Q. How can I check if the backup integration service is running in my guest OS in Hyper-V?

A. First you need to make sure that you've actually installed the integration services. Do this by connecting the guest OS and using device manager in the guest. You'll see various VMBus devices, such as network and display, if the integration service is running. If you expand the System devices section we will see various Hyper-V integration services that should include the Hyper-V Volume Shadow Copy system device, as shown below. You can also look at running services using the net start command. You should see the Hyper-V Volume Shadow Copy Requestor service, also shown below. If you see these, then the VSS integration service is running and available.

Next, you need to make sure the integration service is enabled through the Hyper-V Management Microsoft Management Console snap-in. Select the settings of the VM and select Integration Services from the Management section. Make sure "Backup (volume snapshot)" is checked, as shown here.

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