Windows 7 Backup Error: 0x81000015
Hi,.I have had a search in the forums and the web, and can't seem to find anyone with the same issue.I am running the WIndows 7 RC 64 bit, and apart from thsi problem, it is very stable and easier to use.I am attempting to perform a backup of my system to an external Western Digital USB 1 TB drive and am getting errors all the time.The error that appears in the action center is "Windows Backup could not create a zip file. This could be because the drive that WIndows is installed on does not have enough space or it could be a temporary error. Make sure you have at least 400 MB of free space and try again"The errorcode is 0x81000015I have over 50 GB free on the source drive, as well as 300 GB on the backup drive. I am doing a system image as well as a custom backup (so that I do not backup the 1 TB of VM's I have)I also have a trial version of Norton 360 installed, so maybe that is interfering somehow - I am going to try a backup without 360 running and see how that goes.Has anyone else come across this? Does MS know about this?How do I report this to MS as a bug etc?
May 9th, 2009 6:09pm

Richard - That error code makes NO sense in the context it's popping up in. That error - from my research on the web appears to be linked to networking - specifically to BlueTooth devices- which doesn't appear to be in evidence. There doesn't seem to be any other references to that error code.Please DO let us know how the back up goes without Norton 360 in the way.
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May 9th, 2009 10:46pm

Hi Richard,This error indicates that you do not have enough space on the drive that Windows is installed on (your boot volume, most probably, C:). Can you check if that is the case? We require at least 400MB of free space on the boot volume in order to temporarily create the backup zip file before copying it to the target. If that is not the case, can you please zip and send across the contents of C:\Windows\Logs\WindowsBackup to sneham_at_microsoft_dot_com (Remove the underscores and replace the words with symbols wherever applicable). We can then take a look into this.Thanks,Sneha [MSFT]
May 25th, 2009 7:51am

I use windows 7 beta and have a similar error."Not implemented (0x80004001)"The beta version would start shutting down on July 1st. I should clear this status.Someone knows the problem?I think it is awindows 7bug.
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May 28th, 2009 11:59am

Hi,I'm getting the exact same error that Richard describes above. I am attempting to backup approx. 150Gb of user files (not a system image) to an external USB hard drive with around 290Gb free. My C: has 120Gb free so I can't see how it's related to having less than 400Mb available.The error mentions a problem creating a zip file, could this be related to third-party compression software? I'm running StuffIt Deluxe 2009 which associated itself with .zip and .cab files.I'm running the latest RC build. Please let me know if you need any information to investigate this further.Thanks,Paul Day
May 31st, 2009 11:50pm

NANA,This post was replied to by a Microsoft employee...
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June 1st, 2009 8:20pm

Had exactly the same problem, also running Stuffit which had captured the.zip extension. zip files were created successfully, but somehow backup could not re-read them.fix: uncheck zip files in stuffit, then find some zip file and restore the association to windows explorer. (stuffit does not do this automatically.Hope this helps,--Michel
June 2nd, 2009 4:48am

Hi Michel,Thanks for the suggestion. I've since tried uninstalling StuffIt andhave downloaded a zip fix registry file which reassociates .zip files to Windows Explorer. Zip files now open in Windows Explorer and have the "zip folder" icon rather than the Stuffit icon. However, backup still fails with the above error every time. It seems to occur randomly between 30 and 85%, but it does fail every time.I'm not having issues restoring a backup from the zip file, because I've never been able to complete a backup in the first place.Even if I select to create just a system image (i.e. not user files), the same error occurs. Any MSemployees have an idea?Appreciate your help!
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June 2nd, 2009 10:27pm

One thing I forgot to mention: I've also re-associated .cab files with explorer (I think backup uses them at some point internally). No need for tools: just double-click any cab file that you have on your disk, and windows will tell you that it doesn't know how to handle it: choose select program, and windows explorer will come up on the list, click ok, and the association is re-established. Oh, and BTW: if you have trouble installing stuff: be certain to disable/stop the "Stuffit Archive Name Service" when you do installs/windows update. This thing constantly monitors your drive for anything that could be an archive, and inspects any new files it finds. Problem is that it also monitors the .rbf and .rbs files in your config.msi directory, causing software installs/updates to fail (gracefully or not) with "access denied" errors. (rbf and rbs files are temporary files that the installer uses to back out any failed updates; if stuffit is accessing the file, installer can't delete it, and the install fails (or causes numerousignore/retry/cancel prompts).Stuffit is great compression software, but : -don't let it capture .cab and .zip, and turn off the background scanner :-).Good luck...--Michel
June 3rd, 2009 7:32am

