Datto BCDR in practice: troubleshooting backups, screenshots, offsite sync and devices
A deeper Datto BCDR course built from Datto's public knowledge base for SIRIS and ALTO: how warnings differ from errors, reading backup alerts and agent error codes, repairing VSS writers, using Datto Windows Agent logs and snapshot states, fixing network path errors, diagnosing screenshot verification failures, catching up offsite sync, freeing a full device, and handling 'device not seen' and hardware alerts.
- Level
- Intermediate
- Length
- About 55 minutes
- Contents
- 3 lessons · 1 video · final exam
- Status
- Published · updated 2 Oct 2026
- Datto BCDR
Skills you'll practise
- Explain how three backup attempts produce a warning or an error, and when frequent warnings need the same treatment as errors
- Work through Datto's basic backup troubleshooting: logs, VSS writers, free space, memory, services and conflicting tasks
- Use Datto Windows Agent snapshot states and error codes to decide whether to look at VSS or connectivity
- Diagnose common screenshot verification failures (blank screen, 0x7B, pending update, not running) and choose Datto's fix
- Decide between monitoring, tuning and a RoundTrip for an offsite sync backlog
- Free space on a full device without deleting the wrong data, and triage 'device not seen' and hardware alerts
Course outline
- 1.Datto BCDR in practice: troubleshooting backups, screenshots, sync and devicesVideo · 2 min
- 2.Backup failures: warnings, errors, logs and VSSLesson · 20 min
- 3.Screenshot verification failures and network errorsLesson · 17 min
- 4.Offsite sync, full devices, 'device not seen' and hardware alertsLesson · 18 min
- 5.Datto BCDR in practice: troubleshooting backups, screenshots, offsite sync and devices: knowledge checkKnowledge check · 16 questions
- 6.Final exam11 questions · passing it completes the course, so people who already know the material can test out
Sources it draws on
The lessons and questions are written from these references, so learners can go back to the original.
- Datto KB: Basic troubleshooting for backup error alerts (alert codes, VSS, free space, services)
- Datto KB: Backup Warnings vs Backup Errors
- Datto KB: Resolving VSS Writer Errors in Windows 8, Server 2012, and Up
- Datto KB: Datto Windows Agent: Advanced Troubleshooting (ports, agent.sqlite, snapshot states)
- Datto KB: Troubleshooting Agent Error Codes for DWA and DLA
- Datto KB: Backup failed because of a problem with making a backup request to the agent
- Datto KB: Final error (-53 The network path was not found.)
- Datto KB: Screenshot Verification failure: Blank image or image of Windows loading
- Datto KB: Screenshot Verification failure: Blue screen stop code 0x0000007b
- Datto KB: Screenshot Verification failure: The system is pending an update
- Datto KB: Screenshot Verifications not running
- Datto KB: Basic troubleshooting for offsite synchronization issues
- Datto KB: Backup skipped due to not enough free space (Full Device)
- Datto KB: Basic troubleshooting for 'Device not seen' alerts
- Datto KB: Basic troubleshooting for hardware alerts
See it with your own jobs and topics
Tell us about your team and we'll walk you through setup, from choosing jobs to your first skills check.