Problem Description
Backup jobs on Windows servers may fail when the Druva backup agent cannot read the Update Sequence Number (USN) Journal on an NTFS volume. This issue typically manifests as repeated backup failures and error messages referencing invalid parameters.
Cause
The root cause is a failure in reading the USN Journal on the protected NTFS volume. Specifically, the Druva agent is unable to read the journal due to an invalid parameter error (Windows Error Code 87: ERROR_INVALID_PARAMETER). This typically occurs when the requested start USN is no longer valid, often due to journal wrapping, trimming, or corruption.
Traceback / Logs
The following error can be found in the Druva agent logs:
level=error ts=2025-12-09T09:04:03.613702Z filename=usn_windows.go:397 message="Failed to read journal, will retry, error is windows error" Fset=C startUSN=35709162064 journalID=133199834721030135 attempt=1 nextRetryIn=18.578889921s windowsErrCode=87 Error="unable to do read USN Journal: The parameter is incorrect."
Resolution
To resolve this issue, perform the following steps:
Step 1: Upgrade Druva Agent
Ensure that the Druva Enterprise Workload agent running on the target server is upgraded to the latest available version. If the issue persists, proceed to Step 2.
Step 2: Manual USN Journal Reset
⚠️ Note: This requires administrative privileges on the affected Windows Server.
Stop the Druva Agent Service (
Druva-EnterpriseWorkload).Open Command Prompt as an Administrator and delete the corrupted USN Journal on the affected drive (e.g.,
C:):fsutil usn deletejournal /d C:
Recreate a new USN Journal using the following command:
fsutil usn createjournal m=4294967296 a=536870912 C:
Restart the Service(Druva-EnterpriseWorkloads Service)
Initiate a new manual backup job from the Druva Cloud Console to verify success.