1085 - How to override VSS selections

When Full System Backup is enabled, all critical content is automatically included by VSS. In some cases, this may include content that is excluded from the backup selection, e.g. a folder included in a DFS replicated folder (DFS Replication service writer). Since Full System Backup does not expose a mechanism for writer and component exclusions, and System State does not allow exclusions at component level, the solution is to edit the relevant setting in the ESE installation directory.

In v19.5 and newer versions

From v19.5, you can edit the setting vss.writer.exclusions to list the VSS writers and/or components that are to be excluded. To do this:

1. Stop the ESE service.

2. Navigate to the installation directory and edit the a5backup.properties file.

3. Add a line following the pattern:

   vss.writer.exclusions="<vss.writer1\\component1>","<vss.writer2>"


   where <vss.writer1\\component1> and <vss.writer2> are the writers/components you want to exclude (separated by commas). For example:

   vss.writer.exclusions="WMI Writer","System Writer\\Service Files"

   Note that the double backslashes are required. 

   To retrieve a list of writers and components, run the following from an elevated command prompt:
   

   diskshadow /l c:\shadowcontents.txt
   DISKSHADOW> list writers detailed
   DISKSHADOW> exit

   The output is stored in the shadowcontents.txt file, which you can browse (or supply to Redstor Support if requested).
   
   
4. Restart the ESE service. ESE will now exclude the specified writers and components.

In v19.4 and older versions

In versions older than 19.5, exclusions must be added to the vss.overriding.exclusions setting. To do this:

1. Stop the ESE service.

2. Navigate to the installation directory and edit the a5backup.properties file.

3. Add a line following the pattern:

   vss.overriding.exclusions="<path1>","<path2>"


   where <path1> and <path2> are the paths you want to exclude (separated by commas). For example, to exclude the iTunes folder in the DFSR folder:

   vss.overriding.exclusions="D:\\AdminData\\Data\\word\\My Music"

   Note that the double backslashes are required.

4. Restart the ESE service.

5. Run Size from the toolbar or do a backup to confirm that the folder is excluded.

Warning

When excluding items that VSS says must be backed up, you run a high risk of excluding one or more critical files. This may result in a Full System Recovery that will not boot.

The following warning will be logged during a backup or size check to highlight the manual exclusion:

Warning: Overriding VSS inclusion by manually excluding '<path>'