Volume Shadow Service

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BobArch2
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Volume Shadow Service

Post by BobArch2 »

On my main PC I am running Win8.1 and Win10 in a dual boot mode.

During the Insider Program, when in Win10, it appeared that the VSS changed to the point that when I went back into Win8.1 there were issues with my backups.

My backup schedule calls for weekly full backups and daily incrementals under ShadowProtect. When getting out of Win10 and getting back into Win8.1 my daily incrementals would run as differentials. Not a major issue but daily incrementals that would take a few minutes in total for 4 drives, would take about 30-35 minutes on the days I used Win10.

I am happy to report that the current version of Win10 must have fixed the VSS issue as incrementals in Win8.1 are now back to taking just minute of two.
Regards,
Bob

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Rebel
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Re: Volume Shadow Service

Post by Rebel »

What version of SP are you running Bob, and have you tried it on Windows 10?
John :canada:
A Child's Mind, Once Stretched by Imagination...
Never Regains Its Original Dimensions

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BobArch2
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Re: Volume Shadow Service

Post by BobArch2 »

Rebel wrote:What version of SP are you running Bob, and have you tried it on Windows 10?
Hi John,

I am running 5.2.2.37250 (circa 2014.12.24) of ShadowProtect Desktop. I did download v5.2.3 (2015.01.27) but did not see any reason for updating to that version.

In checking the Storage Craft web site starting a few days ago I see that "SPX" is out, supposedly a replacement for SP Desktop v5.x and referred in some areas as ShadowProtect v6.x. I will check into it to see if SPX is indeed a replacement for SPD. There was an indication that those on the maintenance plan (mine expires 2016.02) can get the update as part of the Plan.

In another message I indicated that I did not test out SP in Win10 because of perceived licensing issues. I thought I had 2 licenses and it turns out I have 3. So I will test out SPD in Win10. That is assuming that there are no activation issues as posted here.
Regards,
Bob

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Re: Volume Shadow Service

Post by Rebel »

Hi Bob,

Thanks for the information. I'm in a similar situation as you - i.e. running ver. 5.2.0.36537 and downloaded but not yet installed 5.2.3. Unlike you however, my maintenance has expired (don't know if I'll renew or not) and at this point, I won't be able to get (free) "SPX".

As well as my main machine, I also have a secondary laptop running Win. 8.1(and downloading Win. 10 as I type this). I decided to try Macrium Reflect (free version) to image that machine prior to upgrading. I must say, I was quite impressed with the interface, the options available, and the simple, obvious and intuitive procedures to either image or clone the hard drive. SP can sometimes be very perplexing unless you have read and digested the manual.

In any event, if you do happen to test your 5.2.2 on Win.10, I'd be very interested in hearing your results and observations.
John :canada:
A Child's Mind, Once Stretched by Imagination...
Never Regains Its Original Dimensions

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BobArch2
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Re: Volume Shadow Service

Post by BobArch2 »

Rebel wrote:Hi Bob,
In any event, if you do happen to test your 5.2.2 on Win.10, I'd be very interested in hearing your results and observations.
Will do... stay tuned.

BTW, The cost for the SP maintenance plan, on renewal was $84 for 3 licenses/2 years. I have heard that Storage Craft will sometimes allow the maintenance plan to be renewed for "delinquent" accounts. Part of the reason being that they sometimes fail to advise users of pending expiry dates! :smile:
Regards,
Bob

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BobArch2
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Re: Volume Shadow Service

Post by BobArch2 »

Rebel wrote:Hi Bob, In any event, if you do happen to test your 5.2.2 on Win.10, I'd be very interested in hearing your results and observations.
First, some background...

I dual boot with my prime system being Win8.1 Pro residing on a 250GB SSD. The secondary environment is Win10 Pro on a separate 125GB SSD.

Within Win8.1, I run full weekly backups of 1 SSD (System) and 3 HDDs using ShadowProtect v5.2.2 on Monday with daily incrementals Tuesday through Sunday starting at 7:30PM, with backed up images stored on a separate internal HDD.

I also perform a full monthly backup of the same 4 drives on the 1st of the month with backed up images stored on an external HDD.

Up to now, I have not run ShadowProtect in the Win10 Pro environment. primarily because:
1) I thought I had a license issue,
2) I read on the SP forum that Storage Craft is not officially supporting Win 10 at the moment,
3) some users were experiencing activation issues with Win10 and
4) BSOD happened to one user when performing a backup and mandatory updates happened at the same time.

I am happy to report that:
1) I had a spare 3rd license,
2) successfully installed SP v5.2.2 in the Win10 Pro environment,
3) was able to activate the license without any issues,
4) successfully performed a manual backup of the Win10 Pro system SSD, followed by verifying the image file and mounting the image file to examine contents.

I did not try a restore because two events were on the horizon... 1) the daily incremental backup of the Win8.1 environment and 2) the monthly full backup. I did not want to impact those processes.

