Vista - Disk Management

I lost somehow the use of Disk Management (under Computer Management) The
message states "unable to contact Virtual Disk Service." Can you help with a
fix?

Type "services.msc" (without the quotes) in the Start | Run dialog, and hit
the Enter key. Take a look at the Properties dialog for the Virtual Disk
Service. It's normally set to start manually. It also depends upon the Plug
and Play service and the Remote Procedure Cal (RPC) service. If one or both
of those services are stopped, then the Virtual Disk service might be unable
to start when it's called from the management console.

Has someone been messing around with services on that system?

"Ken" wrote:

> I lost somehow the use of Disk Management (under Computer Management) The
> message states "unable to contact Virtual Disk Service." Can you help with a
> fix?

"jimmuh" wrote:

> Type "services.msc" (without the quotes) in the Start | Run dialog, and hit
> the Enter key. Take a look at the Properties dialog for the Virtual Disk
> Service. It's normally set to start manually. It also depends upon the Plug
> and Play service and the Remote Procedure Cal (RPC) service. If one or both
> of those services are stopped, then the Virtual Disk service might be unable
> to start when it's called from the management console.
>
> Has someone been messing around with services on that system?
>
> "Ken" wrote:
>
> > I lost somehow the use of Disk Management (under Computer Management) The
> > message states "unable to contact Virtual Disk Service." Can you help with a
> > fix?

I have checked Services.msc and the items: Virtual Disk- is manual, RPC
service Started, automatic, Plug & Play services - started, automatic.
I don't know if software changed the settings. Still, no Disk Management
under Computer Management. I'm trying to use a USB drive and can't access it.

So, when you go into Computer Management and click on Disk Management, that's
when you see this "unable to contact Virtual Disk Service" error message? Or
does it happen when you do something else? Does Disk Management display the
disks on the system in the right pane of the window?

What kind of USB drive is this, exactly? Is it connected through USB 1.x or
USB 2? If you disconnect it from the computer, can you then use Disk
Management?

"Ken" wrote:

>
>
> "jimmuh" wrote:
>
> > Type "services.msc" (without the quotes) in the Start | Run dialog, and hit
> > the Enter key. Take a look at the Properties dialog for the Virtual Disk
> > Service. It's normally set to start manually. It also depends upon the Plug
> > and Play service and the Remote Procedure Cal (RPC) service. If one or both
> > of those services are stopped, then the Virtual Disk service might be unable
> > to start when it's called from the management console.
> >
> > Has someone been messing around with services on that system?
> >
> > "Ken" wrote:
> >
> > > I lost somehow the use of Disk Management (under Computer Management) The
> > > message states "unable to contact Virtual Disk Service." Can you help with a
> > > fix?
>
> I have checked Services.msc and the items: Virtual Disk- is manual, RPC
> service Started, automatic, Plug & Play services - started, automatic.
> I don't know if software changed the settings. Still, no Disk Management
> under Computer Management. I'm trying to use a USB drive and can't access it.

"jimmuh" wrote:

> So, when you go into Computer Management and click on Disk Management, that's
> when you see this "unable to contact Virtual Disk Service" error message? Or
> does it happen when you do something else? Does Disk Management display the
> disks on the system in the right pane of the window?
>
> What kind of USB drive is this, exactly? Is it connected through USB 1.x or
> USB 2? If you disconnect it from the computer, can you then use Disk
> Management?
>
> "Ken" wrote:
>
> >
> >
> > "jimmuh" wrote:
> >
> > > Type "services.msc" (without the quotes) in the Start | Run dialog, and hit
> > > the Enter key. Take a look at the Properties dialog for the Virtual Disk
> > > Service. It's normally set to start manually. It also depends upon the Plug
> > > and Play service and the Remote Procedure Cal (RPC) service. If one or both
> > > of those services are stopped, then the Virtual Disk service might be unable
> > > to start when it's called from the management console.
> > >
> > > Has someone been messing around with services on that system?
> > >
> > > "Ken" wrote:
> > >
> > > > I lost somehow the use of Disk Management (under Computer Management) The
> > > > message states "unable to contact Virtual Disk Service." Can you help with a
> > > > fix?
> >
> > I have checked Services.msc and the items: Virtual Disk- is manual, RPC
> > service Started, automatic, Plug & Play services - started, automatic.
> > I don't know if software changed the settings. Still, no Disk Management
> > under Computer Management. I'm trying to use a USB drive and can't access it.

Disk Management won't start at all due to inability to contact Virtual Disk
Service. The message appears on the bottom of the blank right pane.
My USB Drive, 80 Gig USB 2.0, drive is powered as is the USB port with 110v.