I, too, am getting the exact sameerror as Richardwhen I try to backup C: to an external hard drive. I have over 120 GB free on the source drive and over 300 GB free on the backup drive. Interestingly, I received similar errors related to insufficient memory when I was running Vista Premium SP2 on the same machine. Does MS still want copies of logs for this error and is there any fix? I am not a techie but am quite uncomfortable being without a localbackup.
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June 8th, 2009 10:03pm

Jeffmortimore,Can you check your backup log to see if you can figure out what the issue is? They are found here:C:\Windows\Logs\WindowsBackup
June 8th, 2009 10:06pm

All,I sent my logs to an MS guy (sneha), and the prognosis was that a zip file could not be created. He suggested that I turn off my virus scanner (which I did - I even used a different virus package as well and turned it off as well) to no avail. I still get the same error, even though I have over 50 GB free on my System drive, and over 800 GB on the backup drive.Interestingly, on my Dell XPS M1530 with the same virus package as my main desktop, the backup works fine. However, on the desktop PC I am still unable to perform a backup.This is leading me to suspeect that I have a hardware issue somewhere - perhaps even the USB drivers on my machine (as the backup device is a Western Digital USB 1 TB drive).Hmmm--more invesetigation required methinks....
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June 9th, 2009 8:31am

The only file at that location that I could opencontained this:Backup encountered a problem while backing up file C:\Users\Mcx1-HOME\Contacts. Error:(The system cannot find the file specified. (0x80070002))Backup encountered a problem while backing up file C:\Users\Mcx1-HOME\Searches. Error:(The system cannot find the file specified. (0x80070002))I was unable to open any of the other files.
June 9th, 2009 12:57pm

Hi,.I have had a search in the forums and the web, and can't seem to find anyone with the same issue.I am running the WIndows 7 RC 64 bit, and apart from thsi problem, it is very stable and easier to use.I am attempting to perform a backup of my system to an external Western Digital USB 1 TB drive and am getting errors all the time.The error that appears in the action center is "Windows Backup could not create a zip file. This could be because the drive that WIndows is installed on does not have enough space or it could be a temporary error. Make sure you have at least 400 MB of free space and try again"The errorcode is 0x81000015I have over 50 GB free on the source drive, as well as 300 GB on the backup drive. I am doing a system image as well as a custom backup (so that I do not backup the 1 TB of VM's I have)I also have a trial version of Norton 360 installed, so maybe that is interfering somehow - I am going to try a backup without 360 running and see how that goes.Has anyone else come across this? Does MS know about this?How do I report this to MS as a bug etc? I get the exact same issue with a fresh install of Windows 7 64 Bit 6 G ram, 4 gig left on boot parition, no AV installed, no 3d party compression routines installed,backing up to a 500GUSB drive Duo Pro Raid 1 External Drive.
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July 18th, 2009 3:13pm

When looking at my Log Files I find that the failures occur at the following locations:Backup encountered a problem while backing up file C:\Users\"user-name"\Music. Error:(The system cannot find the file specified. (0x80070002))Backup encountered a problem while backing up file C:\Users\"user-name"\Pictures. Error:(The system cannot find the file specified. (0x80070002))Backup encountered a problem while backing up file C:\Users\"user-name"\Videos. Error:(The system cannot find the file specified. (0x80070002))Which indicates there's a registry issue using the "move" feature for these folders, since I moved all 3 of these and more to d:\users\"user-name"\proper folder name using the right click properties of the folder move to specific location to get all user files off the boot partition.The ability to properly move and repoint all user folders for any and/or all profiles to a different drive (partition) location other than the C: Boot partition default location is MANDATORY for any manor of good IT "Best Pratices" procedures.This is a problem that needs resolution before final RTM or a Critical Update that resolves it immedeatly or we're back to another bad tasting Vista experience (IMHO) . EnterpriseIT won't stand for this issue not being resolvedquickly.Further, this shouldn't cause the errror as exists (0x81000015)failure, it should skip and move forwardNOT fail completly;assuming the log shows the actual reason for the failure. The error codes don't match.Regardless the right click properties "move location" feature should relocate the pathproperly in the registry for the backup of these folders.Further the error message does 'imply" there's less than 400m free space on the Boot Partition when there's 4 G.Backup Size "sensed" as of the point of failure is 25.1 G; the Backup Routine doesn't make any visable attempt to notify the End User of asize estimate of the backup until it completes or fails; this is also unacceptable, the backup size should be displayed prior to making the attempted backup so a change to location can help resolve any capacity issues before the backup istriggered. <= Not very elegant.
July 18th, 2009 3:29pm

