How to check VSS (Volume Shadow Copy) is working outside of quiescing and backup (4047136)

How to check VSS (Volume Shadow Copy) is working outside of quiescing and backup.

1. Open a CMD prompt
2. Type ‘DiskShadow’ and hit Enter
3. Enter the following commands:

SET CONTEXT PERSISTENT NOWRITERS
SET METADATA example.cab
SET VERBOSE ON
BEGIN BACKUP
ADD VOLUME C: ALIAS systemVolumeShadow

CREATE

EXPOSE %systemVolumeShadow% p: (this will map the shadow to drive P:)
END BACKUP

4. Enter the following command: LIST SHADOWS ALL (you should see the shadow information)
5. Check the Services to make sure that Volume Shadow Copy service is in a running status
6. You can browse the P: drive to see the information in the shadow
7. delete the shadow by entering the command: DELETE SHADOWS

Any errors that occur when running the CREATE command in step 3 indicates a problem with either VSS or its installed writers. Please contact the Application VSS Writer vendor for support.

Only for Windows 2008 or Windows 7 (or later versions)