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VSS_E_ASRERROR_DISK_RECREATION_FAILED
VSS_E_ASRERROR_DISK_RECREATION_FAILED is the failure HRESULT 0x80042402 (signed decimal -2147212286, unsigned decimal 2147755010). Its severity bit is set, the facility field is 4 (FACILITY_ITF), and the facility-specific code is 0x2402.
Windows cannot recreate a required recovery disk. The recovery workflow has progressed beyond choosing candidate disks, but Windows cannot create the disk structure needed to represent a disk stored in the backup.
AllStat records the official condition as: “Windows cannot create a disk on this computer needed to restore from the backup. Make sure the disks are properly connected, or add or change disks, and try the restore again.” This wording should be interpreted at the VSS/ASR stage described below, not as a generic disk or COM failure.
Where VSS_E_ASRERROR_DISK_RECREATION_FAILED appears
This is a disk-recreation failure during Automated System Recovery. It is later than capacity matching: a target may be visible and large enough, yet layout creation, metadata updates or access to the device still fails.
Likely causes
- The selected disk is read-only, offline, write-protected or controlled by a storage policy that prevents layout changes.
- A controller, path or media error interrupts partition-table or volume creation.
- Stale disk metadata conflicts with the layout that ASR is attempting to reconstruct.
- The recovery environment can enumerate the device but lacks a fully functional driver for destructive management operations.
Evidence to capture before changing storage
- Save the selected disk number, bus type, serial number, capacity and current partition style.
- Capture DiskPart detail and System event-log entries generated at the first failed create or metadata operation.
- Record whether the disk is basic, dynamic, virtual, clustered, read-only or presented through multipath storage.
- Preserve the underlying storage HRESULT or Win32 error before the recovery UI maps it to this VSS value.
Diagnostic sequence
- Confirm that the intended target, not an unrelated data disk, received focus.
- Check online and read-only state before considering cleanup of existing metadata.
- Run vendor diagnostics or inspect controller events when the same write fails outside ASR.
- Use a disposable test disk to distinguish backup-layout incompatibility from a device-specific fault.
Recovery and retry
Correct the device state, load the proper driver, or replace a failing target, then restart the restore from a clean recovery session. Disk cleaning is destructive and should be performed only after identity and backup coverage have been verified.
What this HRESULT does not prove
The code does not mean there are too few disks; assignment may already have succeeded. It also does not prove that the backup payload is corrupt, because the failure can occur while writing the target disk rather than reading backup data.
Difference from nearby VSS results
VSS_E_ASRERROR_DISK_ASSIGNMENT_FAILED stops before a target can be chosen. VSS_E_ASRERROR_NO_PHYSICAL_DISK_AVAILABLE means no fixed candidate is visible, whereas this result concerns a chosen disk that cannot be recreated.
Practical example
Windows RE detects a correctly sized disk through a storage controller, but the controller exposes it read-only. ASR assigns the disk and then fails when it attempts to write the partition table, producing this HRESULT.
Guidance for backup software and telemetry
Log both phases separately: candidate selection and disk recreation. The distinction prevents operators from adding capacity when the actual problem is write access or device health.
A useful support record includes the operation phase, backup set or restore session identifier, recovery-environment version, firmware mode, exact disk identities, source and target capacities, online/exclusion state, and the first related VSS or storage event. Preserve identifiers needed to distinguish the affected devices while applying the organization’s normal redaction rules to customer-specific labels and paths.
Official Microsoft references
- Microsoft: VSS Automated System Recovery for disaster recovery
- Microsoft: DiskPart command interpreter
- Microsoft: DiskPart online disk command
- Microsoft: Windows Recovery Environment
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