Hi cef10000,Thanks for using Windows backup.I agree that known foldermoves shoule be clean causing backup to read the new locations directly. However, as of RC, you are required to access the libraries (Start Menu -> Music / Pictures / Videos) through Explorer after moving them before the locations are updated.If you have already done that and backup still reports them as missing,then this isdue toa bug in shell and is rectified in the latest builds.Regarding the 0x81000015 issue, I definitely agree that it is not elegant.This we have found occurs due to installing third party antivirus / compression softwarethat associate themselves with .zip files. As I have stated earlier, please tryturning off your Antivirus and other compression software before you run backup if you are facing this issue.Thanks for the feedback regarding backup size. We will definitely consider this feedback for the future releases.Thanks,Sneha [MSFT]
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July 23rd, 2009 4:31am

I am running 64-bit Win7 RC build 7100. Get "backup failed" message. When I tried a trial restore of some folders, all ZIP and CAB files were not included in the backup. WinZip has the file type associations for these file types. Did not have this problem in Win7 32-bit BETA or in Vista (or else the backup never warned me that these files were not being backed up). This sort of error with no readily accessible Error Report makes me feel that one really cannot trust a Microsoft Backup product and one had better rely on a trusted third party application. We are paying a HEAP extra for these things when we buy the Windows 7 ULTIMATE edition. I hope it doesn't mean that Microsoft is just charging us more for the impression that we are buying a finely finished product. Jim Lewis Use every part of the buffalo - Brad Bird
August 10th, 2009 12:19am

Hi Jim,Regret the inconvenience caused. Backup does not have all the files since it failed in between. Can you let us know what is the error message you are seeing? Please paste the text on the detailed error dialog. This will help us investigate further.Thanks,Sneha [MSFT]
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August 10th, 2009 9:47am

Hi, I got this error yesterday (on 7600 x86). Eventually I (today) formatted the Windows 7 partition and deleted then recreated the backup partition (about 9x larger than required for the backup and on a separate disk). I just reinstalled, and set up with the minimum required 3rd party software, specifically nForce and GeForce drivers and NOD32 v4. I expected this to have fixed Backup Error: 0x81000015 (which I see is also a long time Vista issue!) but first attempt at running Windows Backup failed again. This is a dual boot with XP Pro - on which the backup was working before the weekend. I still use PowerQuest software as it works generally very well with XP. That is Partition Magic 8.0, Drive Image 2002, and Boot Magic to switch between the two. I just uninstalled them, booting to Windows 7 using the BIOS F11 menu - and Windows Backup is running just fine now. And there I was about to cancel my Windows 7 order over this! I shall test this further, but why I uninstalled all PQ software was initially because the relatively rare problem whereby neither Drive Image or Partition Magic sees one of the disks (despite running on it at the time, and Disk Management seeing it no problem). Usually that is quite easily corrected, but this time not, apparently, so I wondered if removing all traces of PQ stuff then reinstalling would fix that. Then it occurred to me that when I had Windows 7 Backup working, I hadn't yet set Boot Magic up. I hadn't run it since until 2 days ago when 0x81000015 began. ShaneEat it raw!
August 16th, 2009 8:19am

First let me add that none of the PQ stuff runs in Vista/Windows 7 - I use it in and from XP only. Which is why I'm testing Windows Backup in Windows 7. Now, Drive Image/Partition Magic showed Disk 1 as 'bad' because I recreated the Windows 7 Backup partition in Windows 7. Just deleting that one partition corrected the problem they had seeing anything on that disk. This would appear to be related to the $Upcase issue with Chkdsk in Vista (and Windows 7) where PQ tools can't see the Vista/Windows 7 drive until Chkdsk from XP has been run on it (and since running Chkdsk from XP on Vista/Windows 7 doesn't cause problems, one has to wonder why it was changed for NT6 and why it still hasn't been fixed). Windows Backup in Windows 7 runs fine with Drive Image and Partition Magic reinstalled. It fails, again with Boot Magic reinstalled and set up for for booting Windows 7 - if Windows 7 is booted via Boot Magic. If Windows 7 is booted via the BIOS F11 option, Windows Backup runs fine - even with Boot Magic installed and still set up to boot Windows 7! And since the PQ stuff is all installed to XP which is itself installed to a separate disk, it perhaps implies that this is an MBR issue? ShaneEat it raw!
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August 16th, 2009 9:32am

@Shane,Let me try to summarizethe issue that you are facing:Windows backup fails with 0x81000015 when you have a dual boot set up with Windows XP Pro and Windows 7 and the Windows 7 partition booting through Boot Magic software. When you boot through BIOS instead of setting up Boot Magic to do it, backup works fine. Is this what you are seeing?@JimThe error message can be seen directly by clicking on "Options" from the backup failure notification in Action center. Anyways, I see from the report that the error code for the latest backup failure is 0x81000037.(The earlier failure has a different error code though.)There a a couple of reasons we have seen this happening other than genuine shadowcopy read errors as reported by the troubleshooter. 1. http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/973455/2. Antivirus/Antimalware reporting some bad files and holding locks for those files. Backup fails when it tries to backup these files. For this, please remove the bad files reported by the Antivirus/Antimalware. Can you try these options and let me know if one of them solves the problem for you?Thanks,Sneha [MSFT]
August 21st, 2009 10:22am