After completing the processes in Win 10 Pro, I rebooted into the Win8.1 Pro environment and decided to run a daily incremental before the scheduled 7:30 run. It appears that the VSS environment was somehow impacted while in Win 10 and running the backups because the non-scheduled incremental backup was forced to do a differential backup, taking about 37 minutes to run for all 4 drives. The normal timing for the daily incremental backup is usually less than 2 minutes.

In summary, I am satisfied that SP did its job properly. With the unknown factor of what impacted the VSS file(s).

My next test will be to try a restore of the Win10 system using v5.2.2 of SP. And if successful, to be followed by upgrading to the new SPX software. First in Win8.1 and later in Win10.

As a cautionary note, I would advise one to deactivate the license before upgrading to a new version of SP or installing Win10.

As a side note, I did notice one thing while in Win10 Pro when checking for updates. There were two options for restarting the system after updates have been applied. The first was an automatic (immediate) restart while the other allowed for the user to call the shot when the restart was to be performed. I set the option to be the latter.
Regards,
Bob

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Rebel
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Re: Volume Shadow Service

Post by Rebel »

That's a very detailed and comprehensive explanation Bob. Thank you very much.

Windows 10 downloaded and installed on my laptop - painless and successful. I've been playing around with it and so far, I'm quite pleased and impressed. I'm still waiting for the upgrade on my primary machine (Windows 7) but I may hold off a little on that installation as I have an Epson scanner for which no Windows 10 (or even Windows 8) drivers are available. Once I decide on a new scanner, I'll take the plunge, reassured that my version of SP will be compatible. Once again, thanks Bob.
John :canada:
A Child's Mind, Once Stretched by Imagination...
Never Regains Its Original Dimensions

JoeP
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Re: Volume Shadow Service

Post by JoeP »

@Rebel,

You ought to check VueScan. Not free but may be preferable to purchasing a new scanner.

Joe
Joe

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Re: Volume Shadow Service

Post by Rebel »

Thanks Joe. I actually had looked at VueScan and I haven't ruled out that option.

In the interim, I've just revived an Acer netbook running Windows 7 Starter Edition (originally given to a granddaughter several years ago), applied a ton of updates (including the "Get Windows 10" app) and installed the requisite Epson software. I plugged in the scanner and it is fully functional. I'm thinking that for the limited amount of use this scanner gets, this may be the simplest solution.

BTW, I was amazed that the "Get Windows 10" app was installed. The netbook (with its Win7 Starter Edition operating system) runs agonizingly slowly to begin with. I somehow can't imagine upgrading to Windows 10 on this little machine.
John :canada:
A Child's Mind, Once Stretched by Imagination...
Never Regains Its Original Dimensions

JoeP
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Re: Volume Shadow Service

Post by JoeP »

Have you tried the scanner on the WIn10 machine? If Windows recognizes it and installs the basic scanner driver it may work. If it does it will be without any of the bells & whistles that Epson may have included in its own software.

Joe
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Rebel
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Re: Volume Shadow Service

Post by Rebel »

No, I haven't tried that Joe. I read some discussions that indicated that Windows 8 drivers would probably work with Windows 10, but not only did Epson not have a Windows 8 driver, the MS hardware compatibility lists for both Windows 8 and Windows 10 indicated that the scanner wasn't compatible.

I will give your suggestion a try however. There's certainly nothing to lose. If it works, that's great and if it doesn't, then I have the Netbook option.
John :canada:
A Child's Mind, Once Stretched by Imagination...
Never Regains Its Original Dimensions

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Re: Volume Shadow Service

Post by Rebel »

BobArch2 wrote: As a cautionary note, I would advise one to deactivate the license before upgrading to a new version of SP or installing Win10.
Bob,
I just upgraded to Windows 10 on my main machine. I did as you advised - deactivated SP prior to the upgrade, completed the upgrade, and then reactivated SP. Everything went extremely smoothly with absolutely no problems. I'm now a happy camper! :grin: Thanks once again for your help.
John :canada:
A Child's Mind, Once Stretched by Imagination...
Never Regains Its Original Dimensions

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Re: Volume Shadow Service

Post by Rebel »

JoeP wrote:Have you tried the scanner on the WIn10 machine? If Windows recognizes it and installs the basic scanner driver it may work. If it does it will be without any of the bells & whistles that Epson may have included in its own software.
Just tried your suggestion Joe, and EUREKA ! ! ! :clapping: The scanner was recognized, basic software was installed, AND IT WORKS! After reading the MS hardware compatibility list for Windows 10 (which stated that the Epson Perfection 2480 Photo was not compatible) I would never have thought to connect the scanner to see if Windows would recognize it. Once again, thanks Joe.
John :canada:
A Child's Mind, Once Stretched by Imagination...
Never Regains Its Original Dimensions