Cant backup 8.1 using system image backup! Error 0x80780119, Cant optimise system partition, (this is why i cant backup) please read. . .

Anonymous

I am having this issue, cant optimise the system partition 350mb. 8.1 official release,

This is also causing a huge problem, the optimise option in windows 8.1 allows me to optimise the c: drive but not the system partition this prevents a system image backup...!!

Due to the system partition being out of space for a shadow copy to be placed onto it the backup fails every time with this error code, -- 0x80780119 --.

Backups are a huge factor in operating systems and since upgrading I cant backup my system using windows image backup, if I could optimise the system partition and straighten out the file structure within it (free up some space) for the shadow copy then the volume shadow copy could be placed onto the drive but it cant...

This all worked fine in 8.0 but not now...please fix this problem!?

Not being able to backup your system is not good enough...

here is my my issue again in pictures...

1.system volume needs optimising

but pressing the optimise for this does nothing at all.. current status remains "Needs optimisation".

The way an ssd reclaims drive space is to use the optimise function, this not working prevents the reclaim for files/data to be written to space where files have been deleted previously. Giving the impression the drive/partition is full when really its not full just needs optimising/trimmed.

initiate the system image backup

both volumes to be backed up

error message due to insufficient space on the system partition for shadow copy.

finally here is a capture of the current disk setup on my system, notice the system partition only has 17mb free space and according to the above error message I need atleast 50mb free for the volume shadow copy !? Due to this I cant create a backup of my system using windows 8.1 !

(system partition has no drive letter assigned to it 350mb)

PLEASE HELP !! Thanks for reading.

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Anonymous

I have found a way around this getting Windows System Image Backup working again. I did this on my laptop and desktop confirming that I could recover from the images. It is actually pretty easy but should not be necessary. The reason that the backup would not work was because the recovery partition was using 284MB of the 300MB available. There was not 50MB available for shadow copy. Here are the steps I took on an EUFI GPT disk:

Note: All commands are without quotes.

Disclaimer: I would recommend backing up all of you important data as any time you mess with partitions, there is the possibility to lose data. This process was done one both my laptop (Win8.1 Home) and desktop (Win8.1 Pro). I cannot take responsibility if this causes any damage. With that being said, I hope this helps.

Download and install MiniTool Partition Wizard http://www.partitionwizard.com/free-partition-manager.html Note that none of the changes will take effect until you hit apply. I am sure others may work but this is the one that I used and it is free.

You should have 3 Windows partitions; Recovery - 300 MB, EFI System - 100 MB, and your system Volume to start off with.

Once installed, Open Partition Wizard and Shrink your system volume, C: in my case, by 101MB at the beginning of the partition. (I had to put 101MB as when I tried 100 it said that the space was too small when doing the next step) To do this, Right Click the C: Drive, select, Move/Resize, and the put 101 in box named "Unallocated Space Before:" and click OK.
Copy the EFI System partition (100 MB FAT32) to this new Free Space by right clicking, selecting copy, and then selecting the unallocated space. Then next the OK.
Delete the 100MB EFI System Partition after the Recovery Partition.

After this is done, you will see 100MB unallocated space after the Recovery Partition.

Right click on Recovery partition and select Extend. Drag the bar to take up all of the extra free space. This will change the recovery partition from 300MB to 400MB allowing for enough space (50MB) for the shadow copy. Click OK.
Next Click Apply. I received an error stating that it could not make changes due to C: being in use. I clicked restart.

When the computer restarts, Partition Wizard will do its thing. Once it is done you should boot into Windows again.

This next part is essential, because, windows now does not recognize the partition that was moved before as an EFI System Partition. If you try and do a backup image now, only the system partition will show and not the Recovery or EFI System

Open a cmd prompt with administrator privileges. Press Start Key, Type cmd, right click, select run as administrator.
Type diskpart to start windows command line disk manager.
Find the disk that Windows is installed on by typing List disk. This will be different on each machine but for illustration mine was disk 0
Select that disk by typing the command "select disk" and the disk number.
Next, determine the EFI partition that was moved earlier. This is the partition that was moved earlier and should be 100MB. Type in the command "list part" to see a list of the partitions on the disk. Mine was Partition 3. This may be different on your system.
Once you have determined the partition number, type "select partition " and your partition number
Next you have to set this partition as an EFI System volume. Type in this command - "set id = c12a7328-f81f-11d2-ba4b-00a0c93ec93b" This changes the partition type to an EFI system volume.
After all of this is done, restart your computer and you should now be able to back up you system using the System Image Backup in File History.

I know some of this may seem a little elementary to some but you never know who needs help and their technical knowledge.

I hope that this helps and let me know if you have any questions.

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Anonymous

2013-10-25T12:13:05+00:00

All I can say is that I hope that Microsoft takes notice of this problem and gives a warning before downloading and gives an "official" fix, then revamps the Windows 8.1 installation so it fixes this automatically when it installs.

