Shadow Copy Creation Period Is Exceeded (code 2417)

Applies to: Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2

Situation

A backup plan terminates with the following error: Shadow copy creation period is exceeded

The event log contains the following ID: 12298 and the following records: Volume Shadow Copy Service error: The I/O writes cannot be held during the shadow copy creation period on volume {volume name}. The volume index in the shadow copy set is {index}

Cause

This error occurs in the case when Volume Shadow Copy Service is not able to allocate enough system resources to perform an operation.

Solution

Note that in some cases several VSS errors can occur at the same time, and the recommendations described below may not be helpful

Follow Microsoft best practices to work around the case. Refer to the Event ID 12298 — Volume Shadow Copy Service Operations and Event ID 12298 — VSS Shadow Copy Creation and Storage Space Availability chapters at docs.microsoft.com

Note that the procedures above can be changed by Microsoft. Use the link above to ensure the recommendations are up to date

Check The System Performance and Resources

Possible workarounds include:

Reduce the system or I/O load and retry the operation, or schedule Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) or other operations during the least busy periods for the computer
Check the shadow copy storage area association and configuration. If necessary, move the shadow copy storage area (also called the "diff area") to a volume with more storage capacity
If the computer is not low on resources, you should contact the vendor that supplied the shadow copy hardware provider

To perform these procedures, you must be a member of the Administrators group, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority.

Check the Shadow Copy Storage Area Association and Configuration

To check the shadow copy storage area association and configuration:

Open an elevated Command Prompt. Click Start, click All Programs, click Accessories, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator.
Type vssadmin list shadowstorage, and then press Enter.
Use vssadmin commands as needed to change the shadow copy storage area association and configuration. If necessary, move the volume shadow copy storage area to a different, dedicated volume to improve performance. For more information, see the "Move the volume shadow copy storage area to a volume with more storage capacity.

Note: To successfully create a shadow copy, at least one NTFS file system volume is required with at least 300 MB of free space. Do not store the volume shadow copy storage area on a storage device that can be easily removed from the computer. Do not select the volume shadow copy storage area on a storage device that may not be available to Windows until the system startup sequence is completed. For example, a logical unit number (LUN) created on an Internet SCSI (iSCSI) storage subsystem might not appear until a software initiator has started

For more information about the vssadmin command, see https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=103401.

Move The Volume Shadow Copy Storage Area To A Volume With More Storage Capacity

To move the volume shadow copy storage area to a different volume, proceed as follows:

Caution: When you change the location of the shadow copy storage area, all previous shadow copies are deleted

Click Start, and then click Computer.
Right-click any of the volumes listed, and then click Configure Shadow Copies.
Click the volume that is currently used for the volume shadow copy storage area, and then click Settings.

Note: If shadow copies of the volume are enabled, you must first disable them by clicking the volume, and then click Disable

Set the volume shadow copy area volume to a volume with more storage capacity by selecting the volume from the drop-down list under Storage area, and then click OK.
Make sure that the volume is still selected, and click Enable. If you are asked to confirm that you want to enable shadow copies, click Yes.
Click OK to exit.