To anyone who is having the same problem, I fixed the error by simply
restarting the computer (something I realized after I posted that I hadn't
done since the default is just to put it into Sleep Mode).

Anyways, I restarted and the error message went away and I was able to
backup my system with no problems.

"Toonartist" wrote:

> I backed-up my personal files (not a Complete System Backup) on my system
> last week using Vista's backup program, a USB 2.0 connection and a Maxtor
> 80GB portable hard drive. Everything got backed-up perfectly.
>
> This week when I went to backup again, I get the error message:
>
> "The backup did not complete successfully.
>
> A shadow copy could not be created for the following reasons:
> The shadow copy provider had an unexpected error while trying to process the
> specified operation. (0x8004230F)."
>
> Is there a solution for this? Should I wipe my backup drive and start again?
> I have 4 USB ports on my laptop, does it matter if I plug into a different
> port than last time (although it still reads it as the "F" drive).
>
> Btw, I'm running Windows Vista Home Premium on an HP Pavillion dv9000 laptop.
>
> If more info about my system is needed, please let me know.
>
> Any help would be appreciated.
>
> Thanks.
>
>