Backups with Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) under vb.net

[wtfia2k]

Hi,

I'm trying for days now to figure out how to implement "Volume Shadow Copy Service" (VSS) under vb.net.
The goal is to get a tiny application the runs at XP, Vista and 2003 to make backups of files in use (locked).

I read almost the complete Internet and Google-Cache : but didn't find any helpful startup-point. The "Volume Shadow Copy Service SDK 7.2" is C++ only, what's definitly not my language

Documentation can be found at:

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa384961.aspx

[]

Anybody out there that can give me a hint

Regards,

wtfia2k

 

[BobRodes]

Well, maybe a hint, or perhaps a clue, but not much more...

<The "Volume Shadow Copy Service SDK 7.2" is C++ only

I'm not at all sure that's the case. Rather, I'd say the DLL is documented using C++ syntax. I'm really more of a VB6 expert than a .Net one, but it would seem that at the very least you could use interop services to declare the functions that you need in VB6 terms and use them.

How to translate the C++ into Declare statements is beyond my skill, but there are some people in the VB6 forum who might be able to. (You might check thread222-1400945.)Also, I found this page

http://www.webtropy.com/articles/dll-api.aspx?dll=vssapi

which references a book that you can buy on Amazon that the page claims will give you this information.

HTH

Bob

 

[wtfia2k]

Hi BobRodes (and all the others out there),

first of all - thanks for your reply. That's what I've found in the last days also.

Maybe you're interested in my first result. You can review them at

http://www.codeproject.com/script/comments/forums.asp?msg=2217730&forumid=1646#xx2217730xx

if you like to.

Regards,

wtfia2k

 

[BobRodes]

I didn't quite understand. Was this code working or not working?

 

[wtfia2k]

creating a shadow copy -> YES
accessing the shadow copy to extract files out of it -> NO
I'm getting a NotImplementedException.

 

[BobRodes]

I see now. Well, it is version 1.0 and it's from Microsoft.... I wonder if you could find a function via the API rather than using the COM class. If you find a function in the C++ doc that will do what you're looking for, it should be possible to translate it into a VB6 Declare statement and run it via interop. (I think that's the way that it's done in VB.Net, isn't it?)