Windows 10 Pro v1709 Bug in Backup and Restore
I cannot restore any Windows 10 Pro v1709 system image which was created using Backup and Restore. A VSS error is produced: "The system image restore failed. Error details: A Volume Shadow Copy Service component encountered an unexpected error. Check the Application event log for more information. (0x80042302)” This is a fresh v1709 installation on a wiped drive. A repair disk was created using Backup and Restore. The image resides on a USB drive which contains (7) Windows 10 images – 3 were created in v1703 and 4 in v1709. Any image created in v1703 can be restored successfully. Any image created in v1709 produce a VSS error. I can restore any image prior to v1709 using a repair disk from v1709 or earlier. I cannot restore any v1709 image using a repair disk from v1709, v1703, v1607, v1511 or v1507. As a first test, I installed v1709 on a new HP EliteBook 840 G4 laptop (before installation I wiped the drive). I also used a different (and smaller) USB drive to back up the image successfully. There were no errors or warnings in Event Viewer related to Windows Backup. After a successful backup, I wiped the drive using the clean command and tried to restore the same image I created earlier. It failed with a VSS error. As a second test, I installed v1703 on the same HP EliteBook 840 G4 laptop (before installation I wiped the drive). I used the same USB drive to back up the image successfully. There were no errors or warnings in Event Viewer related to Windows Backup. After a successful backup, I wiped the drive again using the clean command and tried to restore the same image I created earlier. The restore was successful. As a last test, I wiped the drive clean on a Lenovo Yoga 910 laptop. I installed a fresh copy of v1709 while disconnected from the Internet. This way, no updates or drivers are automatically downloaded and installed during setup. Without any Windows updates, component drivers or third-party software installed I created an image on a blank USB drive (this was a barebones image). Backup was successful; no errors or warnings in Event Viewer. I wiped the drive and tried to restore. After clicking Yes on the final prompt I received a VSS error. The culprit appears to be v1709. Something changed in v1709 which prevents a successful restore. I searched online for help and came across a few posts I would like to share with you. As you will see, this is becoming a widespread issue as more and more users are coming forward with the same problem. Microsoft Answers https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-update/i-cannot-restore-any-system-image-which-was/106e49f9-3e23-40f1-a478-d6111f88ee67?tm=1509757503539 TechNet Post 1 https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/fe684608-caab-4c0c-a5d4-3be0443e8dc7/i-cannot-restore-any-system-image-which-was-created-in-windows-10-v1709-using-backup-and-restore?forum=win10itprosetup TechNet Post 2 https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windows/en-US/1f21b451-1431-414c-89e4-8010dfa5d239/win10-1709-system-image-restore-vss-error?forum=win10itprosetup