I have the exact same problem. I'm running Windows 7 RTM. I don't have any of the issues listed in the KB article mentioned above. My error code is 0x81000015. I have plenty of disk space on both the source and destination drives. I have no files in quarantine from my antivirus. I do not have any reparse points that point to external data, or even other drives. Chris J. Breisch, MCSD, MCDBA, MCSA
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August 29th, 2009 7:45am

@Chris J. Breish@Sneha Folks, I don't have the error anymore, but when I investigated it the cause was the following: Stuffit installs a service which 'watches' your disks for any compressed files it knows how to handle, in order to index them and add them to it's catalog. In doing so, it opens the the temporary .zip files that backup uses for doing it's file backup. These files are temporary, and backup tries to move them to the target disk. Only, at the point where backup wants to move them, they are still open for read-access by stuffit, hence the error in moving the zip file.I disabled the stuffit service that scans for files, and since then I've had no errors anymore. (btw this service also interferes with software installs, as stuffit opens the temporary .cab files used in many installs, causing the windows installer to fail all over the place).I don't have anti-virus software, but I can imagine that these softwares would want a look at any files stored on your disk, and that they would install a file system hook in order to have a gander at anything that hits your disk. In order to do this, they would probably open the file for read, and in some cases this will be the temporary file used by backup, which interferes with backup deleting (moving) the temp file. Hence the failure.So my suggestion would be to turn off anything that scans your disk, and might interfere with backup deleting it.... Just my 2cents...--Michel Godfroid
August 29th, 2009 8:18am

@Chris J. BreischSorry for misspelling your name, Chris;-)
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August 29th, 2009 8:22am

@Michel No worries. I misspell my name all the time too. :) Unfortunately, your proposal didn't work for me. I believe I have shut down anything that might be running a file system watcher, to no avail. Same issue. I have officially given up and moved to a different backup method.Chris J. Breisch, MCSD, MCDBA, MCSA
September 1st, 2009 10:36am

Hello My boss has asked me to post on his behalf. He is on Windows 7 at home, which I installed for him about a month or so ago. His backup was working perfectly, but then it stopped all of a sudden. We read this post and tried several options (removed WinZip and uninstalled AVG), and he tried a manual backup. It worked once, but then he tried it again twice, and both times it failed again as before with the same error message: "There was a failure in creating a directory on the backup storage location. Details: Access is denied". The fact that it worked then stopped working then did work once but then stopped again implies that it's not a file or program that's preventing it but it's actually a problem with Windows Backup? Is it because he's on the RC? I presume all bug fixes are applied via Windows Update so he should essentially have the RTM version, or is his (and my) version technically still just the RC? Thanks for any help anyone can provide. He's paranoid about getting his backup to work in case he loses documents!Long Live WordPerfect
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September 1st, 2009 10:52am

@Farscape FanYour issue seems to be different from the one in the thread. @Chris,@Farscape FanCan you zip and email me the contents of <<Systemdrive>>\Windows\Logs\WindowsBackup so that I can take a look? My email id is sneham_at_microsoft_com (Remove underscores and replace words with characters). Thanks,Sneha[MSFT]
September 2nd, 2009 1:44am

The consistent error I am getting these days is 0x8078014b: There was a failure in creating a directory on the backup storage location. Details: Access is denied. If I reformat the drive, I can do a brand new backup. The failures occur on incremental backups. Same failure occurs via a USB port, a USB/eSATA port, and through a SIIG eSATA II Express Card. The external drive appears to be functioning well. I can manually copy files to it, create folders, no problem. Seems like it is Windows 7 Backup that's the problem. Could the error be occurring because the disk is "dirty" - has a chkdsk scheduled that's never been run, etc? Or the fact that it's a dual boot system with Vista 64-bit on another partition but accessing the external backup HD when I boot into Vista? (and with a different anti-virus programming running under Vista). Jim Lewis
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September 13th, 2009 9:41pm

Hi Jim, The issue that you are facing seems to be different from what is being discussed on this thread. Could you please start a new thread stating your problem so that it will be easy for other users facing the same issue to follow the thread? Thanks,Sneha[MSFT]
September 14th, 2009 2:51am

Thanks for the advice. I started a new thread on two similar backup errors. Please delete my previous post, your reply, and this post, if you want. The new thread is: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7itprogeneral/thread/c9c645db-1979-48c0-83b1-c724334269aa Jim Lewis
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September 15th, 2009 10:14pm

