Diagnosing VSS issues

The VSS Diagnostics wizard runs persistent and non-persistent snapshot testing. Do not run these tests if you are already using SAN Volume Controller or Storwize® V7000 space-efficient snapshots on your computer. Doing so can result in the removal of previously existing snapshots.

To test persistent and non-persistent VSS snapshots, complete the following steps:

1. Start the Management Console.
2. Click Diagnostics in the start page. Click the VSS Diagnostics icon in the action pane. The diagnostics wizard opens, a list of volumes are displayed, and the status of each test is displayed when it is completed.
3. Select the volumes or mount points to test and click Next. Click Show VSS Information to view details about the VSS providers, writers, and snapshots available on your system. Click Next to begin testing the selected items.
4. The results of the persistent and non-persistent snapshot testing displays as Passed or Failed. If a test fails, click the Failed link for more information.

   During testing, the output of the Windows Event Log is also displayed. Review the events and click Copy Info if you want to save the results. Click Next to continue. The results of the snapshot testing are displayed. If a problem is identified, use the information that is displayed to isolate the issue. When the testing is successful and complete, click Finish to exit the wizard.