SQL Troubleshooting for BackupVault Pro

Introduction

BackupVault Pro automatically detects a running MS SQL service and displays a SQL tab option on the left hand side. Occasionally the box will not be displayed and this is typically due to the permissions set within Microsoft SQL itself.

Note: After each section, open the BackupVault ESE client to see if the SQL tab has appeared on the left hand side.

To fix, follow these steps:

Check if the SQL server role has the correct permissions

1. Open the Microsoft SQL Management Studio and login as an authorised user
2. Expand the Security then Logins folders
3. Right-click on the NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM user and select Properties
4. Select Server Roles and tick the Sysadmin option
5. Click OK
   
   

Check if  the ‘SQL VSS writer’ is running

1. Open Command Prompt as administrator
2. Type: vssadmin list writers
3. Check the state of the listed writers. They should be all reading:

State: [1] Stable

Last error: No error

If the writer is displaying errors or is not present, then the associated service will need restarting.

Check the required services are present / running in services.msc

1. From the start menu, search for “Run”
2. Enter “services.msc”, hit enter.
3. Confirm the “Volume Shadow Copy” service is present.
4. Confirm the “BackupVault ESE” service is present and running.

Check for trailing white-space in the database name

Leading or trailing white-space in the database name can cause issues. Creating a database with white-space in the name wont usually cause immediate warnings, but it will cause application errors, like in backups for example. Check the database names for leading and trailing white-space and ensure it is stripped from the name.

Try to launch the ‘SQL Server VSS writer’ service under .\Administrator (local administrator) account

1. ​Go to services.msc console and select SQL Server VSS writer service;
2. Select Properties > Log-On tab and specify Administrator account credentials;
3. Once done, restart below services from services.msc
   • • ​Cryptographic Services
     • Volume Shadow Copy
     • Microsoft Software Shadow Copy Provider
     • SQL Server VSS writer
4. Restart the BackupVault ESE service from services.msc

Re-Register the VSS writer DLLs

It may be necessary to re-register the VSS components. To do so, run the below command:

cd /d %windir%\system32
net stop vss
net stop swprv
regsvr32 /s ole32.dll
regsvr32 /s oleaut32.dll
regsvr32 /s vss_ps.dll
vssvc /register
regsvr32 /s /i swprv.dll
regsvr32 /s /i eventcls.dll
regsvr32 /s es.dll
regsvr32 /s stdprov.dll
regsvr32 /s vssui.dll
regsvr32 /s msxml.dll
regsvr32 /s msxml3.dll
regsvr32 /s msxml4.dll
vssvc /register
net start swprv
net start vss

Check the SQL tab is present in the BackupVault client

1. Open the BackupVault ESE client to view the SQL tab on the left hand side
2. Right click on the database you wish to backup and select Include