Event ID 12305 — Volume Shadow Copy Service Operations

Applies To: Windows Server 2008 R2

The Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) provides the ability to create a point in time image (shadow copy) of one or more volumes that can be used to perform backups. The service is also used during restores of applications.

Event Details

Product: Windows Operating System
ID: 12305
Source: VSS
Version: 6.1
Symbolic Name: VSS_ERROR_DEVICE_NOT_CONNECTED
Message: Volume Shadow Copy Service error: Volume/disk not connected or not found. Error context: %1. %2

Resolve

Ensure that the volume shadow copy disk and shadow copy storage area volume are accessible

If a volume is dismounted or disconnected while its shadow copy is being created, or if cluster failover occurs during Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) operations, then VSS may not be able to create shadow copies.

To resolve this issue, ensure that both the volume shadow copy disk and the volume shadow copy storage area volume are accessible from the operating system, and check that the VSS service is enabled. If that does not work, restart the computer.

To perform this procedure, you must have membership in Administrators, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority.

Ensure that the volume shadow copy disk and the volume shadow copy storage area volume are accessible from the operating system

To ensure that the volume shadow copy disk and the volume shadow copy storage area volume are accessible from the operating system:

  1. Click Start, click Run, type diskmgmt.msc, and then click OK.
  2. In Disk Management, click View, click Top, and then select Disk List.
  3. In Disk Management, click View, click Bottom, and then select Volume List.
  4. Ensure that Disk Management displays an Online status for fixed disks and a Healthy status for volumes. For disk status descriptions, see https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=103403. For volume status descriptions, see https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=103404.

Check that the VSS service is enabled

To check that the VSS service is enabled:

  1. Click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Services.
  2. In the results pane, double-click Volume Shadow Copy.
  3. Ensure that Startup type is set to Manual.
  4. Click OK.

Verify

To verify that the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) is operating correctly, retry the previous VSS operation.

Volume Shadow Copy Service Operations

File Services