Problem Solved. I fixed first on the old HDD, and then on the SSD.
Cause: The most likely cause of hundreds of NTFS ID 55 errors in the logs (after running basic diagnostics like CHKDSK) is a corrupted Shadow Copy. If that's not it, it could be a corrupt Swap File.
Correction: Either Delete all Shadow Copies or, failing that, delete the Swap file.
How: Delete all Shadow Copies. At elevated Command Prompt (Run as Administrator):
vssadmin list shadows
vssadmin delete shadows /for=c: /all
vssadmin list shadows
Problems with System log error: NTFS ID 55
NTFS ID 55 errors by the hundreds is one of the more difficult errors to track down, with lots of conflicting and wrong information found, even on Microsoft forums. A few posts pointed to problems with Power Settings, Sleep mode and Volume Shadow Copy. Only with the help of SysNative did I get to a post on Dell on how to correct the problem. I fixed the problem on my PC. Here is what I learned along the way.
Shadow Copy and NTFS ID 55 FAQ
~~ Q: Why is this problem of NTFS ID 55 errors by the hundreds, so rarely discussed on forums, with so little correct information? Several reasons. First because the errors were in the System Log file, where few people look. Also, there is usually no other symptoms, so no reason to look in the log files. One could argue that one could safely ignore the errors. But if you have a corruption in your Shadow Copies, it could mess up or prevent a full image backup of your disk. These are silent errors, so you have to look for them in either: Nirsoft FullEvenLogView or in the MS Event Viewer.
~~ Q: Where do I find these NTFS ID 55 errors? In MS Event Viewer / Custom Views / Administrative Events. Or in Event Viewer / Windows Logs / System.
~~ Q: What to do first when I have NTFS ID 55 errors in the hundreds? First run CHKDSK /r/f on C:. Then check your disk drive for SMART errors (w/any disk diag, like Speccy by Piriforms). Run disk tests. Then run malware scans, and maybe try a Clean Boot. Then, if you found nothing and still get hundreds of ID 55 errors, you can suspect Volume Shadow Copy corruption. See next questions.
~~ Q: How to view your current set of Shadow Copies? a) Use NirSoft ShadowCopyView OR b) At an Admin elevated command prompt: vssadmin list shadows
~~ Q: How to tell the size of a Shadow Copy, given that they are Differential copies? I can't see how in Nirsoft ShadowCopyView, but you can see the size at elevated command prompt: vssadmin list ShadowStorage
~~ Q: Will I lose my Restore Points if I delete all Shadow Copies? Yes you will. To save the last one, you might use Disk Cleanup / More Options tab to remove all but the last Restore point / Shadow Copy. But that assumes the one that got corrupted is not the last one. If you clear all but the last Shadow Copy and still get the ID 55 errors, then go ahead and delete the last Shadow Copy. Check the log again for ID 55 errors.
~~ Q: How to delete all Shadow Copies when their corruption has triggered log Error NTFS ID 55? At elevated Command Prompt: vssadmin delete shadows /for=c: /all
~~ Q: How to tell for sure if you have a corrupt Shadow Copy? There is no easy way. a) Look in EventViewer / Windows Logs / System. Look for NTFS errors ID 55, in groups of hundreds at a time, when you've already run CHKDSK and checked the hard drive and found no errors and found no SMART warnings. The presence of such errors may indicate a dying hard drive or corrupt Shadow Copies. But the lack of those errors means you do NOT have any corruption in your Shadow Copies. Sometimes but not always, you will see mention of a particular Shadow Copy in the Event for NTFS ID 55 error, in the Details pane of the Event Viewer. There could be corruption even if no mention of Shadow Copy was in Details.
b) Using either command "VSSadmin list shadows" OR NirSoft ShadowCopyView, look for a missing ShadowCopy in the list. For example, it might go from GLOBALROOT\Device\HarddiskVolumeShadowCopy2 to GLOBALROOT\Device\HarddiskVolumeShadowCopy4, missing ShadowCopy3. Strong indication of corruption. c) Open text files from a restored Shadow Copy to look for blocks of SPACES where text used to be. This is hard to do, so not recommended. d) Some say you can run CHKDSK on the corrupted shadow copy, but I never figured out how to tell which was corrupt, except in the case of the Details panel of the error telling you so, but that never happened for me.
~~ Q: How to fix NTFS ID 55 errors in the hundreds? Two options. 1. Delete all (or the offending) Shadow Copies. 2. If that fails to stop the errors in Event logs, delete the Swap file, and/or move it to another partition.
