Turn on the MS Exchange VSS Writer to fix the issue

Symptoms

You attempt to run an Information Store backup on a Windows Small Business Server 2003. The backup fails with this error:

The instance of Microsoft Exchange Server is offline

Cause

The MS Exchange VSS Writer is turned off by default on Windows Small Business Server 2003.

Solution

Turn on the MS Exchange VSS Writer:

1. Click Start -> Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
2. Locate and then double-click the following registry subkey:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeIS\ParametersSystem
3. Double-click the Disable Exchange Writer value.
4. In the Value data text box, change the value from 1 to 0, and then click OK.
5. Quit Registry Editor.
6. Click Start -> Run, type services.msc and then click OK.
7. Stop and then restart the Microsoft Exchange Information Store service.

More information

See also:

• How to turn on the Exchange writer for the Volume Shadow Copy service in Windows Small Business Server 2003