Backup Software – Cove

Related Ticket: #6220

Overview

Cove backups may fail or complete with errors indicating that files (often SQL-related or tax software database/temp files) are “in use by another process.”

This is most commonly seen with accounting/tax applications (e.g., Accounting CS), where background database activity interferes with snapshot-based backups.

Symptoms

You may see the following in Cove:

Backup completes with errors
Repeated failures on specific files
Error message similar to:
- “The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process”

Common file types involved:

SQL database files (.mdf, .ldf)
Temp database files
Application-specific database components (Accounting CS, etc.)

Resolution

Step 1 – Restart Backup-Related Services

Reset the Windows Backup Engine and VSS services:

net stop wbengine
net stop vss
net stop swprv

net start swprv
net start vss
net start wbengine

Notes:

wbengine = Windows Backup Engine (key factor in this case)
vss = Volume Shadow Copy Service
swprv = Microsoft Software Shadow Copy Provider

Step 2 – Manually Run Backup

Trigger a manual backup
Confirm successful completion

Step 3 – Monitor Scheduled Backup

Leave auto-backup enabled
Verify next scheduled run completes successfully

When to Use This Fix

Backup errors reference “file in use”
Files are tied to SQL or database-driven applications
Issue repeats across multiple runs
Manual retries alone do not resolve it
Issue clears after service restart

Root Cause (Observed Behavior)

Based on troubleshooting from this case:

The issue is triggered when an application keeps a database file “active” during backup
Even though VSS is designed to handle open files, something in the backup chain can become unstable
When a disconnect or interruption occurs, related services (especially backup engine components) may get into a bad state
Once this happens, backups continue to fail until services are reset

There is no confirmed root cause from N-able, even after reviewing debug logs
→ Behavior is intermittent and not fully explained by vendor support

Key Takeaways

Often tied to database activity, not just simple file locks
The backup engine (not just VSS) can get stuck in a bad state
Restarting wbengine alongside VSS is the critical step
Issue is intermittent and not fully understood by N-able

Optional Preventative Considerations

Schedule backups outside business hours when possible
Ensure database-heavy applications are closed overnight
Watch for recurring patterns tied to specific software

If Cove Backup fails to backup System State because of Windows Cryptographic Service errors and Volume Shadow Copy service with the following errors or similar:

System State\ASR Writer\BCD\?\Volume{7ac063a6-0000-0000-0000-100000000000}\Boot\<VSSFileGroup>

System State\System Writer\System Files\C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Crypto\<VSSFileGroup>\SystemKeys

Then the Windows Cryptographic Service needs restarted using the following powershell script or commands to allow the next backup to complete:

Powershell:

# Requires -RunAsAdministrator

Write-Host “Stopping Volume Shadow Copy…” -ForegroundColor Yellow
Stop-Service -Name “vss” -Force

Write-Host “Stopping Cryptographic Services…” -ForegroundColor Yellow
Stop-Service -Name “cryptsvc” -Force

# Small pause to allow services to completely release files

Start-Sleep -Seconds 3

Write-Host “Starting Cryptographic Services…” -ForegroundColor Green
Start-Service -Name “cryptsvc”

Write-Host “Starting Volume Shadow Copy…” -ForegroundColor Green
Start-Service -Name “vss”

Write-Host “Services successfully restarted!” -ForegroundColor Cyan

Then launch the Cove backup manager for the problem device and run a fresh backup to verify the script fixed what it needed to.

Command Prompt:

net stop cryptsvc
net start cryptsvc

If that doesn’t do it, may need to restart Volume Shadow Copy Service instead using:

net stop vss
net start vss

And if neither of those do it, start here since there may be a permissions issue for the Cryptographics service

https://me.n-able.com/s/article/Cove-System-State-backup-error-VSS-writer-System-Writer-is-missing-Please-ensure-that-Cryptographic-Services-service-has-enough-rights-because-of-incorrect-COM-Security-settings

More about the Cryptographic Service according to Gemini:

The Windows Cryptographic Services (CryptSvc) manages certificates, digital signatures, and system integrity in Windows. When a backup fails during Volume Shadow Copy (VSS), it is often because the VSS System Writer (which relies on CryptSvc) lacks the proper security rights or service permissions to query vital system files.

Category: Backup Software – Cove

Cove Backup Failures – MS SQL / File In Use Errors