I too am having Windows backup failures, I believe it's due to the Windows 7 media centre extender? Error code is 0x8100002F and it is only 2 files it skipped. Backup encountered a problem while backing up file C:\Users\Mcx1-DESKTOP\Contacts. Error:(The system cannot find the file specified. (0x80070002)) Backup encountered a problem while backing up file C:\Users\Mcx1-DESKTOP\Searches. Error:(The system cannot find the file specified. (0x80070002))
September 19th, 2009 10:52am

For any Microsoft engineers reading this, as soon as I disabled the Windows Media center extender (as I suspected) the backup completed fine. Small bug but a bug none the less - note this is the final RTM version from Technet, assume a patch or skip files routine is required in the code. - Scott
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September 19th, 2009 11:28am

My resolution on this issue was to run msconfig, and disable CARBONITE backup utility. Then backup would complete fine. A bummer though... Bad error message. --Jeremy Moskowitz, Group Policy MVP Building on Jeremy's observation, I disabled Carbonite by right-clicking the Carbonite icon in the task bar and temporarily disabled Carbonite...I restartedWin 7 Backup and it completed. BTW, Kaspersky Internet 10 remained activeThank you Jeremy!Greg
October 24th, 2009 8:00pm

Did a search and couldn't find the Media center extender so no chance to turn it of. After several back up attempts I found this website and find out that more people have the problem. Turned of Norton 360, which didn't help either and now the back and restore window doesn't even show what's going on
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October 25th, 2009 9:33pm

I was running the RC build of Windows 7 and encountered this error. I have since installed the retail build of Windows 7 64 bit and received it once again. 0x81000015 I have Winrar installed on my system, though it is not likely the culprit because it has been installed since day one, before the error appeared. I personally believe the error in my case is from the application idrive.com uses to manage remote backups of a local computer, like carbonite for people in the posts above mine. I would be more than willing to share my log files if MS is interested in exploring this error further. I am now goign to attempt to uninstall the idrive application temporarily to see if that addresses this issue in my case. good luck Andrew
October 25th, 2009 11:10pm

I have confirmed that the Idrive resident applications are/were conflicting with Windows Backup. This may be a trend between resident applications that watch for modified files.
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October 26th, 2009 11:14am

Same problem. Removed WinZip associations...still no go. Disabled Carbonite...backup completed.Software to help you build a better store
October 27th, 2009 12:56pm

Carbonite was what was screwing mine up. Good backup after uninstalling it.
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November 1st, 2009 8:36pm

I disabled Carbonite and had a successful back-up.
November 1st, 2009 9:40pm

I have theerror 0x8000001 problem when trying to backup. I do not have Carbonite, iDrive applications or Stuffit installed on my system. I run Avast which I have tried disabling however that made no difference.
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November 3rd, 2009 10:08pm

Hi Jamberbingwell, What is the error code that you are getting when you run a backup? Thanks,Sneha
November 4th, 2009 4:14am

Error code: 0x8100002F Backing up from C drive to external 500GB drive I was previously running Vista and had no problems backing up, installed Windows 7 a couple of days ago and haven't been able to successfully complete a backup since.
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November 4th, 2009 5:13am

Hi, We have seen the following applications having compatibility issues with Windows backup, causing it to fail with error 0x80000015. Following is the list observed so far:1. Carbonite backup utility - Disable the utility before backup.2. IDrive applications - Disable the utility before backup.3. StuffIt - As a workaround, remove .zip associations from StuffIt. If you have this issue and know of any other software that causes this, please do let us know. Thanks,Sneha[MSFT] This worked! I disabled carbonite and the backup completed with out error. Thanks Steve
November 4th, 2009 7:19am

Hi Jamberbingwell, This issue is different from the one discussed here. Will be best if you could start a new thread under http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/windowsbackup/ along with the contents shown when you click 'View skipped files'. Thanks,Sneha[MSFT]
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November 5th, 2009 8:23am

Same error here...
November 7th, 2009 3:26pm

Hi, We have seen the following applications having compatibility issues with Windows backup, causing it to fail with error 0x80000015. Following is the list observed so far: 1. Carbonite backup utility - Disable the utility before backup. 2. IDrive applications - Disable the utility before backup. 3. StuffIt - As a workaround, remove .zip associations from StuffIt. If you have this issue and know of any other software that causes this, please do let us know. Thanks, Sneha [MSFT] You can add Crashplan to this list. I spent two days trying to make a backup of my new Win 7 computer, this backup finally managed to complete without the 0x8100015 error only when I stopped crashplan service.
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November 9th, 2009 3:29pm

Yes indeed, I turned off Carbonite and the issue was resolved....
November 9th, 2009 5:22pm

