Vista Shadow Copy Problem (Very Weird!)

[ProclaimDragon]

Anyone has any more info on the subject?

[biggy83]

Anyone has any more info on the subject?

I haven't until now found any solution yet!

@ Nazgulled: How did you install Vista in your machine? update or clean install?

[JamesCherrill]

What versions of Vista are you running? Shadow Copy is Business/Ultimate only, Home users don't need to restore files (Thanks Microsoft).

[StandingInAlley]

I am assuming you are running Vista Ultimate or Business or Enterprise version right because Volume Shadow Copy is not available in other sku's

[NiteJammin]

Welcome to Vista. Find a better OS.

Anyways as for your problem since the "new os" is not going to happen for you, it sounds like you have some files that are corrupted or missing. Check your event viewer and see if it reports anything about volume shadow copy or system restore. Check back as far as you can go for it.

[Beastage]

Welcome to Vista. Find a better OS.

Anyways as for your problem since the "new os" is not going to happen for you, it sounds like you have some files that are corrupted or missing. Check your event viewer and see if it reports anything about volume shadow copy or system restore. Check back as far as you can go for it.

You are an idiot, kthx and bye.

Now, I have the same issue with vista ultimate 32bit (legit just to make clear), I tried reinstalling vista didn't help

Exactly the same issue to all filesi tried (about 50 diffrent ones).

MS guys any idea?

[Guest xiphi]

Oddly enough, I've just now began to encounter this problem.

/me searches for fix

[franzon]

it sounds like you have some files that are corrupted or missing.

using a registry cleaner is the number one cause of those failures. Don't use registry cleaners! :D

Edited November 2, 2007 by franzon

[Guest xiphi]

I was able to perform a System Restore and that seems to have fixed it. Just wonder what caused it in the first place.

[O'Neill]

I ahd this problem months and months ago (and tried to find a solution here).

Only a total reinstall fixed it.

[Guest xiphi]

I hope someone can stumble upon a solution. I don't want to have to keep using SR to temporarily fix a problem. I haven't encountered the problem, again, since I did the SR, though.

[Beastage]

I hope someone can stumble upon a solution. I don't want to have to keep using SR to temporarily fix a problem. I haven't encountered the problem, again, since I did the SR, though.

Well you are the key :)

What did you do before system restore? what did you do to cause the problem? you have to remember , anything you installed, or a tool you ran, any tweaker?

[Guest xiphi]

That's the thing. I was just doing what I normally do: chatting, surfing the net, working on php or my mirc script, playing games. I also use CCleaner and TuneUp Utilities regularly. Whatever is on my pc has been installed for a while.

I honestly can't think of anything that would cause it. Even tried retracing my steps, but that didn't work. Hopefully one of these days a solution (and hopefully the source of the problem) will be found, either in SP1 or some other way.

I'll post here if I happen to find out anything.

[Blaine]

Are you guys all using third party defragmenters? Diskeeper 2008 supports volume shadow copies, the previous version did not and it would erase the previous versions of files. I'm not sure if other defraggers suffer this problem or not, but it's worth looking into.

Edited November 4, 2007 by Blaine

[Guest xiphi]

Only 3rd party defragmenter I ever used was Diskeeper 2008 (which was only for a few days), and that was before this problem occured.

Previous Versions will still work even if the Shadow Copies were deleted.

I believe I've narrowed it down to either a corrupt twext.dll (Previous Versions property tab) or missing/incorrect registry settings.

This is what it looks like when there are no Shadow Copies available.

[Beastage]

That's the thing. I was just doing what I normally do: chatting, surfing the net, working on php or my mirc script, playing games. I also use CCleaner and TuneUp Utilities regularly. Whatever is on my pc has been installed for a while.

I honestly can't think of anything that would cause it. Even tried retracing my steps, but that didn't work. Hopefully one of these days a solution (and hopefully the source of the problem) will be found, either in SP1 or some other way.

I'll post here if I happen to find out anything.

Aha! I use TuneUp Utilities as well on regural basis, tho I minimized usage with it since I found the problem with shadow copies... one of the tools there can defiantly be the problem

[Guest xiphi]

Beastage, since you have TuneUp Utilities, search the whole registry for twext.dll. I believe you should be able to find 18 entries.

[envoy]

You need file and printer sharing installed and active on your Local area connection. That is why clean installs fix it (as F&PS is enabled and installed by default)

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/937862/en-us

It bugged me for ages as well until i went to MS support. Annoying that Microsofts support never shows up in Google (conspiracy anyone?)

[freak_power]

In order for VSS to work you need to create restore point manually.

[ProclaimDragon]

You need file and printer sharing installed and active on your Local area connection. That is why clean installs fix it (as F&PS is enabled and installed by default)

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/937862/en-us

It bugged me for ages as well until i went to MS support. Annoying that Microsofts support never shows up in Google (conspiracy anyone?)

That didn't help me... The problem persists. I've already reinstalled twice and the problem remains.

[envoy]

3rd party defragers are also to blame i think.

I set two restore points manually as a test and left the pc for an hour as i made dinner. I also set automatic defragmentation on in Diskeeper 2007 (with directory consolidation option ticked). When i came back both restore points were gone.

I don't think that Diskeeper 2007 is shadow copy aware and it overwrites the shadow copies while it defrags, especially if you don't have a lot of drivespace left. The inbuilt defrag in VISTA is shadow copy aware however.

I upgraded my Diskeeper 2007 to 2008 last night as 08 is supposed to be shadow copy aware. You can specify shadow copy sensitive defragging as an option.

If the problem goes away with 2008 i'll let you know.

[Guest xiphi]

I have found a solution. I've discovered that "Previous Versions" relies on Administrative Shares (AS) to be enabled. Simply turning it back on will fix it.

Anyone with TuneUp Utilities 2007 can use that program to re-enable AS. Just open TuneUp SystemControl and go to "Network" under "Communication" in the sidebar. You'll see the option to turn on AS in the first tab.

Anyone without TuneUp Utilities will have to go into the registry. Change the values of the DWORD keys mentioned here to 1.

After making the changes, be sure to restart.

Edited November 24, 2007 by xiphi

[envoy]

Definitely fixed it this time.

Make sure file and printer sharing is enabled on your network connection. To do this click on Network and internet and then network connections. Right click your LAN and go to properties and ensure file and printer sharing is enabled. (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/937862/en-us)

Then go into the network and sharing centre and under sharing and discovery make sure that file sharing is enabled. Hey presto previous versions now magically appear!!

[DA6030]

I've never not had the entire form not appear, but I have had the list not properly populate. Specifically, I find that the list on the Previous Versions tab of the properties dialog box for files never populates with the versions in my shadow copies, but the list on the Previous Versions tab for folders do. For instance, if I go the Previous Versions tab in the properties dialog box of C:, I see the shadow copies of C$, which I can open each in their own explorer window, and then either navigate or search for the file I want.

It's certainly not what I'd expect, but it gets the job done fine.

Has anyone seen this before, or does this act as a workaround for anyone else?

[Beastage]

The problems with the list being empty is a known one, certain defraggers such as diskeeper 2007 kill old copies.

The problem with the gui is going to be checked now once I get chance to try xiphi's advice

Xiphi... you are a genius!, maybe someone should email tuneup

Edited January 4, 2008 by Beastage