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

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
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.

Was this answer helpful?

10+ people found this answer helpful.
0 comments

778 additional answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2014-09-28T09:01:57+00:00

    P.S. I agree with your statement about the order where the MSR partition should appear.  But, regarding the partitions with space of 1 or 2 mb's, you would leave them.  Of course, if you have unassigned disk spaces of 1 or 2 mb's, I would leave them if they are created during the OS installation.  On some PC's, when Windows installs there will be 1 mb first partition on the disk.  You can read about it in the article I referenced in my recent response to you.  Some of us are purists.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2014-09-28T08:52:39+00:00

    But, since you asked about the "other" partition, which is the MSR - Microsoft Recovery partition... Provided you have followed the previous instructions for changing the size of the "Recovery" partition (which is usually Disk 0 Partition 1) you will notice the the partitions are no longer in the order they were in before resizing.  The following information will put them back into the correct order.  First, I want to mention a note and the credit.  Note, I prefer to use two separate processes - their goal is to restore the Windows Image Creation in Windows 8.1.  The first resizes your "Recovery" partition and may resize your EFI system partition and shrinks your primary C: partition.  The second will put the partitions back into their original order.  If you don't yet have ICONS on the Administrator's Desktop in Windows 8.1 for both the elevated command prompt and the MiniTool Partition Editor, you will want to do this.  Credit for these instructions should be given to bitsandbytesofict in the article “How to Repair Windows 8.1 Image Based Backkup on GPT Disks – Volume Shadow Copy Service error (0x8004231f), http://bitsandbytesofict.wordpress.com/2014/02/22/how-to-repair-windows-8-1-image-based-backup-on-gpt-disks-volume-shadow-copy-service-error-0x8004231f/   Following these directions, you can reorder partitions.  The article offers even more help for those of you who appreciate brilliance, such as  how to assign a drive letter to any of the partitions and read the content (but we'll save that for another argument).  If you find any information helpful, the author (who has to eat) provides a contribution link at the bottom of his web page.  Background: It is important that your "Recovery" partition contain at least 50mb of free space.  If it does not I suggest you repeat the 1st step which is on a prior post in order to resize your partitions.  Also before beginning, using the Windows storage manager write down your partition sizes in the order they appear.  Let's get started!

    1)  Using the MiniTool shrink drive C to create a storage space on the right of the C: partition, the size is about 5mb larger than your EFI partition size, then click apply.  Click on the EFI partition then copy its contents onto the unassigned space you just created and apply.  This will copy the EFI partition contents and also resize the unassigned space to equal the size of the EFI, and it puts the extra space into an unassigned partition to the right of it, then close the MiniTool.  MOST IMPORTANT: Do Not Reboot your PC at anytime unless told to reboot.  I'm not responsible for any loss of data or PC crashes encountered.   (It will help you to identify your partitions and the partition size and write them down in order)  Next use Diskpart.  Open a command prompt window.  At the prompt type DISKPART (lower case letters will work).  Type the following commands, and where you see a colon : press the enter key (don not type the colon!) and wait a moment for the prompt to return before continuing on with the next command.  List disk : sel disk 0 : list par : (We are going to be deleting the 128mb MSR partition which is labeled "other" and is probably your partition #2) sel par 2 by pressing 2 on the keyboard and a message will display that partition 2 is selected.  Delete partition override :  list par : (identify your system partition by its size – but it’s probably 3, the EFI partition).  Sel par 3 : set id=ebd0a0a2-b9e5-4433-87c0-68b6b72699c7 :  EXIT :  Then close the command prompt window. Start the Minitool. Select the EFI system partition (FAT-32) and delete it.  It’s space will combine with the unassigned space leftover from deleting the 128mb (MSR partition), into one big partition.  Now, click on the partition on the right side of C: where you copied the EFI contents and copy it back into the big unassigned partition.  This will make the size of the big partition the same size as the original EFI partition, and it will create an unassigned partition to the right which will be exactly 128mb.  Click apply.  Now you can delete the two partition on the right of the C: partition and stretch the C: to include the space and click apply.   Close the MiniTool.  Open the command prompt.  Diskpart : sel disk 0 : list par : (now we label the EFI partition, which is the 2nd partition) sel par 2 : Set id=c12a7328-f81f-11d2-ba4b-00a0c93ec93b :  Now we want to change the 128mb from unassigned space back into type “other”, so type   create partition msr size=128 :  EXIT : and then close the command window.  Now reboot your PC.  All done.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2014-09-28T04:22:49+00:00

    It is not a moot point because someone without technical knowledge following instructions would encounter an unknown and be at a loss of what to do. It is important that the MSR reside between C: (Data) and EFI (System) with no unallocated space at either end. I just purchased a SATA 3 1Tb for $49.99 at Microcenter for a customer. I have tried to provide DrGenep with necessary tools and instructions to ensure that his existing hard drive is functional and virus free. There is a saying...You can lead a horse to water but you cant make it drink.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2014-09-28T02:50:08+00:00

    Services on PC's can be expensive without a service warranty.  For about $79.00 a replacement 1TB HDD could be used on it.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments