HRESULT 0x80042417 (VSS_E_FSS_TIMEOUT): meaning and diagnosis

Status / error code:

Category:

Constant name:

Source:

Facility:

Operating System:

Description:

A timeout occurred while preparing a file share shadowcopy for backup.

Could be also:
Constant	Type	OS
VDS_E_DISK_NOT_INITIALIZED	HRESULT	Windows

Previous	Next
VDS_E_DISK_NOT_INITIALIZED	VDS_E_NOT_AN_UNALLOCATED_DISK

VSS_E_FSS_TIMEOUT

VSS_E_FSS_TIMEOUT A file-share shadow-copy operation timed out while preparing for backup. This applies to a file-share snapshot workflow rather than an ordinary local-volume snapshot.

What to check

Check the file server, share workload, storage latency, and any backup software integration at the time of the timeout.
Review VSS and file-server events for a writer, provider, or share-preparation delay that occurred before the timeout.
Retry only after identifying whether the timeout was transient; recurring failures require capacity or integration analysis.

vssadmin list writers

vssadmin list providers

Microsoft: Volume Shadow Copy Service

Microsoft: vssadmin list writers

Microsoft: vssadmin list providers

Looking for a different code? Search another status or error code.