Disable Shadow Copy for Huge Volumes

FYI, from Microsoft, as at 23 February 2023:

Symptoms

You may receive an error message or notice a failure if you try to perform one of the following operations on Windows client or Windows Server operating systems:

  • You enable the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) on a volume that is larger than 64 terabytes (TB).
  • You create writable snapshots or snapshots that are larger than 64 TB.
  • You enable VSS for a shared folder on a volume that is larger than 64 TB.
  • You run a backup operation on a volume that is larger than 64 TB that has a shadow copy enabled.
  • You run chkdsk.exe on a volume that is larger than 64 TB.

The error message may include:

  • STOP: 0x0000007E
  • Failed to create a shadow copy of volume < Drive_letter >.
  • Error 0x80042306: The shadow copy provider had an error. Check the System and Application event logs for more information.
  • Event ID: 12289. Error: 0x80070057. The parameter is incorrect.

Cause

This issue occurs because Microsoft does not support VSS on volumes larger than 64 TB. Also, writable snapshots or snapshots larger than 64 TB are not supported.

Workaround

To work around this issue, do not perform any of the operations that are described in the “Symptoms” section on a volume that is larger than 64 TB.

Soooo, can’t back it up then?

Apparently, if you are using a storage system that can provide its own snapshots, then it is possible to create a shadow copy for such large volume.

Just not with standard Microsoft tools. I guess they didn’t anticipate people choosing to create volumes larger than 64TB without special hardware…