Fixed: “Windows Backup Found Errors on the Media”

User Case

“I need to back up a Win 10 system device and all devices. Backup runs a long time and then gives up with the error message: "Windows Backup has Found errors on the Media while saving a backup on it and cannot use it for additional backups." I always begin with a blank DVD. Please can you suggest why Windows Backup keep reporting this error. What's wrong?”

For Windows backup found errors on the media, there are some potential causes in the following and we will introduce you to the corresponding method. 

• The media does not have enough free space for backup.
• You insert multiple media on the computer.
• The backup process interferes with third-party software.
• The system files are damaged.

How to Fix “Windows Backup Found Errors on the Media”

In this article, I will focus on helping you solve the "Windows Backup found errors on the media" error. Four effective methods are provided below. Try to use them to solve this problem.

Method 1. Replace media with external hard drive

The main cause of this error is the media does not have enough free space, so you could consider replacing it with an external had drive. It has different volume size and you can select a larger drive with a proper price.

If you are sure it has but still receiving this error, this may be unallocated space on the disk. You can choose to create a new partition or directly extend partition size with unallocated space. 

To create a new partition with Disk Management：

1. Right-click the unallocated space and select New Simple Volume.

2. You will be asked to specify volume size, drive letter, file system, just do as suggested. 

To extend partition size with Disk Management:

1. Right-click the C: drive to the left of the unallocated space and select Extend Volume. 

2. Then, specify the size you want to extend and click Finish. 

Method 2. Uninstall Extra Input Media

According to some users, there is no problem with using a single input media for backup. However, when there are multiple input media on the computer, there are potential capacity issues. Disconnect all additional peripheral storage devices connected to your machine, and then try to perform a Windows 10 backup again.

Method 3. Perform a Clean Boot

If this error message “Windows Backup found errors on the media” still appears after disconnecting the additional storage device, I suggest you perform a clean boot on your computer to check if there is any third-party software interfering with Windows 10 backup issues.

To perform a clean boot in Windows 10, follow the steps below:

1. In the search box on the taskbar, type msconfig and select System Configuration from the results.

2. Then you will open System Configuration window, click Services tab. Select Hide all Microsoft services, and then select Disable all.

3. On the Startup tab of System Configuration, select Open Task Manager.

4. In Task Manager, click Startup. For each startup item, select the item and then select Disable.

5. Then close Task Manager and click OK in the System Configuration window. Restart the system.

Check if the problem is resolved. If the problem is resolved, check which third party caused the problem. After troubleshooting, please follow the steps below to reset your computer to start normally:

1. Open System Configuration window as mentioned before.
2. In the Services tab, click the Hide all Microsoft services checkbox. Click the checkbox for the conflicting startup service to deselect it and then select Enable all.
3. Then open Task Manager to enable startup programs that do not interfere with Windows 10 backup.
4. Click OK in the System Configuration window and select Restart.

Method 4. Run SFC Command

If you still get errors after performing a clean boot, you can try to scan your system disk to see if the system files are damaged. To scan your system disk, you can use SFC command.

1. Type cmd in the search box and click Run as administrator to open Command Prompt.

2. Then type the below code in the Command Prompt window, and hit Enter.

☞ sfc /scannow

After the process is complete, restart the computer to see if you can create a system image on Windows 10.

The Easiest and Fastest Way to Create System Images for All Windows

Although Windows has built-in backup tools to help you create a system image and data backup, there may be many problems in the process of use. The “Windows Backup found errors on the media” discussed in this article is one of them. And you may encounter other errors, such as, system image backup failed in Windows 10 (0x80780119), the backup failed (0x80780038), etc. will also prevent you from successfully backing up Windows.

In order to avoid these problems, I recommend you to use Free third-party backup and restore software to help you back up your Windows. AOMEI Backupper Standard is embedded with abundant features including backup, recovery, clone, and sync for Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP. Its interface is very concise and the operation is very simple. All operations can be completed in just a few clicks, no special skills are required. To be specific: 

✵ Provide 4 backup types: You can perform System Backup, File Backup, Disk Backup, Partition Backup. You can use it to backup specific folders, files, disks. And you run it as a scheduled task with the help of daily, weekly, monthly backup. 
✵ Different backup destinations: You can create a backup to local disk, external device (USB, HDD, SSD, etc.), cloud disk, NAS or network shared folder. And you can keep data always safe by following the 3-2-1 backup strategy. 
✵ Create bootable media: You can use it to restore the system backup created by AOMEI Backupper especially when your windows system has crashed and cannot boot up correctly.
✵ Support 3 backup compression level: It provides 3 image compression level for you to choose, so you certainly will not have the not enough space issue.

Stepwise Guide to Backing up Windows with AOMEI Backupper

In this part, I will show you how to use AOMEI Backupper to create a system image on Windows.

Step 1. Free download this backup and restore tool. Then install and open AOMEI Backupper. It also provides a Server backup tool for Windows Server users.

Step 2. Click the Backup tab and then select System Backup.

Tip✍: If you want to back up the system and all the data on the system disk, please select Disk Backup.

Step 3. The program will select all the system and boot related partitions automatically, so you just need to select the destination path. It’s recommended to save the backup to external hard drive, NAS or other offsite locations.

Step 4. You can set special settings for your backup by clicking on the 3 options in the lower left corner of this program. After confirming all settings, click Start Backup.

Tips✍:
✡ Options: You can customize the backup image file by compressing, splitting, and commenting the image.
✡ Schedule Backup: It allows you to automatically back up data on a regular basis, which can improve data security to a large extent. 5 choices are provided: Daily, Weekly, Monthly, USB plug in, Event triggers. The last 2 are available at least in Pro edition.
✡ Backup Scheme: It provides you with 3 backup methods, Full Backup, Incremental and Differential Backup. You can also delete old backups to free up disk space while keep the latest backup versions (available on AOMEI Backupper Professional at least).

Summary

Hope you can solve the error message "Windows Backup found errors on the media" through the methods provided in this article. In order to save your time and energy, it is recommended that you use AOMEI Backupper to protect your system and data. As you can see in the graphic tutorial above, creating a system image with AOMEI is very simple.

With its help, you will no longer be troubled by those Windows backup issues. If you want to restore the system image backup to another computer which has dissimilar hardware in the future, it is suggested to try Universal Restore feature of Professional edition or higher.