Have you tried disconnecting the USB drive from the system to see if Disk
Management becomes available then?

I presume that Disk Management was working on this system at one time? Are
you able to discern when it stopped working? What has been installed on the
system since you last knew Disk Management to be working? Are there any
possibly related error messages in Event Viewer? I presume the Device Manager
looks okay. Have you tried rolling back to earlier restore points? Is there
anything unusual about the way the system has been configured? Is it a
"fresh" installation of Vista, or an upgrade over an earlier version of
Windows?

"Ken" wrote:

>
>
> "jimmuh" wrote:
>
> > So, when you go into Computer Management and click on Disk Management, that's
> > when you see this "unable to contact Virtual Disk Service" error message? Or
> > does it happen when you do something else? Does Disk Management display the
> > disks on the system in the right pane of the window?
> >
> > What kind of USB drive is this, exactly? Is it connected through USB 1.x or
> > USB 2? If you disconnect it from the computer, can you then use Disk
> > Management?
> >
> > "Ken" wrote:
> >
> > >
> > >
> > > "jimmuh" wrote:
> > >
> > > > Type "services.msc" (without the quotes) in the Start | Run dialog, and hit
> > > > the Enter key. Take a look at the Properties dialog for the Virtual Disk
> > > > Service. It's normally set to start manually. It also depends upon the Plug
> > > > and Play service and the Remote Procedure Cal (RPC) service. If one or both
> > > > of those services are stopped, then the Virtual Disk service might be unable
> > > > to start when it's called from the management console.
> > > >
> > > > Has someone been messing around with services on that system?
> > > >
> > > > "Ken" wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > I lost somehow the use of Disk Management (under Computer Management) The
> > > > > message states "unable to contact Virtual Disk Service." Can you help with a
> > > > > fix?
> > >
> > > I have checked Services.msc and the items: Virtual Disk- is manual, RPC
> > > service Started, automatic, Plug & Play services - started, automatic.
> > > I don't know if software changed the settings. Still, no Disk Management
> > > under Computer Management. I'm trying to use a USB drive and can't access it.
>
> Disk Management won't start at all due to inability to contact Virtual Disk
> Service. The message appears on the bottom of the blank right pane.
> My USB Drive, 80 Gig USB 2.0, drive is powered as is the USB port with 110v.

USB Drive disconnect makes no difference. DM was working but quit, don't know
what caused it. Event viewer states Windows cannot load classes registry file.
DETAIL - An I/O operation initiated by the registry failed unrecoverably.
The registry could not read in, or write out, or flush, one of the files that
contain the system's image. Could this be related?

"jimmuh" wrote:

> Have you tried disconnecting the USB drive from the system to see if Disk
> Management becomes available then?
>
> I presume that Disk Management was working on this system at one time? Are
> you able to discern when it stopped working? What has been installed on the
> system since you last knew Disk Management to be working? Are there any
> possibly related error messages in Event Viewer? I presume the Device Manager
> looks okay. Have you tried rolling back to earlier restore points? Is there
> anything unusual about the way the system has been configured? Is it a
> "fresh" installation of Vista, or an upgrade over an earlier version of
> Windows?
>
> "Ken" wrote:
>
> >
> >
> > "jimmuh" wrote:
> >
> > > So, when you go into Computer Management and click on Disk Management, that's
> > > when you see this "unable to contact Virtual Disk Service" error message? Or
> > > does it happen when you do something else? Does Disk Management display the
> > > disks on the system in the right pane of the window?
> > >
> > > What kind of USB drive is this, exactly? Is it connected through USB 1.x or
> > > USB 2? If you disconnect it from the computer, can you then use Disk
> > > Management?
> > >
> > > "Ken" wrote:
> > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > "jimmuh" wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > Type "services.msc" (without the quotes) in the Start | Run dialog, and hit
> > > > > the Enter key. Take a look at the Properties dialog for the Virtual Disk
> > > > > Service. It's normally set to start manually. It also depends upon the Plug
> > > > > and Play service and the Remote Procedure Cal (RPC) service. If one or both
> > > > > of those services are stopped, then the Virtual Disk service might be unable
> > > > > to start when it's called from the management console.
> > > > >
> > > > > Has someone been messing around with services on that system?
> > > > >
> > > > > "Ken" wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > > I lost somehow the use of Disk Management (under Computer Management) The
> > > > > > message states "unable to contact Virtual Disk Service." Can you help with a
> > > > > > fix?
> > > >
> > > > I have checked Services.msc and the items: Virtual Disk- is manual, RPC
> > > > service Started, automatic, Plug & Play services - started, automatic.
> > > > I don't know if software changed the settings. Still, no Disk Management
> > > > under Computer Management. I'm trying to use a USB drive and can't access it.
> >
> > Disk Management won't start at all due to inability to contact Virtual Disk
> > Service. The message appears on the bottom of the blank right pane.
> > My USB Drive, 80 Gig USB 2.0, drive is powered as is the USB port with 110v.

