Fix: System Image Backup Error 0x80780119

When you create a system image using the built-in System Image Backup tool in Windows 10 or 11, the error code 0x80780119 may appear.

The backup failed.

There is not enough disk space to create the volume shadow copy on the storage location. Make sure that, for all volumes to be backed up, the minimum required disk space for shadow copy creation is available. This applies to both the backup storage destination and volumes included in the backup. Minimum requirement. For volumes less than 500 megabytes, the minimum is 50 megabytes of free space. For volumes more than 500 megabytes, the minimum is 320 megabytes of free space. Recommended: At least 1 gigabyte of free disk space on each volume if volume size is more than 1 gigabyte (0x80780119)

error 0x80780119 during system image backup

The System Image Backup shows the list of volumes and the free disk space in each volume at the beginning of the image backup process.

error 0x80780119 during system image backup

This error may occur even though your OS partition has plenty of free space.

Cause

As you can see in the screenshot above, the OS partition has enormous free space, but the Recovery (WinRE) and EFI don’t have that much free space.

Per the error message above, the EFI partition has sufficient free space (i.e., more than >50 MB). The problem is with the Recovery partition, which has just 25 MB of free space.

Resizing the Recovery and EFI partitions using a third-party partition management tool like EaseUS or AOMEI should resolve the issue.

Read below if you want to fix this issue without resizing the partition.

Resolution

To resolve the problem, you can do one of the following:

Step 1: Turn off Windows Recovery Environment

Turn off the Windows Recovery Environment temporarily by running the following command from an admin Command Prompt:

reagentc /disable

This turns off Windows RE and thus prevents the System Image Backup tool from backing up the Recovery partition.

Step 2: Free up disk space in the EFI partition

Next, free up disk space in the EFI partition by running the following commands from admin Command Prompt:

mountvol y: /s

cd /d Y:\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\Fonts

del *.ttf

delete font files in EFI partition - error 0x80780119 during system image backup



Deleting the font files (.ttf) frees up approximately 15 MB of disk space. They can be safely deleted, as Microsoft suggests in the following article.

“We couldn’t update system reserved partition” error installing Windows

Run the System Image Backup tool. It should now work correctly.

Once done, re-enable Windows RE by running the following command:

reagentc /enable

reagentc /info

Likewise, in the future, if you restore your system from the backed-up system image, run the above command to enable WinRE after restoring the image.

Additional Note

The System Image Backup is a deprecated feature. It is no longer being developed or updated. For greater reliability, it’s suggested to use a third-party backup solution, such as Macrium Reflect or EaseUS.

Microsoft says:

“System Image Backup (SIB) Solution This feature is also known as the Backup and Restore (Windows 7) legacy control panel. For full-disk backup solutions, look for a third-party product from another software publisher. You can also use OneDrive to sync data files with Microsoft 365.”

Source: Deprecated features in the Windows client – What’s new in Windows | Microsoft Learn


One small request: If you liked this post, please share this?

One "tiny" share from you would seriously help a lot with the growth of this blog. Some great suggestions:
  • Pin it!
  • Share it to your favorite blog + Facebook, Reddit
  • Tweet it!
So thank you so much for your support. It won't take more than 10 seconds of your time. The share buttons are right below. :)

Ramesh Srinivasan is passionate about Microsoft technologies and he has been a consecutive ten-time recipient of the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional award in the Windows Shell/Desktop Experience category, from 2003 to 2012. He loves to troubleshoot and write about Windows. Ramesh founded Winhelponline.com in 2005.

Leave a Comment