How to check the state of VSS writers in Windows

  1. Open a cmd.exe session as an Administrator-level user
  2. run the following command: vssadmin list writers
  3. check the output for your desired VSS writer, here’s an example of a healthy Exchange VSS writer:

    Writer name: ‘Microsoft Exchange Writer’
    Writer Id: {76fe1ac4-15f7-4bcd-987e-8e1acb462fb7}
    Writer Instance Id: {3d54c40b-2bd3-4240-807a-2d02e344f706}
    State: [1] Stable
    Last error: No error