Solved: How do I fix Windows Server Storage VSS Writer Error 0x800423f2 timeout

Question

How do I increase the Windows Server Storage VSS Writer timeout period on an on-premise domain controller from default 10 minutes to 20 minutes to fix the Error 0x800423f2 - writer error: timeout when the VSS snapshot exceeds the allocated timeout period before completing.

Solution

To resolve VSS Error 0x800423f2 – writer error: timeout, you need to manually extend the VSS timeout by editing the following registry key to increase the timeout period for snapshot:

HKLM\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows NT\\CurrentVersion\\SPP\\CreateTimeout

Change value to 12000000 which equal to 20 minutes (2*10*60*1000 = 20 mins).

If CreateTimeout registry key isn’t present, you will need to manually create a DWORD 32-bit key and name it accordingly.