~~ Q: How are all the ways to delete System Restore points, or Shadow Volume Copies? 1. Easiest way: In elevated Cmd prompt: (vssadmin delete shadows /for=c: /all) 2. Delete ALL: Ctrl Panel / System / System Protection / Configure / Delete (all restore points) / Continue / Ok. 3. Disk Cleanup OR RC disk / Properties / General tab / Disk Cleanup / Clean up system files / Then click on More Options tab / System Restore and Shadow Copies / Clean up... / You are prompted: Are you sure you want to delete all but the most recent restore point? Yes/Cancel. But it leaves the last one in place.
~~ Q: How to run chkdsk on a particular Shadow Copy? Any benefit in running CHKDSK on Shadow Copy? It's possible, but difficult. This post says NO:
How to run chkdsk on a volume shadow copy "My advice would be to drop all shadow copies (thus deleting the problem), and let new (healthy) ones take their place. You would do this by turning off system protection for the C: drive, upon which all the shadow copies get deleted. Afterwards, turn system protection for the C: drive back on again, upon which it will make new ones as per normal schedule."
~~ Q: Does changing the Power Settings to Performance fix or cause this problem? No. But when the system is quiet for 30 minutes, the Volume Shadow Copy service begins to run. So it looks related, but it is not.
~~ Q: Does Microsoft know about this problem with NTFS ID 55? Yes and there is a patch. But it was already installed. You can download Update for Windows (KB2748349) for your particular OS from here
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us...eated-by-using-the-windows-volume-shadow-copy "This issue occurs because some regions in the snapshot are not protected when the original volume is changed. " Unfortunately, I already had that update installed, with no problems. So there are other causes of this same problem.
~~ Q: Is a Volume Shadow Copy the same as a Restore Point? Sort of. They are often used synonymously. But technically, the Restore Point is a service that makes use of the Volume Shadow Copy for its data file.
~~ Q: What is the relationship between volume shadow copy and restore point? Seems to be the same thing. I see the same dates and copies in both NirSoft ShadowCopyView and C:/ Properties / Previous Versions tab (called: "Shadow Copies tab" on Win Server 2003).
What you should know about Volume Shadow Copy/System Restore in Windows 7 & Vista (FAQ) << Hope This Helps "Volume Shadow Copy is a service that creates and maintains snapshots (“shadow copies”) of disk volumes in Windows 7 and Vista. It is the back-end of the System Restore feature,... Volume shadow copies (restore points) are created before the installation of device drivers, system components (e.g. DirectX), Windows updates, and some applications. In addition, Windows automatically creates restore points at hard-to-predict intervals. The first thing to understand here is that the System Restore task on Vista and 7 will only execute if your computer is idle for at least 10 minutes and is running on AC power."
~~ Q: Should my Shadow Volume Copy service be ON all the time? It's off at the moment and set to Manual. SEEMS that it's off most of the time, and it's turned on when needed. It's only a problem if it's Disabled. Although the forum posts I read, as well as the Help Text in the Services applet itself, both warn about it being off. "Volume Shadow Copy Service: Manages and implements Volume Shadow Copies used for backup and other purposes. If this service is stopped, shadow copies will be unavailable for backup and the backup may fail. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start."
~~ Q: How to find the Shadow Copy ID of a particular shadow? At elevated Cmd Prompt: vssadmin list shadows Then notice the long HEX number in the braces {}. That's the ID of the shadow copy, without the braces.
Vssadmin delete shadows | Microsoft Docs Documents on how to use: Vssadmin delete shadows
Windows 7 Technical Library Roadmap | Microsoft Docs Really good docs on Windows 7.
~~ NTFS ID 55 errors and Swap file:
https://social.technet.microsoft.co...the-chkdsk-utility-on-the?forum=windowsbackup "I had this issue rather consistently and found that it was due to a corrupt swap file. I deleted the swap file and moved it to another partition and the problem went away." The details for deleting the specific shadow copy are there, but complicated. Easier to delete all Shadow Copies at an elevated Command Prompt: vssadmin delete shadows /for=c: /all
~~ OPEN Q: What happens to the D: partition Shadow Copies after I run this command? vssadmin delete shadows /for=c: /all
~~ OPEN Q: When the quota has been met (6gb on my PC), do the shadow copies get renumbered when a new one is added?
~~ OPEN Q: When I run: "vssadmin delete shadows /for=c: /all" will that also delete Shadow copies I have on D:?
Sorry I took so long to post this success. Thanks again.