Hi!I use Crashplan (and Mozy prior to this) and was always getting the same error. Turning off CrashPlan did the trick.Backup now works!!Thanks!!CGW
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November 22nd, 2009 4:32pm

Hi,I was not able to make a full back up with my win 7 64 byte system as i get following error code in german.Beim Sichern der Datei "C:\Windows\System32\config\systemprofile\Eigene Dateien D" ist ein Problem aufgetreten. Fehler: (Das System kann die angegebene Datei nicht finden. (0x80070002)).I was also unable to make a system image back up, as after approx 75% of the back up, it hang up.Translated: There was a fault by back up of the file "C:\Windows\System32\config\systemprofile\Eigene Dateien D"Fault: the system cant find the mentioned file. (0x80070002))I have plenty of space on both disks. 800 GB on my extern WD passport, 230 GB on my only intern drive c:.I shut off MSSecurity essentials during back up and have no programs you mentioned, wich could interfiere with back up.What else can i do?Thanks
December 1st, 2009 6:33am

Well, I don't happen to have any Microsoft virtualization technologies installed. Guess again?Chris J. Breisch, MCSD, MCDBA, MCSA
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December 3rd, 2009 9:15am

I am getting the same error also, i have an empty 1tb drive and am only trying to back up 83 gig. i am running Windows 7 and have tried at least 6 times even doing a complete format on the new drive to make sure its ok.
December 10th, 2009 8:02pm

I'm getting the 0x80070002 ('system cannot find the file specified') error consistently on Win7 x64 Pro., and tried removing any profile entries from the backup (only backing up top-level C:\ directories), and still see the same thing: backup fails at 6%, 'Creating a shadow copy'; backup log file is created, but is completely empty.I am backing up from a local disk with 30GB+ free to an external FireWire drive with .5 TB free. I have also tried disabling or killing any and all third-party utilities (incl. a/v, anti-spyware) that might conceivably interfere with the backups. I have never used Stuffit, iDrive, or Carbonite, do not have any extra profile entries in the registry, have run chkdsk on both source disk and destination, including check for bad sectors, have run sfc /scannow without any indication of error, and still backup consistently fails. Have read through numerous postings on this error and none have helped.Thanks
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January 11th, 2010 12:50am

Hi, Can you please send me the *.etl files at %windir%\Logs\Windows Backup folder to Soudamini[dot]Sreepada[at]microsoft[dot]com?I would investigate your issue seperately and would be able to resolve the problem. Thanks,S.Soudamini.This posting is provided "AS IS" without warranties and confers no rights.
January 11th, 2010 10:41am

I have a similar system in terms of space, no third party stuff etc. and I'm having the same problem.
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January 12th, 2010 6:45pm

Hi SMFT and fvmartin.I had similar problems by my back up.At the end of the day, it turned out, that the chkdsk, i made on my disk c: was unefficient.So I had to do a chkdsk from the x_Windowspartition as following:1. Start pc and press F8 during booting.2. Under Option choose restore/recovery3. When the system recovery option is shown, choose the command promt and insert the command as following:chkdsk c: /f /rThis disk check may last, depending from your disk size 2 - 3 hours, as i hade 400 GB to check.Then this disk check found disk faults, I was not able to find with the disk check, called within windows as an admin.Since then I am able to back up my files and my system image.Hope that will help you.Peter
January 13th, 2010 4:21am

I have IDrive and Mcafee Security installed on my Dell XPS420 desktop. I have Windows 7 32 bit installed on a source drive that is 283GB with 97.4GB free and my backup drive is a WD My Book 1tb external usb drive. I gather from investigating this error that Window Backup creates the zip file on the source drive which has only 97.4GB free and then moves that zip file to the backup drive. This is a bad idea as it is not recommended to backup on the local (source) drive it should not be used as the space for storing the temporary zip file either. I'm backing up my libraries plus a system image and the resulting size of the zip file is too large to be stored on the source drive. Microsoft should fix this fast!Mark Carroll
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February 9th, 2010 11:37pm

Hi Sneha,I have 97.4GB free on the source drive. I have disabled Idrive and Mcafee Viruscan and am running a backup now. We'll see if that fixes it. I think it is a bug that windows backup creates the temporary zip file on the source drive as that drive shouldn't be used for backing up it shouldn't be used for creating the zip file either.Mark Carroll
February 9th, 2010 11:50pm

Hi Mark, Windows backup creates zip files in units of 200 MB. This file is temporarily staged in the drive containing Windows. That is why a minimum of 400 MB (200 MB + other metadata) space is demanded. In your case however, this error message comes up because some third party software (like IDrive) interfere in the zip creation causing it to fail. Due to a bug in our code, this error manifests to the user as insufficient space on the Windows volume. Hope this clarifies. Thanks,Sneha[MSFT]
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February 16th, 2010 8:05am

