
The solution to this problem is simple: use a fully qualified UNC path instead of a mapped drive letter.
#Sql backup master service failed to start windows
In Windows Vista and later, mapped drive letters are bound to the Windows security context that was used to create them, and SQL Server will usually not be able to access the mapping for this reason. If you’re attempting to specify a backup folder location that resides on a remote (network ) file system, we strongly recommend that you do not use a mapped drive letter for this purpose.

If your backup job tests and executes successfully after doing so, you’ll have confirmed that permissions problem are the root issue and can narrow them down from there.
#Sql backup master service failed to start full
If you’re uncertain as to whether folder permissions are at the root of your problem, just temporarily give “everyone” full permissions to it. Make sure that the account SQL Server is using has explicit read/write permissions for this folder.Īlso, here’s a quick tip. Check the permissions on the temporary backup folder by right-clicking it in Windows Explorer, selecting Properties, then navigating to the Security tab. It is this “log on” account that must have sufficient permissions to write to the temporary backup folder location. To find out which account is being used click Start, click in the Start Search box, type services.msc, and then press ENTER.įind your SQL Server instance in the services list and double-click it, then select the Log On tab. Regardless of how you configure a backup job within SQL Backup Master, SQL Server itself runs within the security context of the account specified in the SQL Server system service configuration. Now let’s look at possible underlying causes.

When SQL Server cannot access this temporary folder location, the database backup file cannot be created and the process fails with “Operating System error 3”. The key to solving this problem is to first understand that SQL Server must be able to write database backup files directly to the temporary backup folder location specified in your backup job settings. BACKUP DATABASE is terminating abnormally). Job Execution Error: Cannot open backup device ‘’ Operating System error 3 (The system cannot find the path specified.

Some users of SQL Backup Master may encounter the following error when executing a database backup job (or testing one during the configuration process):
