Volume Shadow copy allows you to take a snapshot of the volume and restore it when needed. However, we have noticed an error event in the Event Viewer implying that the system has aborted the shadow copies due to a lack of space. In this post, we will discuss the Volsnap Event ID 36 error and see how we can resolve it.
The shadow copies of volume C: were aborted because the shadow copy storage could not grow due to a user imposed limit.
Source: Volsnap
Event ID: 36
Fix The shadow copies of volume C: were aborted because the shadow copy storage could not grow
If the the shadow copies of volume C: were aborted because the shadow copy storage could not grow due to a user imposed limit, follow the solutions mentioned below.
- Check the Shadow Copy Storage Space
- Check the disk space
- Adjust the Shadow Copy Schedule
- Delete old shadow copies
Let us talk about them in detail.
1] Check the Shadow Copy Storage Space
The amount of storage space allocated for shadow copies depends on your needs and the free space available on your drive. As a general guideline, allocating at least 10% to 20% of the volume’s total size is recommended. For example, if you have a 400 GB volume, you might allocate 40 GB to 80 GB for shadow copy storage. This should provide enough space for multiple restore points and snapshots. Since we encountered the issue due to the lack of space, we will check and increase the shadow copy storage. Follow the steps mentioned below to do the same.
- Open the Command Prompt as an administrator.
- Run the following command to check the current storage space.
vssadmin list shadowstorage
- Now, execute the command mentioned below to set the maximum size of the shadow copy storage area to 20% of the volume.
vssadmin resize shadowstorage /for=C: /on=C: /maxsize=20%
- The parameters for managing shadow copy storage associations are:
- /for: Specifies the target volume for shadow storage.
- /on: Indicates the volume used for the specified shadow storage.
- /MaxSize: Sets the maximum storage limit for shadow storage, with a recommended maximum of 20% of the total drive size.
- Finally, run the backup again.
Alternatively, to resolve this error you can run the following commands to expand the ShadowStorage; drive letters need to be changed accordingly:
vssadmin add shadowstorage /For=<driveletter> /On=<destinationdriveletter> /MaxSize=UNBOUNDED vssadmin resize shadowstorage /For=<driveletter> /On=<destinationdriveletter> /MaxSize=UNBOUNDED
2] Check the disk space
You need to make sure that the volume on which you are trying to store snapshots, in this case, volume C, has enough space to accommodate the disk space. To do this, follow the steps mentioned below.
- Open the File Explorer by Win + E.
- Right-click on the C driver and select Properties.
- Now, check the current disk usage and free space available and make sure that you have enough space.
If you lack space, you can perform a Disk cleanup to delete temporary files, system cache, and other unnecessary files. You can also move large files to a different volume or to an eternal drive or disk. Additionally, if there are any programs that you don’t use frequently, go ahead and uninstall them.
3] Adjust the Shadow Copy Schedule
If you are looking to manage storage space, you might want to adjust the shadow copy schedule by changing the frequency of the shadow copies as if they are created frequently there is a high chance that your disk will fill up quickly. To reduce the frequency, follow the steps mentioned below.
- Open Run by Win + R, type “taskschd.msc”, and click Ok.
- Go to Library > Microsoft > Windows > ShadowCopy.
- Look for the task responsible for creating shadow copies. It might be named something like VolumeShadowCopy.
- Right-click on the task and select Properties.
- Go to the Triggers tab and click Edit.
- Finally, change the schedule to reduce the frequency.
- Click Ok to save the changes.
4] Delete old shadow copies
If you are low on space and can’t delete files or deleting them didn’t resolve the issue, you can delete older shadow copies as well. To do so, follow the steps mentioned below.
- Open the Command Prompt in elevated mode.
- Run the following command to check the current storage space.
vssadmin list shadowstorage
- If you want to delete the oldest shadow copy, run –
vssadmin delete shadows /for=C: /oldest. If you want to delete all the older shadow copies, run –vssadmin delete shadows /for=C: /all.
If you get a confirmation prompt, acknowledge it, and delete the redundant files. Once done, check if the issue is resolved.
Hopefully, you can resolve the issue using the solutions mentioned in this post.
Read: Fix VOLSNAP Event ID errors on Windows computers
How do I fix Volume Shadow Copy service?
If the Volume Shadow Copy service is faulty or has glitches, restarting it is the easiest way to resolve the issue. Open the Services app, right-click on Volume Shadow Copy, and select Restart. It will stop and then start again.
Read: The Com Server with CLSID cannot be started VSS error
How do I increase allocated shadow copy storage space?
You can use the vssadmin resize shadowstorage /for=C: /on=C: /maxsize=20% command to resize the shadow storage. You can change the for and on drive if needed and then the maxsize percentage before executing the command in the elevated mode of the Command Prompt.
Also Read: VSS Error, Unexpected error calling routine CoCreateInstance.
