This issue occurs if Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) has problems performing a snapshot of disks, which can occur if multiple providers are associated with the operating system.
To check if there are multiple providers and delete the second provider:
- Click Start > Run, type cmd, and press Enter.
- Check the providers associated with the operating system with the command:
vssadmin list providers
- If the command returns more than one provider, remove the key of the second provider from the Windows registry:
Note: This procedure modifies the Windows registry. Before making any registry modifications, ensure that you have a current and valid backup of the registry and the virtual machine. For more information on backing up and restoring the registry, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base article 136393.
The preceding link was correct as of November 1, 2013. If you find the link is broken, provide feedback and a VMware employee will update the link.
- Click Start > Run, type regedit, and press Enter.
- Browse the registry to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\VSS\Providers.
- Back up the registry location.
- Right-click on the key and click Export.
- Remove the key for the second provider. It appears similar to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\VSS\Providers\<GUID>.
Note: Keep the Microsoft provider key. It appears similar to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\VSS\Providers\{b5946137-7b9f-4925-af80-51abd60b20d5}.
- Reboot the physical host.
If your issue persists even after performing the steps in this article, see Gathering logs to troubleshoot VSS failures (1037376).