Windows Server 2019 Blue Screen Error

Hello Malabar Hill Club! It sounds like your Windows Server 2019 is hitting a blue screen and rebooting every time an Azure Backup job kicks off. A crash that only happens during backup usually points to one of these culprits:

• A buggy or mismatched storage/VSS driver (NTFS, ReFS, stornvme.sys)

• A firmware issue on your disks or network adapters

• Corrupted system files or low free space for the Volume Shadow Copy service

• A problem with the MARS agent or Azure Backup Server components

Here’s a set of steps you can follow to narrow it down and fix it:

1. Gather Crash Data – Check C:\Windows\Minidump and C:\Windows\MEMORY.DMP for dump files. – If the server won’t stay up, attach its OS disk to another Windows box to copy off the dumps. – Open the dump in WinDbg (or use the Bugcheck Analysis in Event Viewer) to get the stop code and culprit driver/module.
2. Review Event Logs – In Event Viewer, look under Windows Logs → System around the crash time for Event ID 1001 (BugCheck) and any VSS- or storage-related errors. – Note any “Volume Shadow Copy Service” or “Unexpected shutdown” messages.
3. Update or Roll Back Drivers & Firmware – Make sure your storage controller, NVMe, network (e.g., Mellanox mlx5), and chipset drivers are on a version supported for Windows Server 2019. – If you recently updated a driver and the crashes started, try rolling back. – Update your server’s firmware/BIOS to the latest vendor-recommended revision.
4. Check Volume Shadow Copy & File System – Run vssadmin list providers and vssadmin list writers to confirm all VSS providers and writers are healthy. – If you’re using ReFS, ensure you have the latest hotfixes or temporarily disable ReFS-specific features like deduplication during testing. – Verify that there’s at least 10 % free on the volume hosting your scratch folder for MARS (or Azure Backup Server).
5. Update or Reinstall the MARS Agent/Azure Backup Server – Download and install the latest MARS agent: https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/backup/install-mars-agent – If you’re using System Center Data Protection Manager or Azure Backup Server, follow the troubleshooting steps: https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/backup/backup-azure-mabs-troubleshoot
6. Test an Offline or Alternative Backup Method – To rule out VSS snapshot issues, try an offline backup seeding with Azure Data Box: https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/backup/offline-backup-azure-data-box-dpm-mabs – Or spin up a short-lived test VM and backup it with the same settings to see if the BSOD repros.

If you still see the crash after those checks, it’ll help a lot if you can share:

1. The exact bugcheck code and any driver name from the dump (e.g., 0x50 PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA in stornvme.sys)
2. Whether this is an on-prem server or an Azure VM
3. The type of backup you’re running (MARS file-folder, VM image, DPM, etc.)
4. Any recent changes to drivers, firmware, Windows updates, or Backup-related software

Hope this points you in the right direction! Feel free to post the dump details or any findings from Event Viewer and we can dig deeper.

Reference list

1. Troubleshoot blue screen, crash, or reboot issues https://docs.microsoft.com/troubleshoot/system-center/dpm/troubleshoot-data-protection-manager-console-crash
2. Step-by-step install MARS agent https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/backup/install-mars-agent
3. Troubleshoot Azure Backup Server (MABS) https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/backup/backup-azure-mabs-troubleshoot
4. Recover data from Azure Backup Server https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/backup/backup-azure-alternate-dpm-server
5. Troubleshoot common Azure VM blue screen errors https://docs.microsoft.com/troubleshoot/azure/virtual-machines/windows/troubleshoot-common-blue-screen-error
6. Offline seeding using Azure Data Box for DPM and MABS https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/backup/offline-backup-azure-data-box-dpm-mabs

During Azure Backup, Windows Server 2019 is likely hitting a Stop (blue screen) error and then restarting. This indicates a kernel-level problem that is triggered under backup load (for example, by a driver, storage issue, or third‑party security/backup filter).

To proceed, collect diagnostic data and then analyze or provide it to support:

1. Confirm it is a Stop/blue screen error
   In Event Viewer → Windows Logs → System, look for:
   • Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-Power Event ID 41 (unexpected restart)
   • Any bug check / Stop code entries around the same time as Azure Backup.
2. Collect the memory dump from the server
   If the server is an Azure VM:
   1. Take a snapshot of the OS disk to protect data.
   2. Attach the OS disk to a recovery VM.
   3. RDP to the recovery VM and open the attached disk’s Windows folder (for example, F:\Windows).
   4. Locate Memory.dmp.
   5. Open an Azure support ticket and attach this dump file.
   If Memory.dmp is missing, enable dump logging and serial console as described below, then reproduce the crash.
3. Enable dump logging and serial console (Azure VM scenario)
   On the recovery VM, after attaching the problematic OS disk:
   1. Open an elevated Command Prompt.
   2. Enable the serial console in the BCD store on the attached disk:

            bcdedit /store <volume-letter-containing-the-bcd-folder>:\boot\bcd /ems {<boot-loader-identifier>} ON
            bcdedit /store <volume-letter-containing-the-bcd-folder>:\boot\bcd /emssettings EMSPORT:1 EMSBAUDRATE:115200
      

   3. Ensure free space on the OS disk is larger than the server’s RAM. If not, configure the dump to be written to a data disk with enough space by replacing %SystemRoot% with that drive letter in the registry configuration.
   4. Load the SYSTEM hive from the broken OS disk using reg load, configure dump settings on ControlSet001/ControlSet002, then reg unload.
   5. Detach the OS disk from the recovery VM, reattach it to the original VM, and start it to reproduce the blue screen so a new dump is generated.
   6. After the next crash, repeat step 2 to retrieve the new Memory.dmp and submit it to support.
4. General Stop error guidance
   While waiting on dump analysis, review common causes:
   • Incompatible or outdated storage, filter, or backup-related drivers.
   • Outdated firmware/BIOS or storage controller firmware.
   • Third‑party security/AV or backup agents conflicting with Azure Backup’s VSS operations.
   • Disk or memory issues.
   Use the Stop code from the blue screen or event logs to narrow down the cause. For example, if a specific driver name appears, update or temporarily disable that driver and retest backups.
5. If the server is stuck in a blue‑screen boot loop (Azure VM)
   Follow the same OS‑disk‑to‑recovery‑VM process used for:
   • Generic blue screen on Azure VM boot.
   • "CRITICAL SERVICE FAILED" on Azure VM boot.
   In both cases, the recommended path is to obtain a memory dump and work with Microsoft Support.

Once a dump is available, Microsoft Support can identify the exact driver or component causing the crash during Azure Backup and recommend a targeted fix (driver update/removal, configuration change, or OS update).

References:

• Windows shows blue screen error when booting an Azure VM
• Windows shows "CRITICAL SERVICE FAILED" on blue screen when booting an Azure VM
• Stop errors and unexpected restart troubleshooting guidance
• Troubleshooting Windows unexpected restarts and stop code errors