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Article: 100020300
Last Published: 2021-07-20
Ratings: 48 21
Product(s): Backup Exec, System Recovery
Problem
How to check the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) provider/writer status.
Solution
To check the VSS provider/writer status.
1. Open a command window. Click Start > Run and type CMD, and then click OK.
2. At the command prompt, type vssadmin list providers, and then press ENTER.
3. Confirm that Microsoft VSS provider is listed as:
1. Open a command window. Click Start > Run and type CMD, and then click OK.
2. At the command prompt, type vssadmin list providers, and then press ENTER.
3. Confirm that Microsoft VSS provider is listed as:
- Microsoft Software Shadow Copy provider 1.0

4. Type
vssadmin list writers at the command prompt, and then press ENTER.
5. Confirm that all the VSS writers are showing:
5. Confirm that all the VSS writers are showing:
- State: [1] Stable
- No error
NOTE: If any errors are found with a specific writer, contact the writer's corresponding application manufacturer technical support for further assistance.
VSS Writers and associated Windows services.
NOTE: Restarting services may affect the stability of the Operating system or Applications.
VSS Writer Name | Service Name | Service Display Name |
ASR Writer | VSS | Volume Shadow Copy |
BITS Writer | BITS | Background Intelligent Transfer Service |
COM+ REGDB Writer | VSS | Volume Shadow Copy |
DFS Replication service writer | DFSR | DFS Replication |
DHCP Jet Writer | DHCPServer | DHCP Server |
FRS Writer | NtFrs | File Replication |
FSRM writer | srmsvc | File Server Resource Manager |
IIS Config Writer | AppHostSvc | Application Host Helper Service |
IIS Metabase Writer | IISADMIN | IIS Admin Service |
Microsoft Exchange Writer | MSExchangeIS | Microsoft Exchange Information Store |
Microsoft Hyper-V VSS Writer | vmms | Hyper-V Virtual Machine Management |
NTDS | NTDS | Active Directory Domain Services |
OSearch VSS Writer | OSearch | Office SharePoint Server Search |
OSearch14 VSS Writer | OSearch14 | SharePoint Server Search 14 |
Registry Writer | VSS | Volume Shadow Copy |
Shadow Copy Optimization Writer | VSS | Volume Shadow Copy |
SPSearch VSS Writer | SPSearch | Windows SharePoint Services Search |
SPSearch4 VSS Writer | SPSearch4 | SharePoint Foundation Search V4 |
SqlServerWriter | SQLWriter | SQL Server VSS Writer |
System Writer | CryptSvc | Cryptographic Services |
TermServLicensing | TermServLicensing | Remote Desktop Licensing |
WINS Jet Writer | WINS | Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) |
WMI Writer | Winmgmt | Windows Management Instrumentation |