Troubleshooting VSS Writer Error

Symptoms

Backup task may fail with Exit Code -311.
When Exit Code -311 occurs, please open the <Unixtime>.log in the logs folder of the installation path.
If the following error is recorded in the task log, it's very likely that the snapshot could not be created due to a VSS Writer error.

Error sample

—- log excerpt —-
07/13/2017 04:37:54.439 VssStart()
07/13/2017 04:37:54.538 Using Common Provider
07/13/2017 04:40:43.790 com exception caught(0x8000ffff) in VssStart
07/13/2017 04:40:43.957 [07/13/2017 13:40:43.787] OUTPUT:
ERROR: Selected writer ‘System Writer’ is in failed state!
   – Status: 9 (VSS_WS_FAILED_AT_FREEZE)
   – Writer Failure code: 0x800423f2 (<Unknown error code>)
   – Writer ID: {e8132975-6f93-4464-a53e-1050253ae220}
   – Instance ID: {ab13e0da-0a8b-48c4-ab4f-eabe2b3d01fe}
——————

In case of this error, the meaning of Writer Failure code: 0x800423f2 is VSS_E_WRITERERROR_TIMEOUT.
Therefore, this error means that a snapshot could not be created because a timeout occurred when freeze.

It is a main error of each VSS Writer.

0x800423f1 :
VSS_E_WRITERERROR_OUTOFRESOURCES

MessageText :
Indicates that the writer failed due to an out of memory, out of handles, or other resource allocation failure.

0x800423f2 :
VSS_E_WRITERERROR_TIMEOUT

MessageText :
Indicates that the writer failed due to a timeout between freeze and thaw.

0x800423f3 :
VSS_E_WRITERERROR_RETRYABLE

MessageText :
Indicates that the writer failed due to an error that might not occur if another snapshot is created.

0x800423f4 :
VSS_E_WRITERERROR_NONRETRYABLE

MessageText :
Indicates that the writer failed due to an error that most likely would occur if another snapshot is created.

Workarounds

– 0x800423f1

This is caused by insufficient resources, please resolve the resources issue.

1) Perform backup after OS reboot

2) Upgrade to AIP2018
AIP2018 has been changed specifically to address this error.

If you cannot solve with either method, please investigate the root cause from the Windows event log.

– 0x800423f2

Writer timeout (default value 60 seconds) occurs and is due to high disk I/O, insufficient memory, or a high CPU load.

1) Please schedule the backup during low disk I/O

2) Upgrade to AIP2018
AIP2018 has been changed to specifically address this error.
If a timeout occurs even after retrying, please back up in a time when the load is low.

– 0x800423f3

Due to Writer’s retry error, please perform backup again at intervals or OS reboot and perform backup.

1）Retry backup

2) Perform backup after OS reboot

3) Upgrade to AIP2018
AIP2018 has been changed to specifically address this error.

If you cannot solve with either method, please investigate the root cause from the Windows event log.

– 0x800423f4

Due to Writer’s non-retry error, it is necessary to investigate the root cause from the Windows event log.

Target Product

– ActiveImage Protector 3.5 / 2016 /2018 Windows
– ActiveImage Protector 4 / 5