Ken wrote:
> I lost somehow the use of Disk Management (under Computer Management) The
> message states "unable to contact Virtual Disk Service." Can you help with a
> fix?
Check cables, had a somelike error.

"Njetspam" wrote:

> Ken wrote:
> > I lost somehow the use of Disk Management (under Computer Management) The
> > message states "unable to contact Virtual Disk Service." Can you help with a
> > fix?
> Check cables, had a somelike error.
>
All cables check out OK. Didn't use a continuity check.

That message from the Event Viewer could certainly be related to this
problem, but I'm afraid I'm not sure how to go about fixing it. Is the error
continuing to occur, or did it just occur once?

I'd say that, if it was a one-time error, and if it occurred just before the
loss of Disk Management functionality, you might try reverting to the restore
point closest in proximity but dated BEFORE the error occurred. If you use a
restore point you will have to re-apply any software / OS updates that had
been applied to the system since the time that restore point was created.

If the error is ongoing that indicates a serious misconfiguration of the OS.
It might be fixed by a repair installation of the OS. That fix would, of
course, entail reapplying all Microsoft updates since the system was new,
though most updates applied to most non-MS software might not be affected
adversely.

I have to wonder why the error condition occurred in the first place. Did
you look at my other questions concerning whether there was anything unusual
about the configuration of the system? For example, did you have to load disk
drivers not included in the OS database, or would this have been an upgrade
installation of Vista on top of an earlier OS, etc.?

"Ken" wrote:

> USB Drive disconnect makes no difference. DM was working but quit, don't know
> what caused it. Event viewer states Windows cannot load classes registry file.
> DETAIL - An I/O operation initiated by the registry failed unrecoverably.
> The registry could not read in, or write out, or flush, one of the files that
> contain the system's image. Could this be related?
>
> "jimmuh" wrote:
>
> > Have you tried disconnecting the USB drive from the system to see if Disk
> > Management becomes available then?
> >
> > I presume that Disk Management was working on this system at one time? Are
> > you able to discern when it stopped working? What has been installed on the
> > system since you last knew Disk Management to be working? Are there any
> > possibly related error messages in Event Viewer? I presume the Device Manager
> > looks okay. Have you tried rolling back to earlier restore points? Is there
> > anything unusual about the way the system has been configured? Is it a
> > "fresh" installation of Vista, or an upgrade over an earlier version of
> > Windows?
> >
> > "Ken" wrote:
> >
> > >
> > >
> > > "jimmuh" wrote:
> > >
> > > > So, when you go into Computer Management and click on Disk Management, that's
> > > > when you see this "unable to contact Virtual Disk Service" error message? Or
> > > > does it happen when you do something else? Does Disk Management display the
> > > > disks on the system in the right pane of the window?
> > > >
> > > > What kind of USB drive is this, exactly? Is it connected through USB 1.x or
> > > > USB 2? If you disconnect it from the computer, can you then use Disk
> > > > Management?
> > > >
> > > > "Ken" wrote:
> > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > "jimmuh" wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > > Type "services.msc" (without the quotes) in the Start | Run dialog, and hit
> > > > > > the Enter key. Take a look at the Properties dialog for the Virtual Disk
> > > > > > Service. It's normally set to start manually. It also depends upon the Plug
> > > > > > and Play service and the Remote Procedure Cal (RPC) service. If one or both
> > > > > > of those services are stopped, then the Virtual Disk service might be unable
> > > > > > to start when it's called from the management console.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Has someone been messing around with services on that system?
> > > > > >
> > > > > > "Ken" wrote:
> > > > > >
> > > > > > > I lost somehow the use of Disk Management (under Computer Management) The
> > > > > > > message states "unable to contact Virtual Disk Service." Can you help with a
> > > > > > > fix?
> > > > >
> > > > > I have checked Services.msc and the items: Virtual Disk- is manual, RPC
> > > > > service Started, automatic, Plug & Play services - started, automatic.
> > > > > I don't know if software changed the settings. Still, no Disk Management
> > > > > under Computer Management. I'm trying to use a USB drive and can't access it.
> > >
> > > Disk Management won't start at all due to inability to contact Virtual Disk
> > > Service. The message appears on the bottom of the blank right pane.
> > > My USB Drive, 80 Gig USB 2.0, drive is powered as is the USB port with 110v.