The following error is displayed in VCenter after an operation like upgrade the VM hardware version:

The guest OS has reported an error during quiescing. The error code was: 5 The error message was: 'VssSyncStart' operation failed: The service cannot be started, either because it is disabled or because it has no enabled devices associated with it. (0x80070422)

This error can be fixed by:

1. Go to “Apps and Features”.
2. Select “VMware Tools” and then “Modify”.
3. Select “Modify” and then “Next”.
4. In “Custom Setup” deselect “Volume Shadow Copy Services Support”.
5. Press “Next” and wait for wizard to complete.

The error should no longer occur when you attempt the operation which caused the original error.

You can also uninstall the feature using the command line: MsiExec.exe “/I{D533345C-7F8D-4807-AE80-E06CE2045B0E} REMOVE=”VSS“ /qn REBOOT=”ReallySuppress“