This article provides information about the error message VSS_E_WRITER_INFRASTRUCTURE error (0x80042318) on volume that may appear in the log files when copying open / locked files. The error indicates a problem communicating with VSS writers on your system.
Solution
1. Restart the following services: COM+ Event System, COM+ System Application, Microsoft Software Shadow Copy Provider, Volume Shadow Copy
2. Change the startup type of the Volume Shadow copy service to 'Automatic' (right click on Volume Shadow Copy > Properties > set the 'Start type' to 'Automatic') and reboot the computer.
3. Open a command prompt and run the following commands:
cd /d %windir%\system32 net stop vss net stop swprv regsvr32 ole32.dll regsvr32 oleaut32.dll regsvr32 /i eventcls.dll regsvr32 vss_ps.dll vssvc /register regsvr32 /i swprv.dll regsvr32 es.dll regsvr32 stdprov.dll regsvr32 vssui.dll regsvr32 msxml.dll regsvr32 msxml3.dll regsvr32 msxml4.dll net start swprv net start vss
4. Reboot the computer
5. Test the backup