Solved Windows 8 Backup Fails with Error Code 0x80070015

Steve C

Member
Power User
Messages
275
Location
UK
Windows 8 Backup has been working fine for 12 months to an external Seagate USB hard drive.I'm now getting a "device not ready" message with error code 0x80070015 and the backup fails within 30 secs of starting. I've checked the drive for errors and there are no problems. I can read /write files to the external drive. There is ample spare space on the external drive to store the backup file.Please advise how to investigate and solve this problem.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 64 bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Build
    CPU
    Intel i3570K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-77X-UD5H
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire R9 280X Toxic
    Sound Card
    Realtek on motherboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viewsonic VP2770
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    Intel 520 180GB SSD
    Seagate 2T HDD
    Seagate external 1T USB HDD
    PSU
    XFX 850W
    Case
    Nanoxia Deep Silence 1
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D14
    Keyboard
    Microsoft
    Mouse
    Microsoft
    Internet Speed
    50Mbps
    Browser
    Chrome
Filling out System Specs would save asking all about the external drive model, your system HD etc..

Some externals spin down to save energy. Some can be set to spin up and stay up. I don't know what you have for HW.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.0 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satelite C55D-A Laptop
    CPU
    AMD EI 1200
    Memory
    4 gb DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Raedon 340 MB dedicated Ram
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Built in
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    640 GB (spinner) Sata II
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Mouse
    Touch pad
btw I wrote a small hack that creates or deletes a file every 5 minutes to keep drives from spinning down. DriveAlive may be downloaded from: Miles Ahead Software

If it's an energy saver external you could try that as work-around.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.0 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satelite C55D-A Laptop
    CPU
    AMD EI 1200
    Memory
    4 gb DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Raedon 340 MB dedicated Ram
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Built in
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    640 GB (spinner) Sata II
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Mouse
    Touch pad
I've since discovered the Windows 8 Pro (64) backup fails to any hard disc but a system image can be backed up. Backup showed the error ‘disc not ready’ 0x80070015. The Event Log showed Event ID 4100 – Backup did not complete successfully because a shadow copy could not be created. Free up disk space on the drive that you are backing up by deleting unnecessary files and then try again.

Backup is now working fine after doing the following - I'm not sure which did the trick.

  • sfc /scannow – found 4 errors and fixed them
  • Changed Windows Backup Service from Manual to Automatic
  • Changed Volume Shadow Copy Service from Automatic Delayed Start to Automatic
  • Defragmented all hard drives and ran chkdsk /f (but no errors found)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 64 bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Build
    CPU
    Intel i3570K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-77X-UD5H
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire R9 280X Toxic
    Sound Card
    Realtek on motherboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viewsonic VP2770
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    Intel 520 180GB SSD
    Seagate 2T HDD
    Seagate external 1T USB HDD
    PSU
    XFX 850W
    Case
    Nanoxia Deep Silence 1
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D14
    Keyboard
    Microsoft
    Mouse
    Microsoft
    Internet Speed
    50Mbps
    Browser
    Chrome
Back
Top