Seems to be a microsoft bug. See here - https://support.sophos.com/support/s/article/KB-000045621?language=en_US
Windows Backup failed to get an exclusive lock on the EFI system partition (ESP) - Symantec Endpoint Protection
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Jesse Flintoff
236
Reputation points
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
Windows for business | Windows Server | Devices and deployment | Set up, install, or upgrade
Windows for business | Windows Server | User experience | Other
Windows for business | Windows Client for IT Pros | User experience | Other
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Harry Leonard 1 Reputation point2022-09-29T09:35:13.517+00:00 Please make sure the backup disk is formatted for GPT...not MBR.
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Jesse Flintoff 236 Reputation points
2022-09-29T20:23:51.99+00:00 Hi there.
Thanks for the reply.
It fails with both.
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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.
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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
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6 answers
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Espen 6 Reputation points2024-06-06T08:28:08.9966667+00:00 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.
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Tejerias 0 Reputation points2024-05-07T10:30:23.7833333+00:00 I have the same problem. Do you finally solve it?
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Harry Leonard 1 Reputation point
2022-10-02T00:07:33.927+00:00 Final solution...in backup settings...choose "Let me choose", rather than "recommended" Windows settings. Hope this works for you!
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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
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Ron Troy 96 Reputation points2023-04-17T03:13:08.4666667+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?
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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.
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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.
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