inetpub
    IsIndexingW3Svc     REG_DWORD       0x1
    IsIndexingNNTPSvc   REG_DWORD       0x0
    W3SvcInstance       REG_DWORD       0x1
    GenerateCharacterization    REG_DWORD       0x1
    FilterFilesWithUnknownExtensions    REG_DWORD       0x0
    MaxCharacterization REG_DWORD       0x140

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlset\Control\ContentIndex\Catalogs\We
b\Scopes

    c:\inetpub\wwwroot\ REG_SZ  ,,3
    c:\windows\web\printers\    REG_SZ  ,,3
    c:\windows\help\iishelp\    REG_SZ  ,,3
    c:\program files\common files\business
objects\3.0\crystalreportviewers11\ REG_SZ  ,,3

In addition,  I suggest you refer to the following articles to install the
latest update for VSS in win2k3 server.

A Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) update-2 package is available
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=887827


A Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) update package is available for Windows
Server 2003

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;833167

If the issue persists, please collect the backup log and download the
mpsreport tool from the link below to gather the system information:

<http://download.microsoft.com/download/b/b/1/bb139fcb-4aac-4fe5-a579-30b0bd
915706/MPSRPT_SETUPPerf.EXE>

1.        Double click this file to run it.
2.        After that, please go to C:\windows\MPSReports\Setup\Reports\Cab .
3.        Find a file named [COMPUTERNAME]_MPSReports.CAB
4.        Send this cab file to me at v-r***@microsoft.com

I look forward to your reply.

Best regards,

Rebecca Chen

MCSE2000 MCDBA CCNA


Microsoft Online Partner Support
Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security

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