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Please use the following steps on Cannot start shadow copy (VSS_E_WRITERERROR_NONRETRYABLE) (VSS Event 8193 - Access is denied).

Symptom:

When performing an MS SQL database backup job, the following backup error is received in the backup report:

Cannot start shadow copy, reason=The writer operation failed because of an error that might recur if another shadow copy is created.
(VSS_E_WRITERERROR_ NONRETRYABLE)

Cause:

At the same time the following errors appear in Windows Application Event log:

Log Name: Application
Source: VSS
Date: DD/MM/YYYY h:mm:ss
Event ID: 8193
Task Category: None
Level: Error
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A Computer: Computer_name Description:
Volume Shadow Copy Service error: Unexpected error calling routine RegOpenKeyExW(-2147483646,SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\VSS\Diag,...). hr = 0x80070005, Access is denied.

Note

This issue will often occure after installing the DHCP role on the MS SQL server.

Resolution:

To resolve the issue, assign Full Control permissions to the Network Service account for the registry key:

  1. Open Registry Editor from the Windows Start menu.
  2. Browse to:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\VSS\Diag
  3. Right click on Diag, then click Permissions option in the context menu.
  4. Find Network Service in the list and assign the Full Control permissions.
  5. Click OK, then restart the server afterward.