Acronis VSS Doctor
Free tool for diagnosing and repairing Volume
Shadow Copy Service issues

Windows Server 2003/2008, 2012 and later

Troubleshooting VSS Backup Issues
What is VSS?
Volume Shadow Copy Service (aka VSS, Shadow Copy, or Volume Snapshot Service) is a technology included in Microsoft Windows that allows snapshots of computer files or volumes to be taken, even when they are in use. Most backup software programs rely on this technology to perform their core backup/restore operations.
There are many reasons why VSS might not work properly, which can cause your backup software to fail. When that happens, diagnosing the problem can be a tricky task, even for the most experienced IT professional. Given the number of system components involved, there are countless things you need to check.

Key features
Diagnose and repair
Diagnose only
Report generation
Advantages of Acronis VSS Doctor
One-click diagnostic of all VSS components
Automatically collects data from scattered sources into a single report
Easily spots the weak places in the VSS infrastructure
Generates a report with the results of the tests performed
Fixes issues with one-click when a pre-defined solution is available
Why you need a VSS repair tool
If you encounter Volume Shadow Copy Service error or snapshot-like error messages like the ones below, it means the VSS of your backup software failed … and you’ll want to the Acronis VSS Doctor free tool for your shadow copy troubleshooting.
How to use VSS Doctor Tool
- Download the Free VSS repair tool
- For Windows XP/Vista/7, Windows Server 2003/2008: AcronisVSSDoctor-net35.exe
- For Windows 8 and later, Windows Server 2012 and later: AcronisVSSDoctor-net45.exe
- Launch the tool (local administrator rights are required)
- Click Start Diagnostic and wait until it finishes
- Check out sections marked as
- Click Save Report if you want to save diagnostic results as a plain-text report
- If a Fix Issues button is available, click on it to see the exact solutions proposed by the tool and proceed if you agree
- After fixing the found issues, click Start Diagnostic again to check if all the issues were corrected
- Retry the backup operation that failed
Download and system requirements
Acronis VSS Doctor
for .NET Framework 3.5
For Windows 7 / Windows Server 2008
For Windows XP/Vista, Windows Server 2003 Please install .NET Framework 3.5
Acronis VSS Doctor
for .NET Framework 4.5
For Windows 8 and later / Windows Server 2012 and later
Payment
Acronis VSS Doctor is a free tool, and will continue to be offered as a free download.
VSS TOOL FAQ
Q: Is there any functional difference between .NET 3.5 and .NET 4.5 versions?
A: No, both versions are identical. The different versions of .NET Framework were simply built in order to avoid the additional installation of a specific version.
Q: Why does the list of errors in the Event Log section change from run to run?
A: The list of errors in the Event Log section is a subset of Windows Event Log items, which only contain errors and warnings that have been logged during last 24 hours. Older items are removed as time passes and fresh items replace them.
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