Hi Sneha, I've got a clean install of W7 Pro 64bit with all the Windows Updates applied. I have 146GB free space on my local drive and a 1TB USB drive that I'm backing up to with 626GB free. When I run Windows Backup I'm getting error code 0x81000015 with the message: "Windows Backup could not creat a zip file. This could be because the drive that Windows is installed on does not have enought space or it coule be a temporary error. Make sure yo uhave at least 400MB of free space and try again." I've tried now 3 separate times and I consistently get this message. Your post says there is a bug in Windows backup that's causing this, correct? Should I just use another backup method until Microsoft gets this fixed? When do you think that will be? Thanks,Drew
March 15th, 2010 10:30am

So, after almost 12 months, the problem is *still* not solved. I am *still* getting the error, with or without Carbonite. even with or without MS's own antivirus. Doesn;t matte what I try, still no backup. Is it just me or is this unnacceptable for a paid product? Is there a real solution to this? Are we in a minority? Come on MS - help us out here!
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April 3rd, 2010 5:43am

Hi Richard, We have seen the following applications having compatibility issues with Windows backup, causing it to fail with error 0x80000015. Following is the list observed so far:1. Carbonite backup utility 2. IDrive applications3. StuffIt - As a workaround, remove .zip associations from StuffIt.4. Crashplan You have mentioned that you do not have Carbonite. Can you check if you are running any of the other applications? The bug in Windows backup is only showing the wrong error message. However, these programs when installed truly cause zip creation to fail out that is causing backup to fail. We understand that it is an unpleasant experience for users like you who are facing this issue. We appreciate your co-operation in helping us identify other causes of this problem so that it can help other users. Thanks,Sneha[MSFT]Sneha [MSFT]
April 6th, 2010 9:03am

To Richard Angus hi you are not alone! ;-)))) I had the same problem after a fresh installation of Win 7. I tried to skip the use of popular BK program by using Win backup but it stuck after a run with the error you reported. I came here looking for a solution. After one year you guys are still in the deep.. well. I guess I have to leave the MS backup.
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April 27th, 2010 11:44am

I'm running 7 Ultimate. Getting the same failure to create a zip file despite No Carbonite. Removed all the Stuffits associations.
May 16th, 2010 9:48am

I finally found someone with the same problem! I have tried and tried to backup my computer using the installed windows 7 in the backup and restore section of control panel to the dvd E drive in the computer and it just won't do it. It will get to about 30% at the most and then cancel because of the same error code. I have spent hours and hours on the phone to hewlett packard (who by the way are in India) and can't get the problem solved. The computer is only about 4 months old and has never performed this action. My old laptop with vista does exactly what I want it to do. Backup all my flies,music,pictures,etc to a removable disk with no problem. here's the good part: this new computer has no problem backing up to my Western Digital external hard drive. It just won't backup to the DVD E drive or for that matter it won't backup to my Sony external DVD burner either. There is something wrong here and I am getting very frustrated trying to figure it out. I can copy the files off the external drive but it's a manual operation and takes up more time. I f anyone finds the problem please email me at nickajohn55@aol.com. I hope I here from someone who can help. I have tried it with Norton 360 on and off and Norton Internet security 2010 both completely uninstalled and I get the same results. Also my error code is 0x80070005
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June 27th, 2010 2:47am

I had this same error message for months looked all over the internet and didn't find any solutions, but mine turned out to be an easy fix and the error message was no help with finding the problem. I finally looked at the actual error log and saw that it was reporting not backing up files because they already existed in the backup. turns out i was backing up the Libraries and the User folder which duplicated files. as soon as i changed the settings to only backup Users and not libraries the backup completed with no error good luck all
October 7th, 2010 6:45pm

Hi Sneha, I have resolved the "Windows backup could not create a zip file" problem by removing Stuffit and switching off symantec antivirus. I'm not sure if it was really necessary to do both so I will check this out a bit more when I have time and get back with an update. Cheers, Cjdurbs
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June 26th, 2011 8:14am

Hi I suddenly fell onto my piece here: I suddenly had the exact problem as indicated in the original post. The backup was accumulative and had been running smoothly for 6 months without problem, the last backup was run 7 days ago and NO 3rd party softwares were installed during this period. However this morning the error code 0x81000015 suddenly popped out and I cannot make it to work after 3 tries. Is there any other explanation apart from the 3rd party program? Thanks
July 25th, 2011 11:55am

@Wyld_Black_Wolf Great! This worked out for me - and I used to have this 0x81000015 error since the beginning on one PC. Thanks for posting this message. Cheers, ch
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September 8th, 2011 12:07pm

