Not enough disk space to create the volume shadow copy ...

mjf said:

Proteus,
you may get more responses if you start a new thread.

I'll try to copy and move the original posting to a new thread tonight...

For the time being:
You have ~96 GB on C: which suggest a reasonable amount of data (excluding the operating system and installed programs). I am guessing you have a scheduled backup that includes both file/folder (essentially personal data) and system image options.

I do one scheduled backup a week.

What you could do in Backup settings is to select "Let me choose"...

I am already using the "Let Me Choose" option. Essentially, all that is included in a backup (other than the system image) are a few file important files containing software licenses etc. and the 5 of my 7 Libraries that see regular activity. They total about 12 Gb worth of content at present. The other 2 libraries (Music and Videos) are assigned to the P: drive to be taken care of by Sync Toy.

...and deselect the create an image option. Then use the "Create a system image" (left on backup and restore screen) button to manually create system images when you feel it is necessary.

This is one of the things that puzzles me. It's true that my backs are configured to include a system image, but in one of the images in my previous post, you'll also note that one of the backup settings instructs that only the latest system image is to be retained. Shouldn't that mean that there would be only 1 system image among the data backups?

I'm also guessing that a lot of the data on your C: partition is fairly static. It is best to keep this on a separate partition and back it up separately. You could create a data partition on C: but that depends on how comfortable you are in doing this.

You're referring to a C: partition...the C: drive is a separate drive as are the O: and P: drives both separate individual drives, not partitions of another drive. About the only thing that IS backed up on the C: drive is data. I had the same problem with the backup drive filling up when I Windows was limited to 139 Gb for backup data storage. Windows apparently ignored that letting and simply filled the O: drive. That's why I change that setting to instruct Windows to keep only 1 the newest system image. What I need is a setting that limits the total amount of storage Windows is allowed to use in addition to that 1 system image, right?

Thanks for your input...I am appreciating the help!

mjf said:

You seem to be doing your general backup in a sensible way except I would still make system images manually. I also recommend making only one image otherwise difference images will be stored in shadow storage.

So what you suggest is that I un-check the box in the image above that reads, "Include a system image..."

Is that what you are recommending?

mjf said:

mjf said:

Given your backup settings, "Data file backup" is consuming most of the ext HDD. What do you see when you press "View Backups"?

I'm suggesting you provide this information

This is what I see NOW after deleting the backups from Jan 2013 thru May 2013 to gain 130 Gb of free space.

The comparatively large backup came as a result of my storing many Gb of movies from UTube.

mjf said:

That explains it then. Your file/folder backup data sets are the major culprit in filling up your ext HDD. The data set 9/18/ to 12/26/13 is another big one. I'm sure you know what to do - keep them small and restrict their number.
I would still perform images manually and probably add an extra partition to disk 0 if it was me. At the very least don't put too much on disk 0 c: partition.

One last thing...please explain "add an extra partition to disc O..." and "don't put too much on disk O c: partition".

Why do you suggest partitioning the O disk? What is the purpose of the partition? O: is a separate drive within my tower and it's only function is to hold the backups. All of its storage is devoted to backups.

I am still confused about why you refer to a "c partiton" on disk O? The C: drive and the O: drive are physically separate drives. There are no partitions on either one.

He is referring to the number of the disk on the left, in this case 0 (Zero) which your C partition and system reserved partition are on.

Your lettered O drive is disk 1.

Seems that there has been little posted in the last weeks that would shed additional light on the issue as originally described.

I just wanted to share some additional observations and add some final notes to the thread. They may or may not help others faced with the same issue.

Just to be clear - I use "create a system image" as the primary backup for Win7 machines. I do not backup on a schedule nor do I set up Windows Backup. I image based on significant changes or updates to the OS and installed programs. The issue as described effects the "reserved" partition free space. The issue breaks MS System Imaging. Although there are analogous free space requirements for other partitions used in the system image process, it appears that lack of space on the reserved partition is by far the most common cause of failure to create a system image. MS has not documented the process sufficiently for one to be able to say with certainty what the root cause of the basic issue is - so I draw conclusions based on what can be observed. The best info I found is at the link in post #26.

It should be pointed out, that Win7 installs a "System Reserved" partition of 100 MB and does not give it a drive letter. Seems safe to assume it has *THAT* specific name for a reason [duh]. Evidently, a primary cause of the described issue is other applications using that partition for their own incompatible proprietary purposes. That is *not* an MS or System Image issue. 100 MB is fully sufficient for System Reserved if used as designed and space/shadow copy information is not hijacked by incompatible applications. If anyone has information that proves otherwise - post it.

The best examples of rogue programs utilizing system reserved are BitDefender [USN journals], Acronis and Clonezilla [proprietary shadow copy issues]. There are undoubtedly others. The general conclusion for me was - use the native Windows backup restore system or use the others. The others apparently trash the system reserved partition. I personally think that the native Win7 backup/restore system is superior [pretty much the MS equivalent of Acronis TrueImage 8] and am staying with that. I use it regularly. ymmv

The observations in posts #9 and #10 of this thread seem to be accurate. I have not found anything from MS that would describe how to present a detailed list of what "uses" the space on System Reserved. I still believe the space is taken by shadow copy data that is not visible. For me, a "normal" system has about 30-37 MB of used space, which demonstrably does not match what is displayed [about 14 MB in all] - when the System Reserved is given a drive letter. It is also worth noting, that the Disk Cleanup/More Options/System Restore and Shadow Copies option becomes available when SYstem Reserved has a drive letter, however the effect of using that option is not clear - once again, a lack of documentation on the part of MS. This may be intentional by MS - makes other vendors figure it out on their own.

As to the Volume Shadow Copy Service - starting or stopping/starting the service can have an effect as noted in post #9, but not always. As noted by others, simply waiting [we wait 20 to 30 min] and rechecking the partition, showed that Win7 cleared the extra space needed on its own, without any intervention. This behavior is also not documented. There is obviously background activity on the part of Win7 taking place. Pretty much all MS recommendations as to the the Volume Shadow Copy Service specify setting start-up to Automatic or Automatic-Delayed, even though that is not the default for a standard installation.

As previously noted by others, what does seem to be an MS/System Imaqe issue is that you are sometimes unable to create a System Image "on demand", as there is no way to clear sufficient disk space on System Reserved "on demand" if there is insufficient space. Ultimately, you are forced to wait until the OS "creates" the space on it's own.

I have concluded, that a 100 MB System Reserved is fully sufficient for the intended use and setting up the Volume Shadow copy service to start automatically [either way] seems to prevent lack of free space. So the Issue is not resolved, but those choosing to use an MS imaging solution may now have a better idea of what worked [and continues to work] for us. From what I can see, MS does not have a standard response to the issue, which is a shame.

HTH

Windows 7 backup fails with error 0x81000019 - Microsoft Community