Windows 8 backup error code 0x81000033

Anonymous

I am attempting to create a system image from Windows 8 on a external USB drive. I have a Seagate expansion drive with 1.81 Tb capacity that I am attempting to put the backup on. In Control Panel/Windows 7 file recovery I am selecting 'back up now' The backup appears to proceed normally... but eventually fails with error code 0x81000033

There is plenty of free space on the Seagate external drive - so space should not be an issue.

How do I correct this issue?

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Anonymous

Hi Conrad,

Welcome to Microsoft Community and thank you for giving us an opportunity to assist you with this issue.

It looks that, you are getting error 0x81000033 when you are trying to create a system image from Windows 8 on an external USB drive.

Let me ask you few question:

What is the complete error message?
When do you exactly get this error message?
Have you installed any third party Antivirus or security software?

Please follow the steps given in the methods given here.

Method 1: Check for Volume shadow copy service and Windows backup service.

I would suggest you to check if the Volume shadow copy service and Windows backup services are running on you r computer.

Follow these steps:

a) Press Windows key +R Key and type "services.**msc"**without quotes.

b) Search for the Volume shadow copy service and Windows back up serviceand check their status.

c) If they are not automatic, then right click on them and select start.

Please move to the next method if you still face the issue.

Method 2: Run check disk

I would suggest you to go through the section ‘Repair a drive’ of the article to perform check disk. Here is the link for your reference.

One of the best ways you can improve your PC's performance is by optimizing the hard drive. Windows includes features to help optimize the different types of drives that PCs use today. No matter which type of drive your PC uses, Windows automatically chooses the optimization that's right for your drive.

Please refer to the section "To repair a drive to perform check disk".

Improve performance by optimizing your hard drive

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/improve-performance-optimizing-hard-drive

Important Note: While performing chkdsk on the hard drive if any bad sectors are found on the hard drive when chkdsk tries to repair that sector if any data available on that might be lost.

Now try to create system image.

Please move to the next method if you still face the issue.

Method 3: Temporarily disable Security Software

I would suggest you to disable the security software temporarily and then try to create a system image.

Note: Antivirus software can help protect your computer against viruses and other security threats. In most cases, you shouldn't disable your antivirus software. If you have to temporarily disable it to install other software, you should re-enable it as soon as you're done. If you're connected to the Internet or a network while your antivirus software is disabled, your computer is vulnerable to attacks.

I hope your issue gets resolved by now. Please write to us if you have any Windows related issue.

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63 additional answers

Anonymous

2013-01-23T21:19:56+00:00

I have the same problem with my brand new ASUS laptop. The above steps do not help. I have the following partitions and am not sure why it was partitioned this way. If I remove partitions, will this help? How do I remove them and which ones. I am trying to back up to an external drive, not the HD drive partitioned below, but I continue to get the same error 0x81000033.

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

* Disk 0    Online          465 GB      0 B        *

Disk 1    Online         2794 GB 7168 KB

DISKPART> list par

Partition ### Type              Size     Offset

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

Partition 1    System             300 MB 1024 KB

Partition 2    Recovery           600 MB   301 MB

Partition 3    Reserved           128 MB   901 MB

Partition 4    Primary            186 GB 1029 MB

Partition 5    Primary            258 GB   187 GB

Partition 6    Recovery            20 GB   445 GB
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Anonymous

2013-01-19T22:24:57+00:00

I have the same problem with my brand-new ASUS laptop.

Disk Management reports my Disk 0 contains four partitions:

300MB Healthy (EFI System Partition)

600MB Healthy (Recovery Partition)

910.51 GB NTFS Healthy (Boot, Page File, Crash Dump, Primary Partition)

(Only 307 GB used)

20GB Healthy (Recovery Partion)

Backup told me I needed to have at least 369GB free on my external backup drive for a system image. I have 608GB free on that drive, which does not have any errors. Windows Backup and Volume Shadow Copy are running.

However, I get the 0x81000033 error when Backup tries to make the system image, with the Event Viewer log stating, "The backup was not successful. The error is: Windows Backup skipped backing up system image because one of the critical volumes is not having enough free space. Free up some space by deleting unnecessary files and try again. (0x81000033)."

Please help, Microsoft. Windows system image saved my butt several times with my old Windows 7 system, and I feel nervous being without one now.
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Anonymous

2013-01-15T14:22:52+00:00

I found the solution in another thread. Download a (free) partition manager tool (I'm not home and don't remember the name of the one I used). Use this tool to shrink the 500mb utility/recovery partition to 490 mb. Reboot and like magic, the backup will now work.
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Anonymous

2013-01-15T04:43:53+00:00

FYI - the trueimage software backs everything up like a charm... "hidden" partitions and everything.

I haven't tried a restore yet, but from my experience backing up, this should also be a breeze.

Here's the URL again:

http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/trueimage/

I'd say spend the $39.99 and have a working solution...

Waiting on MS/Dell for an answer appears to be a fruitless endeavor.
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