In this post, we will see what you must do if you get error 0x80042314L, VSS encountered problems while sending events to writers and VSS fails to back up any open files or files that are in use at the time of the backup. Sometimes, the backup fails even when the file is not in use.
Fix 0x80042314L: VSS encountered problems while sending events to writers
If you encounter error 0x80042314L, VSS encountered problems while sending events to writers, follow the solutions mentioned below.
- Make sure no file is open at the time of backup
- Restart Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) or time it on
- Take a backup in the Clean Boot state
- Increase shadow storage space
Let us talk about them in detail.
1] Make sure no file is open at the time of backup
First of all, we need to make sure that no file is open at the time of backup. You can close any files and then refresh your desktop. Now, you can take the backup. In case, you still receive the same error message, reboot your system and then check if the issue is resolved. Rebooting the system will voluntarily close all the files if they are not configured to open at startup.
2] Restart Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) or turn it on
You may encounter this issue due to a glitch in the Volume Shadow Copy service (VSS). However, it is a temporary glitch and can be easily resolved by restarting the service in question. To do the same, follow the steps mentioned below.
- Open Services from the Start Menu.
- Look for Volume Shadow Copy service (VSS).
- Right-click on it and select Restart.
Finally, check if the issue is resolved. In case, the service is not running, you need to start it.
3] Take a backup in the Clean Boot state
A third party can make your operating system think that a file is open and because of this, VSS is unable to complete the backup. In that case, we need to start your computer in a Clean Boot State. If the backup is completed without any hindrance, to find out what’s the error, enable apps manually one by one. This will do the job for you.
4] Increase shadow storage space
If VSS error 0x80042314L is caused by a lack of storage, we need to increase the shadow storage space. To do the same, open Command Prompt as an administrator and then run the following command.
vssadmin list shadowstorage
Now, enter the following command to add more storage, you can change the 10 GB to any amount of space you want.
vssadmin resize shadowstorage /For=C: /On=C: /MaxSize=10GB
Hopefully, this will fix the issue.
We hope that you are able to resolve the issue using the solutions mentioned in this post.
Also Read: Fix VSS Error Code 0x8004231f, Failed to create Volume Snapshot
How do I fix VSS writer issues?
Mostly VSS writer issue is caused when there is some glitch in the VSS service. In that case, our best option is to restart the service from the Service Manager. To do the same, open Service Manager, right-click on Volume Shadow Copy service (VSS), and select Restart. If that doesn’t work, increase shadow storage space.
Read: Use Vssadmin command-line to manage VSS in Windows
What causes VSS writers to fail?
VSS Writers will fail if there is a shortage of space on the system. In that case, you need to increase the shadow storage space as mentioned earlier in this post. If that doesn’t work, restart the VSS service.
Also Read: The VSS service is shutting down due to idle timeout.
