A Volume Shadow Copy Service Component Encountered an Unexpected Error

Scenario

My external hard drive that backing up my computer data weekly states that the backup could not be done because "a volume shadow copy service component encountered an unexpected error". Can anybody help me to solve this? Thank you!

Overview of the error

When you try to do a backup, you may get windows backup a volume shadow copy service component encountered an unexpected error. Actually, the error occurs not only during backup, but also during System Restore.

When your computer runs slowly or stops responding, you may need to revert the system to the previous state by performing System Restore. And you are likely to get this error which says: System Restore does not appear to be functioning correctly on this system. A Volume Shadow Copy Service component encountered an unexpected error. Check the Application event log for more information. (0x80042302)

The most common cause of this error is a Volume Shadow Copy service that is not running. This service creates backups of Windows while in use and it is also required for System Restore to work properly. Another possible cause is that a key system file is missing or corrupts.

How to fix this error?

To fix this error, you can try the following 4 methods.

Method 1. Set Volume Shadow Copy Service to Automatic

When you get volume shadow copy service error in Windows 7/8/10, the first thing you should do is to check whether Volume Shadows Copy Service is on or not. The Volume Shadow Copy utility from Windows creates backups of Windows while in use. If this service is disabled, a Shadow Copy could not be created. Therefore, you should manually set Volume Shadow Copy to Automatic.

1. Click Start, type services.msc in the Run dialog box or in the Search bar. Press Enter to open the Services utility.

2. Find the Volume Shadow Copy item from the list.

3. Check the Status column corresponding to this item. If it is not running, click Start the service from the left menu in order to start it.

4. Right-click on Volume Shadow Copy and click Properties

5. Set Startup Type on Automatic

Method 2. Run SFC

The System File Checker (SFC) utility allows users to scan for corrupted Windows system files and attempt to repair any corrupted files.

1. Click Start and type cmd in the search box.

2. Right-click on Command Prompt from the search results list. Select Run as Administrator

3. Type: sfc /scannow

4. Then hit Enter and restart your computer.

Methods 3. Disable security software

Security software may also cause this error. Disable any security software on the system and check if the issue persists.

Note: disabling Security software is a potential threat to the system, so enable the security software once you are done with the troubleshooting.

Method 4. Perform a clean boot

If the error 0x80042302 was triggered when opening the System Restore utility, performing a clean boot might fix the issue.

To do a clean boot of your Windows, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, type msconfig.exe in the search box and click msconfig from the list.

2. At the General tab, uncheck the Load startup items.

3. At the Service tab, check Hide all Microsoft services and then click Disable all.

4. Click OK. Then click Restart.

A better backup and restore software to protect your computer

Both Windows Backup and Restore tool and System Restore rely on Volume Shadow Copy to create image backup and restore points. Once there is a problem with Volume Shadows Copy, backup and restore will not work. You may receive error like A Volume Shadow Copy Service component encountered an unexpected error or something alike.

Besides, Windows Backup and Restore tool and System Restore have their own limitation. For example, you cannot create incremental backup with Windows Backup and Restore tool. System Restore will not protect all your data. It does not affect any of your documents, pictures, or other personal data.

Therefore, it’s time to find a better and more powerful backup and restore software to protect your computer.

AOMEI Backupper Standard is a professional backup and restore software. It has embedded with both Microsoft VSS technology and AOMEI built-in VSS technology. Therefore, even if there is any problem with Volume Shadows Copy Service, you can still create VSS backup with the help of AOMEI Backupper. Also, you can create incremental backup easily.

Create VSS backup with AOMEI Backupper

Take system backup as an example. Let’s see how to create VSS backup with AOMEI Backupper.

Step 1: Download AOMEI Backupper and launch the software. Click System Backup under the Backup tab.

Step 2. Select another location as the destination path. (You do not need to choose the source, it will choose automatically.)

Step 3: Click Options > Backup Mode > Backup Service, choose Use Microsoft VSS. There are two options: Use Microsoft VSS and Use AOMEI Backup Service.

If the VSS has problems, you can choose to use AOMEI Backup Service in order to backup without interrupting and restarting the computer.

Tips: You can also click Schedule to create incremental backup.

Step 4: After all this done, click Start Backup.

Tips: When you encounter this issue: a volume shadow copy service component encounter an unexpected error in Server 2008, please refer to AOMEI Backupper Server.

Conclusion

When your meet A Volume Shadow Copy Service Component Encountered an Unexpected Error in Windows 7/8/10, you can follow the above-mentioned methods to solve this issue. If you cannot solve this issue, you can still use AOMEI to create VSS backup under its built-in technology. With image backup created by AOMEI Backupper, you can quickly and easily restore your computer to previous good state.

If you want to protect unlimited computers within your company, you can pick AOMEI Backupper Technician. With the inbuilt AOMEI Image Deploy tool, you are also allowed to deploy/restore system image file on server-side computer to multiple client-side computers over network.