342 - WSB plugin: system state failure scenarios

Modified on Mon, 21 Jul at 12:55 PM

There are various reasons why the WSB plugin could fail, such as:

WSB plugin failure due to missing VSS writer
WSB plugin failure due to SCSI controller drivers
WSB plugin installed but not shown in GUI

For a list of other possible reasons, check out the Note section below.

WSB plugin failure due to missing VSS writer

Symptom

One such reason is that the required VSS writer is missing. The system state plugin using WSB fails during the back up with the following error in the Server Edition backup log:

Message: 19:00:02 Performing system state backup
Message: 19:00:02 Waiting for wbadmin to complete.
Warning: 19:00:34 [System State (WSB)]: System state backup failed: Exit Code = -3

Cause

To confirm the staus of the system state backup and help determine the failure, run the following command:

C:\>wbadmin get status

Example of output:

C:\>wbadmin get status
wbadmin 1.0 - Backup command-line tool

(C) Copyright 2004 Microsoft Corp.

Creating the shadow copy of volumes requested for backup.

Creating the shadow copy of volumes requested for backup.

Summary of backup:

------------------

Backup of system state failed [7/21/2011 5:16 PM]

Log of files successfully backed up

'C:\Windows\Logs\WindowsServerBackup\SystemStateBackup 21-07-2011 17-16-27.log'

Log of files for which backup failed

'C:\Windows\Logs\WindowsServerBackup\SystemStateBackup_Error 21-07-2011 17-16-27

.log'

System writer is not found in the backup.

Note the last line in the output above.
The system state VSS writer is not found and is the cause of the failure.

Solution

Full Microsoft Knowledge Base article: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2009272

To resolve this issue, type the following commands from an elevated command prompt:

Takeown /f %windir%\winsxs\temp\PendingRenames /a
icacls %windir%\winsxs\temp\PendingRenames /grant "NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM:(RX)"
icacls %windir%\winsxs\temp\PendingRenames /grant "NT Service\trustedinstaller:(F)"
icacls %windir%\winsxs\temp\PendingRenames /grant BUILTIN\Users:(RX)
Takeown /f %windir%\winsxs\filemaps\* /a
icacls %windir%\winsxs\filemaps\*.* /grant "NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM:(RX)"
icacls %windir%\winsxs\filemaps\*.* /grant "NT Service\trustedinstaller:(F)"
icacls %windir%\winsxs\filemaps\*.* /grant BUILTIN\Users:(RX)

net stop cryptsvc
net start cryptsvc

Run the following command to verify that the system writer is now listed:
vssadmin list writers

WSB plugin failure due to SCSI controller drivers

Symptom

Another reason why the WSB plugin could fail is specific to Windows 2008 R2 machines running within VMware, and relates to the SCSI controller drivers.

Note: Windows 2008 R2 is end-of-life as of 14 January 2020.

The system state plugin using WSB fails during the back up (after some time) with the following error in the Server Edition backup log:

Message: 19:00:02 Performing system state backup
Message: 19:00:02 Waiting for wbadmin to complete.
Warning: 19:15:28 [System State (WSB)]: System state backup failed: Exit Code = -3

In the event logs, an event ID 517 sourced from 'Backup' is logged, containing the following:
"The backup operation that started at 'time' has failed with following error code '2155347997' (The operation ended before completion.). Please review the event details for a solution, and then rerun the backup operation once the issue is resolved."

Cause

This issue is specific to Windows 2008 R2 machines running within VMware, Xen or other virtualisation system, and relates to the SCSI controller drivers.

Solution

Using regedit, open the registry key HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\service\LSI_SAS
Modify the string value of IMAGEPATH from \SystemRoot\system32\drivers\lsi_sas.sys to system32\drivers\lsi_sas.sys
Reboot the machine and clear the Windows Image Backup path, then run a backup.

More details can be found on the following Technet page:
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/windowsbackup/thread/088fa0fd-6290-4250-bf63-f53fbb974298/

WSB plugin installed but not shown in GUI

Symptom

The system state (using WSB) plugin is installed, but is not shown in the Agent's plugin menu. Therefore it cannot be configured.

Cause

Java is used to detect the operating system version, and this is used to determine which system state plugin is loaded. Older versions of Java might identify the operating system incorrectly, e.g. it might identify Windows 2008 as Windows Vista. The incorrect operating system is then presented to Redstor Pro, which does not have a corresponding system state plugin for the OS and therefore does not load one.

Solution

In older versions of Java, the solution is to update the Java installation so that the correct OS version is detected. With the correct OS detected, Redstor Pro loads the correct system state plugin. If the Java version is older than 1.6.0_16, Windows 2008 is identified as Windows Vista. Java will need to be updated to 1.6.0_16 or a newer Java 6 version.

Note: This issue only affects Redstor Agents of v6 and older.

Note

The system state plugin using WSB could fail due to other reasons, such as:

A failed SharePoint upgrade - See this article for more information.
Microsoft Exchange having circular logging enabled - See this article for more information.