How to fix
Volsnap.sys Blue Screen Error
on Windows

Hello. Over the past week, I have experienced a Blue Screen Error a number of times. The problem seems to surfacing from something called Volsnap.sys. Any tips on how to stop this would be appreciated.

Volume Shadow Copy driver files, such as Volsnap.sys, are considered a type of Win64 EXE (Driver) file. They are associated with the SYS file extension, developed by Microsoft for the Windows operating system. The volume shadow copy driver is usually located in the C:\\Windows\\System32\\drivers directory.

Volume Shadow Service (VSS) coordinates the actions that are required to create a consistent shadow copy (also known as a snapshot or a point-in-time copy) of the data that is to be backed up. The shadow copy can be used as-is, or it can be used in scenarios such as the following:[ref en-1]

• You want to back up application data and system state information
• You are data mining
• You are performing disk-to-disk backups
• You need fast recovery from data loss by restoring data to the original Logical Unit Number (LUN)

The Volsnap.sys Blue Screen Error (BSOD) can occur due to many reasons but primarily because of the RAM[ref en-2] or Hard Disk issues, incompatible firmware, VSS issue, or malware[ref en-3] infection. Also, some software could have messed up system files or settings.

If you've recently been getting errors with volsnap.sys, it's recommended to uninstall any programs recently that may cause this error. If this does not resolve your issue or you have not installed any programs recently try recovering Windows back to an earlier version. We show how to do all of these things in the guide below.

If you want to avoid a tedious troubleshooting process that could take a while, you can try using a repair tool like [d1] that can fix various system errors, corrupted files, registry issues, and most BSODs.

Method 1. Use Windows Startup Repair

• Navigate to the Windows 10 Advanced Startup Options menu (on many pc's, hitting F11 as soon as you power on will get you to the Windows 10 Advanced Startup Options

• Once your computer has booted, select Troubleshoot
• Click Advanced options
• Click Startup Repair

Method 2. Use Windows Restore

• Click System Restore
• Select your username

• Enter your password
• Select a restore point from the menu and follow the prompts (if you have no restore points, you can't use this method)

Method 3. Perform a Disk Cleanup

• Boot the system in the Safe Mode
• Press the Windows button and then type disk cleanup and click on it
• Wait for a little while so the Windows could complete its operation of identifying the junk files
• Find the Temporary files, tick the box in front of it and choose OK

• If you want to have more space to be released, tick the box in front of the category to clean it
• Restart

Method 4. Stop Volume Shadow Service

• Boot your system in the Safe Mode
• In Safe Mode, Press Windows Button and type services and press Enter
• Scroll down the list of services to find Volume Shadow Copy and right-click it and then click on stop

• Double click this service to open its properties page
• In front of the startup type, click on the drop-down menu and select disabled
• Apply and OK
• Restart

Method 5. Run the Bootrec Command

• Boot from the Windows 10 installation media
• After booting into setup, select Repair Computer
• Select Troubleshoot
• Click Advanced Options

• Select Command Prompt
• Once Command Prompt opens, type in the command below and make sure you click Enter:

BOOTREC /FIXMBR

BOOTREC /FIXBOOT

• Type in Exit and restart your PC

Method 6. Replace the Corrupted Volsnap.sys File

• If you can boot into the system either normally or via Safe Mode, boot into the system press the Windows button and type cmd in the search bar on your desktop
• Right-click Command Prompt and select Run as administrator
• If you cannot boot into the system then you should use installation media to boot into the system
• After booting into setup, select Repair Computer
• Select Troubleshoot
• Click Advanced Options.
• Select Command Prompt
• Type and click Enter:

Diskpart

list volume

• Find the name of your windows drive, write exit to exit the diskpart and then just go to the volume by C:\\ or E:\\ or whatever the name of your windows partition is
• Then run the copy command and path to the old volsnap.sys file, for example:

copy C:\\windows.old\\windows\\system32\\drivers\\volsnap.sys  C:\\windows\\system32\\drivers\\volsnap.sys

• You should use your system’s partition where Windows was installed

Method 7. Reinstall Windows

If all else fails and you can't even reset your Windows computer, you can reinstall the OS entirely. You won't even need an activation number or any proof of purchase, either. Just make sure you have more than 4GB of space available, as that's how much space the file you'll download takes up. Here's how to reinstall Windows 10:

• Download the ISO file
• Select Create installation media for another PC and click Next

• Select ISO file and click Next
• Click Finish
• Open the Windows ISO file you downloaded
• Open Setup and click Next
• Click Accept (Be prepared to wait; this next part may take a while)

• Click Install
• Wait for your system to restart and install Windows