Window 7 will can not Backup or let me do a system image backup.

I bought the windows7 ultimate x64 from Microsoft and installed fresh on new computer and it does the same thing. However I had that problem with another computer also with windows 7 and I tried several external HD and it did not work. I bought another Seagate external HD and somehow it did work and I could do system image. i tried the same HD on different computer also with windows 7 and it did not work. after a while I tried to do another system image with the same computer that previously worked and it did not work this time. so go figure.

Windows 7 backup needs some improvements by the time Windows 8 turns up next year. The most inportant thing is this is far better than the last two versions so lets hope its better in Windows 8. One of the main errors that people get is the error code 0x80070002 indicating that the system can't find some files for the shadow backup. This is generally a problem with backing up folders and not creating a system image.This happens for two reasons;

1. If some files have been deleted in some of the folders to backup but still have links to these files in the registry.
2. If a previous windows backup has been deleted on some internal or external drive. Then the windows backup still has references to this backup on the system drive and the registry. If you had restored a backup pior to deleting it then you find the backup will fail next time you try to backup.

Case 1 is tricky since the files involved can be hard to locate so its down to experience and skill in tracking down the missing files. The error log from backup is hopeless here because its normally blank!

Case 2 is easy. Never delete a backup volume direcly off the hard drive! Use the Windows backup wizard to delete any unwanted backups and this ensures no traces left so no problems.

So come on microsoft we need a better error report log for backup and a simple way to purge any backups from the system if they have become lost, deleted or destroyed though hard drive failure. A better error report log would list the files missing in case 1 enabling the traces in the registry to be removed.

Any way I still use Windows backup for the simple reason - its intetegrated with the system and so easy to use.

I have the same problem Error 0x81000037. I spent 16 hours and 5 days with microsoft level 2 techs and still have not resolved the problem. I didn't notice it because my Hewlett Packard external HD has its own backup software bult into the HD. That backup CAN run. But I have a program called Diskeeper which defragments the internal HD automatically in the background. It has a tab which tells you if there is a volume shadow. It used to always detect the volume shadow on BOTH drives. Now it says it does not exist. I checked the services and found that Volume Shadow is set to automatic but NOT running. I noticed this a couple of times and had to start the service. I NEVER STOPPED IT. I'm not sure how it works but I do know that without it Backup will fail and Sytem recovery and system restore CAN be affected. Diskeeper has a special way of defragmenting drives with Volume Shadow Service so as not to compromise sytem images or restore points. My case #1140836775 is still unresolved. The techs did everything including an inplace upgrade with the same results error 0x81000037. This is a serious problem that needs to be fixed as it means system restore may not work, as well as system recovery! I have used pcpitstops Optimize and Regcure to try and fix any registry problems with the same result-backup failed. I used system  recovery to try and repair the operating sytem and it turned back with NO PROBLEMS! Microsoft left me with one option, a clean install. Which I will not do at this time. It would mean at least 20 hours of reinstalling all my drivers and software, not to mention the licenses I will have to reregister for some of the prgrams. There has got to be an easier way. I ran scannow and check disk. I do know I have 44 reparse record. on the drive which I know can cause issues with backup. But how to remove them I haven't a clue and apparently neither do the microsoft techs.