I have found little problems here and there like we all do, but this is a fairly serious one and I certainly hope they address it.

Not related, but I hate the fact that they took out the notification part of Windows Update for those of us who set it to "Check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them." Starting in Windows 8 they took away the notice that let you know that you had an update to download. There are programs that let you know, but they don't work in 8.1. What good does checking do if it is not going to let you know when it finds one? Their excuse for removing the notification was that people didn't like the notifications popping up. I'm on Hughesnet, I HAVE TO DECIDE when to download. I wish I had FIOS or even DSL. UG. I love the boonies, but internet access is awful. I have to manually check for updates on a regular basis now.
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Anonymous

2013-10-25T11:23:59+00:00

emaratee seems intent on pushing the fresh install method, this is not acceptable for most users, having to rebuild your systems, it might only take some users 1.5 hrs to rebuild a system but for others this can take weeks as months and months of work configuring and getting things as you want them are simply lost if you fresh install.

You would not upgrade to new car to find it needed an engine then proceed to fit 1...would you??

We have purchased&upgraded a product that has functions missing/ineffective that we have discovered for ourselves, without a word on the matter from Microsoft.

Fresh install are for those who have nothing to loose or Fresh install method I believe is an option for those who cant figure out how to extend the system partition from within the operating system so instead they are doing it by pressing shift F10 during a fresh install procedure and extending the system partition there and then on a blank/formatted ssd/hdd then proceeding to install 8.0 then upgrade to 8.1, man this method is seriously such a loss of time and a previously GOOD working system/computer.

Why on earth would anyone even consider this is beyond me (unless they decided a fresh start was best) nobody would willingly sacrifice all their work and effort for a fresh install..., WHEN YOU DONT HAVE TO, YOU CAN KEEP ALL YOUR ORIGINAL APPS/PROGRAMS/UPDATES/SETTINGS/FILES/DRIVERS/TIME/EFFORTS BY EXTENDING THE SYSTEM PARTITION THEN UPGRADING OR UPGRADING AND EXTENDING THE SYSTEM PARTITION, Several FIXES now EXIST !!

This issue is only going to snowball until it is fixed, day by day more users are finding this problem out, there are now around 10 separate threads on this matter, this thread alone received over 400 hits yesterday !! (I am sorry emaratee but fresh install should not have to be an option as a solutionto this, yes it is an option but seriously why sacrifice your system when you don't have to)??
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Anonymous

2013-10-25T10:52:06+00:00

I agree that a fresh install is a good thing. And perhaps many people do exactly that before upgrading to 8.1. I did that on my desktop. A fresh 8 install then the upgrade to 8.1. What I was referring to was people who don't want to go through all of that or don't need to, like someone with a fresh install. But again, the problem lies with MICROSOFT. No warning beforehand. Imaging if you don't have very high speed internet and it takes you hours upon hours upon hours to download and install 8.1, only to find out afterward that you have to do it again. I'd rather just do the fix. Your solution is just fine and the preferred method, IF YOU KNOW BEFOREHAND.

When I did my desktop upgrade, I did a fresh install of W8 and drivers. I then did the upgrade to 8.1. It took my almost nine hours to download 8.1. The first fix to the problem I found was virtually the same as you suggested. When I saw that I was angry to no end. I searched for a while more and found the fix I finally used.

I know that you have nothing to do with this, but if Microsoft had warned me before I had downloaded 8.1, I would have searched for a fix. I wouldn't have minded using your fix as doing a fresh install of 8 and drivers only takes about a half hour. No big deal. But they didn't.

If you have FIOS or cable then your fix isn't really a big deal as you can download 8.1 again in no time, but for me....nine hours. Ug. The simpler fix was my preferred method.

I didn't mean to totally diss your method. I'm sorry if I sounded that way.
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Anonymous

2013-10-25T10:39:25+00:00

What I meant was if Microsoft gave us a warning BEFORE we downloaded the 8.1 update, then we would just have to format the disk to the proper partition sizes, then reinstall windows 8 and then download 8.1. If you don't find out until after you have downloaded and installed windows 8.1 that you have a problem, you then have to search for the fix. When you find it, you have to format the disk to the proper partition sizes as before, reinstall windows 8, but then download 8.1 for a SECOND TIME. What I was saying is I'd rather know beforehand to have to only reinstall windows 8, then finding out after the upgrade and having to reinstall both again. See what I mean? I wasn't saying that you said anything about reinstalling both. I did. Do the fix before there's a problem or go through everything, do the fix, then have to go through everything again. I'd rather only have to reinstall one (Windows 8) than having to reinstall 8 then 8.1 a second time. Think how angry you would be if it took you hours upon hours upon hours to download and install 8.1, only to find out you have to do it again after you fix it. I'd rather find out before I downloaded it and fix it so I only have to download and install 8.1 once. Sorry for the confusion.
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