Windows Vista backup error 0x81000029

Question

Hello everyone.  I have a Vostro 400 Desktop and am having problems running Vista Complete PC Backup.  Every time I run it, I get an error that no hard drive or backup device can be found.  After doing some research online, it looks like it's related to the EISA partion (the diagnostics partition) that Dell ships with.  Unfortunately, according to information I am reading, the Windows partition needs to be set to Active, but my partition is already active.  Anyone else experience this and are there any workarounds for it?

Mary G · Answer

You cannot/should not backup to your original hard drive! The whole point is to enable recovery from a hard drive crash, which is impossible if the backup is on the crashed drive. You must back up to a second hard drive--either internal or external. That Recovery-Backup Partition is not to be added to or used at all. It as well as the diagnostic partition is part of the hard drive you are backing up. I wish Dell Support would rename the Backup Partition! BTW, Vista Backup is not very useful anyway, since there is a problem with the Restore part. Use a third party cloning program or just copy your personal files to removable media.

captainjy · Answer

Thanks for the reply.  I understand this and want to copy the image of my hard drive to my domain controller.  Actually, I figured it out- Volume Shadow Copy Service was not running.  Once I started it, I was able to see all my drive.  Ideally, I would like to have a copy on my network and on one of my partitions in case I need to re-image over my active drive if C: is not bootable.  The whole point of any image for me is to save the time having to put everything back.  It can take a good 5 hours to get everything back in the right place.  Anyhow, I agree with you completely.  Thanks for the response.

Windows General

Windows Vista backup error 0x81000029

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