1. Checked for SQL/MSDE. None found.
2. Deleted the Subscriptions key that you identified and restarted the computer.
3. Ran “vssadmin list writers” and saw the Subscriptions key repopulate.
4. MSDEWriter is still listed as a writer. Could it be from the Backup Exec Remote Agent? I’m no longer using that, so uninstall it and reboot the computer.
5. “vssadmin list writers” still shows the MSDEWriter. Checked another “bare bones” WinXP SP3 machine, and even on that empty machine, the MSDEWriter is installed. It must be part of the default installation.
6. Re-ran my DriveImage XML job. Did NOT reboot.
7. “vssadmin list shadows” now says “No shadow copies present in the system”! Hooray!

Hopefully that clears up this problem.

A helpful thread on the Subscriptions key:
http://forum.sysinternals.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=13731&KW=newsid&PN=2

By the way, DriveImage XML has been updated and now lists Vista support. Commercial use will cost, though: http://runtime.org/driveimage-xml.htm. So far I’m still using the previous free-for-all-uses version.

However, i found out that:
- You need to STOP any SQL (Desktop) Engines, otherwise it won’t work, try: net stop mssql
- Try deleting: \HKREY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\EventSystem\{xxxx}\Subscriptions key (don’t worry, it will be added automatically again… these keys in here are all created-shado actions). On X64 systems it’s: \HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\EventSystem\{xxxx}\Subscriptions

Good luck !

Roel Broersma

vssadmin list writers

at a command prompt, I see Microsoft Writer (Service State), MSDEWriter, Microsoft Writer (Bootable State), and WMI Writer. That the exact list of writers that I see on another workstation that is not experiencing this problem.

Played with msconfig and found a service “SQL Server VSS Writer”. I disabled this and everything now works great.

Hope this helps you too.

Paul.