Windows Backup failed to get an exclusive lock on the EFI system partition (ESP) - Symantec Endpoint Protection

Question

Windows Backup failed to get an exclusive lock on the EFI system partition (ESP) - Symantec Endpoint Protection

Jesse Flintoff 236

Hello everyone.

I have 30 odd Windows 10 & Windows 2019/2022 Servers that get this error randomly when performing a Bare Metal backup using Windows Backup to internal and external hard drives.

Error: Windows Backup failed to get an exclusive lock on the EFI system partition (ESP)
If I re-run the backup immediately. It works fine 9 times out of 10. Anyone else having the same issue?
Kind regards
Jesse

Harry Leonard 1 Reputation point

2022-09-29T09:35:13.517+00:00

Please make sure the backup disk is formatted for GPT...not MBR.
Jesse Flintoff 236 Reputation points

2022-09-29T20:23:51.99+00:00

Hi there.

Thanks for the reply.

It fails with both.
Harry Leonard 1 Reputation point

2022-09-29T20:45:07.91+00:00

Are you using partitions on the backup disk? If so, try deleting the partitions and re-formatting the backup drive. In other words...start fresh.
Jesse Flintoff 236 Reputation points

2022-10-02T00:10:02.893+00:00

Hi there.

Thank you for the reply.

That does not fix it.

Kind regards

6 answers

Your answer

Harry Leonard 1 Reputation point

2022-09-29T09:35:13.517+00:00

Please make sure the backup disk is formatted for GPT...not MBR.
Jesse Flintoff 236 Reputation points

2022-09-29T20:23:51.99+00:00

Hi there.

Thanks for the reply.

It fails with both.
Harry Leonard 1 Reputation point

2022-09-29T20:45:07.91+00:00

Are you using partitions on the backup disk? If so, try deleting the partitions and re-formatting the backup drive. In other words...start fresh.
Jesse Flintoff 236 Reputation points

2022-10-02T00:10:02.893+00:00

Hi there.

Thank you for the reply.

That does not fix it.

Kind regards

Answer 1

In Windows Server 2022 some users have this problem.

This workaround seem to work (read the whole post before applying):

In Task Scheduler go to Task Scheduler Library -> Microsoft -> Windows -> Backup -> Properties -> Settings and Check the box “Allow task to be run on demand”
Open cmd and type this command: schtasks /create /F /RU SYSTEM /RL HIGHEST /SC onevent /EC Application /MO "*[System[Provider[@Name='Microsoft-Windows-Backup'] and (EventID=517)]]" /TN "Microsoft\Windows\Backup\Retry_Backup" /TR "schtasks /run /tn \"Microsoft\Windows\Backup\Microsoft-Windows-WindowsBackup\""

PS: EventID in the command refere to the Event ID you can see in Event Viewer when the backup task fail. If this is NOT 517 (fail to get exclusive lock on EFI), then this workaround might not be the one for you.

Answer 2

Tejerias 0

I have the same problem. Do you finally solve it?

0 comments

Answer 3

Harry Leonard 1

Final solution...in backup settings...choose "Let me choose", rather than "recommended" Windows settings. Hope this works for you!

Jesse Flintoff 236 Reputation points

2022-10-02T00:10:23.13+00:00

Hi there.

Thank you for the reply.

That does not fix it.

Kind regards
Ron Troy 96 Reputation points

2023-04-17T03:13:08.4666667+00:00

When this works weekly for months and suddenly stops working after the latest Windows updates, that does make me wonder. Did Microsoft decide to break WBR?
Ron Troy 96 Reputation points

2023-04-17T04:24:20.88+00:00

Strange; WBR info message said that I was trying to do about a 3TB backup (my backup drive had about 1tb free). Very strange because that was unrelated to the error message. Still, I cleared out older backups and initiated a system image and backup, which has been running for about an hour now. Of course, I've no idea how it will end.
Ron Troy 96 Reputation points

2023-04-17T06:08:34.0666667+00:00

Now I'm really confused. The backup and system image finished, asked me if I wanted to create a repair disc, then gave the same error message. View backus seems normal. But error code 0x8078011E, no surprise there. Only AV is Defender / Windows Security. EFI partition is 300MB on the C Disk 0 along with the C drive and recovery partition as normal. SSD.

Answer 4

Jesse Flintoff 236

..........

0 comments

Answer 5

Limitless Technology 40,116

Hi JesseFlintoff-4117,

The error ‘Windows Backup failed to get an exclusive lock on the EFI partition (ESP)’ usually occurs when there’s an application that is denying access of the process.

The error generally occurs when it is denied the required access typically if you are not using an administrator account. However, if you are using an administrator account and still facing the issue, then in such a case, it can be due to the following factors:

Third-party applications: In some cases, the error can be due to the third-party applications running on your system.
Windows Defender or Antivirus: If you are facing the said issue, it can be due to the restrictions imposed by the Windows Defender or your third-party antivirus.
Windows Backup Service: Lastly, the error can also emerge if a certain Windows backup service is using the wrong log on user.

I hope this answers your question.

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--If the reply is helpful, please Upvote and Accept as answer--

Jesse Flintoff 236 Reputation points

2022-06-23T22:53:50.89+00:00

.........
Ron Troy 96 Reputation points

2023-04-17T03:11:57.6+00:00

This has been working normally for many months; this error just happened today out of the blue. Nothing should have changed on my system other than doing the March 2023 Win 10 22H2 updates a few days ago.
Jesse Flintoff 236 Reputation points

2023-04-17T03:37:30.6+00:00

Happens to randomly to all of my 2022 servers. I set my backup software to simply retry the backup when it fails. Haven't been able to get a fix from MS.
Mark Weiss 91 Reputation points

2025-09-02T14:17:04.7466667+00:00

I too started having this problem after Windows failed to shut down in a timely manner last night. Last night I tried to make an image backup, but it got stuck on searching for backup drives. So I shut down and that took unusually long. Today when I started the PC, it started normally, and Windows image backup found the drives quickly, so I started the usual backup only to get this error.
Harry Leonard 1 Reputation point

2025-09-02T18:54:23.09+00:00

Hi Mark.

I too, had this problem a few months ago. In "Backup Settings...Let Me Choose" uncheck all boxes except for "C Drive (Main Drive)". In my case I had the OS backed up in my "D Drive" as well (duh). This confuses Windows Backup as to which drive it wishes to backup...giving an error, or refuses to shut down. After performing this action I haven't had any further issues with Windows Backups.

Hope this works as well for you and others experiencing this issue. Let me know if this works for you.

Regards,

Harry
Mark Weiss 91 Reputation points

2025-09-02T19:27:02.2866667+00:00

I suspect when Windows didn't shut down properly, it left some files tagged as in use in the EFI partition. I found that rebooting the system a couple of times cleared out whatever locks there were and I was finally able to back up the partition.

Curiously, upon the loading of the desktop, I got some error about an unrecognized USB device. This has been happening since the Windows update in July.