Acronis VSS Doctor

The Volume Shadow Copy Service or, in short, VSS or Shadow Copy, is a Windows feature designed to allow backups of files or even entire volumes, even when they are in use. If not for the VSS, backup applications would not be able to create backups of files, folders, drives or the whole system.

Needless to say, it is vital for this OS component to work properly for you to be able to perform data backups and restore operations. If your backup software fails to do its job and you suspect that a problem with the VSS might be the cause, then you can try the Acronis VSS Doctor to find a solution.

Acronis VSS Doctor analyzes the configuration of the Volume Shadow Copy Service on your computer and checks the most common issues that might cause its malfunction. It checks all the VSS-related services to see if they are functioning as they should, verifies the VSS provider, and looks at the VSS access control entries.

The application confirms the availability of the VSS components, and checks if the VSS writers are working correctly. It verifies if the VSS storages are configured as recommended, analyzes the available storage space on all the partitions, and checks the volume access control configuration.

Gathered from various sources, all this information is bundled into a single report that can be saved as a text file.

While not mentioned above, Acronis VSS Doctor is not just a diagnosis and reporting tool. It can also repair the erroneous configurations it finds and fix VSS-related issues.

Moreover, it enables you to start Google searches for errors and warnings related to the Volume Shadow Copy Service in the Windows event log to learn more about your system and its configuration.

In case the backup software you are using is not able to complete its tasks or issues warnings, it is worth trying Acronis VSS Doctor to check if the cause might be a misconfiguration or an error in the Volume Shadow Copy Service. Not only that it allows you to see possible causes of your problem, but it can also offer on-the-spot solutions and fixes.