VSS Writer Is Not Registered (code 2413)

Applies to: Windows Server 2012 R2

Situation

A backup plan terminates with the following warning: VSS Writer Is Not Registered

The Event log contains the following IDs: 10101, 10102, 12322, and the following records: Failed to create the backup of virtual machine 'n'. (Virtual machine ID {GUID}) Event ID 10102, Failed to change state of virtual machine 'n'. (Virtual machine ID {GUID}) Event ID 10101.

Cause

Hyper-V VSS Writer is not registered.

Solution

Note that in some cases several VSS errors can occur at the same time, and the recommendations described below may not be helpful

Follow Microsoft best practices to work around the case. Refer to the How to back up Hyper-V virtual machines from the parent partition on a Windows Server computer by using Windows Server Backup chapter at docs.microsoft.com

Note that the procedures above can be changed by Microsoft

Before editing the registry, back it up to avoid possible issues. To do this, proceed as follows:

From the Start menu, type regedit.exe in the search box, and then press Enter.
If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
In Registry Editor, locate and click the registry key or subkey that you want to back up.
Click File > Export.
In the Export Registry File dialog box, select the location to which you want to save the backup copy and then type a name for the backup file in the File name field.
Click Save.

Once the registry is backed up, proceed to the solution.

To register the Hyper-V VSS writer with Windows Server Backup, follow these steps:

Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
Locate the following registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion.
Right-click CurrentVersion, point to New, and then click Key.
Type WindowsServerBackup, and then press ENTER.
Right-click WindowsServerBackup, point to New, and then click Key.
Type Application Support, and then press ENTER.
Right-click Application Support, point to New, and then click Key.
Type {66841CD4-6DED-4F4B-8F17-FD23F8DDC3DE}, and then press ENTER.
Right-click {66841CD4-6DED-4F4B-8F17-FD23F8DDC3DE}, point to New, and then click String Value.
Type Application Identifier, and then press ENTER.
Right-click Application Identifier, and then click Modify.
In the Value data box, type Hyper-V, and then click OK.
On the File menu, click Exit.

Once you are done with these steps, run the backup plan again.