Cove Data Protection Troubleshooting
System State Error: There is no data available for the backup. Please check your settings and environment.
Last Modified
Fri Jul 19 16:12 GMT 2019
Description
- The System State Backup fails with error, "There is no data available for the backup. Please check your settings and environment."
- Opening Command Prompt running the command vssadmin list writers it lists all the writers below:
- System Writer
- ASR Writer
- WMI Writer
Environment
- Cove Data Protection (Cove)
Solution
- Root cause is a result of errors within Windows backup subsystems (typically involving VSS writers on device)
- Information on VSS writers can be located within Application event logs (Event Viewer > Windows Logs > Application)
- Select Filter current log on right-hand side
- Check Critical, Warning, and Error under Event level
- Select Event sources dropdown, scroll down to VSS, and check it
- Click outside dropdown > OK
- If errors are not obviously present, run Windows Backup to replicate issue
- Windows Backup does not involve our software and will indicate issues within Windows that our software is not responsible for
- Resolve errors present
- May require reaching out to Microsoft support for additional assistance
- Information on VSS writers can be located within Application event logs (Event Viewer > Windows Logs > Application)
- Another reason could be that there is a service which has a registry entry with an invalid image path (e.g. the filepath is listed as a network path, or the file no longer exists.)
- System State backups should be backing up local paths only, so it will fail if it finds a network path (even if the network path refers back to this device.)
- To search for these paths:
- Press Windows Key + R
- Type msinfo32.exe and click OK
- Navigate to Software Environment then Services
- Sort by Path column a few times and confirm all paths are to a local drive, and that the file still exists
- A network entry might look like: \\ComputerName\SoftwareName\Executable.exe (instead of C:\Program Files\SoftwareName\Executable.exe)
- If so, find the local path to that executable in file explorer
- Once found, edit the registry to replace the network path with the local path (or delete the key if the file no longer exists):
- Press Windows Key + R
- Type regedit and click OK
- Backup up the registry via File menu (by exporting it to a safe location)
- Note: Editing the registry incorrectly can lead to further system issues; please ensure that keys and entries are backed up before making any changes.
- Press CTRL + F and search for the faulty path
- Once found, replace it with the local path e.g. D:\SoftwareName\Executable.exe, or delete the registry key entirely (e.g. the folder that contains that imagepath) if the file no longer exists
- Search through the whole registry again to confirm no more instances appear by pressing F3
- Run the backup again.