Microsoft Knowledge Base Email Alertz

KBAlertz.com: Error message when you create a snapshot backup of many databases at the same time in SQL Server 2005: ERROR Selected writer 'Microsoft Writer (Service State)' is in failed state

Receive Microsoft Knowledge Base articles by E-Mail?

Every night we scan the Microsoft Knowledge Base. If technologies you're interested in are updated, we'll send you an e-mail. You only get one e-mail a day, and only when new articles are added.

Click here to create a
FREE account
Already have an account?
[Click here to Login]

Search KbAlertz

Advanced Search

Webmasters
Put kbAlertz on your website.
[ Click Here for more! ]





ASP.NET 3.5 Web Hosting with Windows 2008 and SQL 2008: Click Here!
Discount ASP.NET Hosting
ASP.NET 2.0 and 3.5
Windows2008 and SQL2008
US and UK Hosting
The ad says 3 - but KBAlertz referrals get
** SIX MONTHS FREE **


Bug Tracking Software
For bug tracking software or defect tracking software or issue tracking software, visit Axosoft.


Community Site



We Send hundreds of thousands of emails using ASP.NET Email



Expert Web Design & Graphic Design
Design44.com

ASP.NET 3.5 Web Hosting with Windows 2008 and SQL 2008: Click Here!
Discount ASP.NET Hosting
ASP.NET 2.0 and 3.5
Windows2008 and SQL2008
US and UK Hosting
The ad says 3 - but KBAlertz referrals get
** SIX MONTHS FREE **




Mentioned In








Microsoft Knowledge Base Article

This article contents is Microsoft Copyrighted material.
©2005-©2007 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Terms of Use | Trademarks




Article ID: 943471 - Last Review: May 8, 2009 - Revision: 2.0

Error messages when you create a snapshot backup of many databases at the same time in SQL Server: "ERROR Selected writer 'Microsoft Writer (Service State)' is in failed state"

SYMPTOMS

Consider the following scenario. In Microsoft SQL Server, you create a snapshot backup of many databases at the same time. To do this, you use the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS), or you use the Virtual Backup Device Interface (VDI). In this scenario, the snapshot backup operation fails. Additionally, you receive the following error message if you use the VSS to create the snapshot backup:
ERROR: Selected writer 'Microsoft Writer (Service State)' is in failed state!
- Status: 8 (VSS_WS_FAILED_AT_PREPARE_SNAPSHOT)
- Writer Failure code: 0x800423f4 (<Unknown error code>)
- Writer ID: {WriterID}
- Instance ID: {InstanceID}
You receive one of the following error messages if you use the VDI to create the snapshot backup:
Error message 1
[Microsoft][ODBC SQL Server Driver][SQL Server] Insufficient resources to create UMS scheduler.
Msg 3267, SevLevel 16, State 1, SQLState 42000
Error message 2
[Microsoft][ODBC SQL Server Driver][SQL Server] Could not create worker thread.
Msg 3013, SevLevel 16, State 1, SQLState 42000
Error message 3
The following message may be logged in the SQL Server error log:
2008-12-06 02:26:24.90 spid420 SubprocessMgr::EnqueueSubprocess: Limit on 'Max worker threads' reached
The number of databases that you try to back up when this problem occurs varies. The number of databases depends on the following conditions:
  • The configuration of SQL Server
  • Other activities in SQL Server

CAUSE

In SQL Server, the snapshot backup of each database uses five threads in the Sqlservr.exe process. Additionally, other activities may also use threads in the Sqlservr.exe process. Depending on the configuration of SQL Server, the available threads may be used up if you create a snapshot backup of many databases at the same time.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, create a snapshot backup of fewer databases at the same time.

If you are running a 64-bit version of SQL Server, you can consider increasing the Max Worker Threads configuration option. It is not recommended to alter this setting on a 32-bit version of SQL Server.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

MORE INFORMATION

We recommend that you create a snapshot backup of fewer than 35 databases at the same time.

APPLIES TO
  • Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Standard Edition
  • Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Workgroup Edition
  • Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Developer Edition
  • Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Enterprise Edition
  • Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition
  • Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Standard Edition
  • Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Workgroup Edition
  • Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Personal Edition
  • Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Developer
  • Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Enterprise
  • Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Standard
  • Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Standard Edition for Small Business
  • Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Web
Keywords: 
kbexpertiseadvanced kbtshoot kbprb KB943471
       

Community Feedback System

Very often, it takes hours to solve a problem. Very often, you've looked high and low, and have tried a lot of solutions. When you finally found it, chances are, it was because someone else helped you. Here's your chance to give back. Use our community feedback tool to let others know what worked for you and what didn't.

Please also understand that the community feedback system is not warranted to be correct, it's simply a system that we've built to let people try and help each other. If something in a feedback response doesn't make sense to you, or you're not comfortable making changes that the feedback talks about (like registry edits), please consult a professional.

Thank you for using kbAlertz.com Feedback System.

-- Scott Cate

Be the first to leave feedback, to help others about this knowledge base article.

(Optional) Name

(Optional) Public URL Or Email

Comments
No HTML -- Text Only Please