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

Anonymous
2013-10-19T14:16:48+00:00

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.

 

  1. initiate the system image backup

  1. both volumes to be backed up

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

 

  1. 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.

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Windows update

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Anonymous
2013-10-20T20:19:10+00:00

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. 

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Delete the 100MB EFI System Partition after the Recovery Partition. 

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

  1. 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. 
  2. 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

  1. Open a cmd prompt with administrator privileges. Press Start Key, Type cmd, right click, select run as administrator. 
  2. Type diskpart to start windows command line disk manager. 
  3. 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
  4. Select that disk by typing the command "select disk" and the disk number.
  5. 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. 
  6. Once you have determined the partition number, type "select partition " and your partition number
  7. 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.
  8. 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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  1. Anonymous
    2013-10-29T21:27:49+00:00

    Perhaps Microsoft isn't dealing with it right now because they don't want to look like they screwed up on a MAJOR backup component on their new, greatly touted upgrade.  Remember, this upgrade is supposed to be the greatest thing since sliced bread, and for them to have a goof in a major backup component would make them look like idiots.  If you ignore the problem it will eventually go away.  Right?

    You would think that somewhere along the line they would have tested this a few times on a few different configurations.  I would expect, and possibly even forgive, some minor, tiny glitch.  But this?  Sheesh, talk about not being able to see the forest for the trees. 

    Again, it drives me crazy because it is such a major thing.  I would love to find out how many technical requests they have had because of this problem.  I bet it would be a HUGE embarrassment for them.  They are the Almighty Microsoft.   It should be called, " Windows 8.once in a blue moon."

    Remember Windows Me?  The Windows Mistake Edition?  That was fun as well.  BSOD galore.

    HEY MICROSOFT, PEOPLE LIKE TO BE ABLE TO BACK UP THEIR COMPUTERS.  PLEASE ADDRESS THIS!!!

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  2. Anonymous
    2013-10-29T19:52:57+00:00

    Does anyone with a strong technical background understand the reply provided over at SuperUser?

    http://superuser.com/questions/663782/windows-8-1-insufficient-storage-available-to-create-shadow-copy

    Here's the beginning of his post at SuperUser:

    Burned an MSDN tech support incident and just got off the phone with the support engineer. He reproduced this problem on a UEFI system with Windows 8.1 installed. It turns out that the-AllCritical qualifier to the wbAdmin command does not work on a UEFI system because Volume Shadow Service (VSS) can not create a shadow copy of the FAT32 EFI partition.

    I am surprised and disappointed that Microsoft hasn't provided a solution to this common problem.

    I am not keen on using third party partition tools. I have a feeling that I am going to be doing a reinstall.

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  3. Anonymous
    2013-10-29T19:24:57+00:00

    thankyou Jobongo, I am quite liking 8.1 no other issue that bothers me... I am just glad I can successfully backup my image which I do once per week and restore from it if I ever need to...

    How have you found 8.1?? any other niggles??

    I am fairly disappointed that Microsoft have not responded (cant you tell :-)) but glad there are forums and members like yourself ready to invest time into solutions.

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  4. Anonymous
    2013-10-29T18:45:04+00:00

    No, I think this is an automated thing. If so many people say that a post is helpful, then you get "awarded" this. Here is the email that I got from Microsoft

    Hello Jobongo,

    Congratulations! You have just received the MCC: Content Creator badge on Microsoft Community!

    A Microsoft Community Contributor (MCC): Content Creator is a recognized expert in the community. You earned this badge because a high percentage of your posts are marked as the most helpful or as answers by other community members.

    Now that you're a MCC: Content Creator, the badge will appear in your profile. This badge is dynamic, so it can be lost over time if you stop participating in the community�but it can also be re-earned.

    I don't think that this shows any acknowledgement from Microsoft.

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