I turned off "Continuous Backup" in my IDrive application and I can now do a successfull backup image file on my external hard drive with no errors.Mark Carroll
November 29th, 2011 9:42pm

Hi, I have been dealing with this issue for several months and have visited multiple support sites seeking a solution. Since I received my new machine with Win7 64 bit installed the backup has NEVER successfully completed. I have done the following multiple times: 1) reformatted my external 500 gb drive, 2) disabled Carbonite, 3) uninstalled Stuffit, 4) never had IDrive 5) disabled all my Symantic security (firewall, anti-virus) 6) disabled the Window firewall, 7) purged my registers with CCleaner. 8) I am unaware of any zip file related programs that may still be on my machine - how do I check that? And every time, after running Windows Backup System Image, (which takes over 6 hours for my 400 gb C drive) I get a failure with Error Code:0x8100015 Desperately seeking a solution....
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December 13th, 2011 11:07pm

Alright bud. i signed on to specifically post this as an aid for you. i spent 3 days working on this issue with Microsoft and i manage to help them come up with a solution and below is what we managed to figure out: Solution to fixing the Win 7 backup problem: 1) hit right click on your taskbar. 2) select task manager 3) go to processes 4) select go to services 5) select Windows Backup in services and ensure its selected for automatic. if its not right click, Choose Properties and select automatic and HIT THE START BUTTON BEFORE YOU HIT APPLY repeat steps for VSS and SSP. (its CRITICAL that you hit the Start THEN apply otherwise it won't work, you NEED backup, VSS and SSP running to make the backup work so set them on Automatic) if this doesn't work on the first try.. then try upgrading your installation .. THEN apply this solution, reboot to save the new settings and then try again. hopefully this helps. Wyld Wolf: I run Win 7 64 bit, I am trying to follow your instructions: Once I select "Windows Task Manager", I see 6 tabs. The second tab is "Processes" (Not clear to me why I need to go to the "Processes" tab as you suggest) the 3rd tab is "Services", at the bottom of the "Services" tab is a button labeled "Services..." If I click that then I see a list of Services, which includes "Window Backup" and then I can do as you suggest. But, where do I find VSS and SSP? Are these initials for other Services? Where do I find them. Thanks for your help - I am hoping this will make a difference.
December 13th, 2011 11:45pm

Disablining the antivirus worked for me. Thanks Sneha! I hope you solve the issue soon as for the moment the automatic backup cannot happen. Ioannis
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March 27th, 2012 2:51am

Has a definitive answer come through yet? The error message I get is 0x80070008 but the effect is the same: windows backup won't run. When I run setup and get to the last step of save backup settings this error message appears and says there's not enough space on backup USB drive (which is not true, given the space available). I am able to run a system image, however, and create a restore disk. I see this issue has been discussed in a couple locations for three years now, but nothing I've seen or tried from various suggestions works.
August 19th, 2012 11:28am

Incidentally, the fix that worked for me was to simply disable Carbonite during my Windows Backup run. Kind of defeats the purpose of running on a schedule but this works okay for me since it's a laptop and I usually have to kick off the backup manually when I plug it in to the external drive. Interestingly, the conflict does not always occur - I backed up a couple of nights ago and completely forgot about the Carbonite issue and the backup ran without an error. I find it pretty strange that only Carbonite has this problem - I've seen no reports of similar issues with Mozy. What it means to me is I can't recommend Carbonite to my naive users/clients since the problem defeats the entire advantage of redundant backups. Never did get an answer as to which services were intended to be changed but then that's not the solution anyway. above added 9/5/2012 Wyld_Black_Wolf wrote:... 3) go to processes 4) select go to services 5) select Windows Backup in services and ensure its selected for automatic. if its not right click, Choose Properties and select automatic and HIT THE START BUTTON BEFORE YOU HIT APPLY repeat steps for VSS and SSP. There is no service called "SSP". Can you supply the name of the actual service? I've looked at all of the services that start with the letter S but don't see this name or anything that might be abbreviated to SSP. The closest matches I see are: Software Protection SPP Notification Service SSDP Discovery Thanks! Rob
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August 20th, 2012 5:41pm

Wyld_Black_Wolf wrote: ... 3) go to processes 4) select go to services 5) select Windows Backup in services and ensure its selected for automatic. if its not right click, Choose Properties and select automatic and HIT THE START BUTTON BEFORE YOU HIT APPLY repeat steps for VSS and SSP. There is no service called "SSP". Can you supply the name of the actual service? I've looked at all of the services that start with the letter S but don't see this name or anything that might be abbreviated to SSP. The closest matches I see are: Software Protection SPP Notification Service SSDP Discovery Thanks! Rob
August 20th, 2012 5:43pm

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