Bareos 25 File Daemon keeps crashing on boot on an old Server 2008 R2 — running out of ideas

[arthur]

 Hey everyone,

I could use a sanity check from anyone who's fought with legacy Windows and modern software before.

We're standing up a Bareos backup setup. Director and Storage Daemon both on Linux, running version 25. The catch is one of the machines we absolutely need to back up is a Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 box, and it can't be replaced or upgraded right now. It's the very system whose data we're trying to protect, so "just migrate off it" isn't an option yet, which is exactly why getting reliable backups of it matters so much.

The problem is the Windows File Daemon simply won't run on it. I installed the current Bareos 25 client, but the service goes straight from START_PENDING to STOPPED. When I run the binary in the foreground to see what's happening, it throws the classic Windows "stopped working" crash before it even reads its config file, so it's dying on load rather than choking on something I misconfigured. Event Viewer points the finger at MSVCP140.dll (version 14.32.31332.0) with exception code 0xc0000005, an access violation right as the DLL loads.

I've been digging, and here's where I've landed so far. The VC++ 2015–2022 Redistributable is already installed, so it's not a plain "missing runtime" situation. My best theory is that MSVCP140.dll depends on the Universal CRT (ucrtbase.dll), which on 2008 R2 only comes in through KB2999226, and that update in turn needs the SHA-2 servicing updates first. If the Universal CRT isn't fully there, the DLL can load but then access-violates, which lines up perfectly with the crash I'm seeing. And since 2008 R2 is NT 6.1, the same kernel as Windows 7 (which Bareos still lists as supported), I'd expect the 25 binary to run fine once the runtime side is actually complete.

Going backwards to an older client isn't as simple as I hoped either. The public Bareos download server only offers the latest Windows installer for free, and the older winbareos builds sit behind a paid subscription. On top of that, I'm not even sure an old FD 21 would play nicely with a version 25 Director.

So I'm mostly wondering if anyone has actually gotten a modern VC++ 2015-2022-linked app to run on 2008 R2 just by installing the Universal CRT and the SHA-2 updates, did that clear up a 0xc0000005-on-load like mine, or was there more to it? I've also read that you have to stay on VC++ redist 14.32 or older because 14.40+ dropped Windows 7 and 2008 R2 support, and I'd love to hear that confirmed by someone who's been there. And if there's a smarter way to back up a stranded 2008 R2 box with a modern Bareos Director that I'm just not seeing, I'm all ears.

I know 2008 R2 is long dead and the real fix is to retire it. That's the plan, honestly. I just need solid backups of the thing before that can happen. Thanks in advance to anyone who's got a war story to share.

[Andreas Rogge]

Hi Arthur,

we have quite a few people backing up 32-bit Windows XP.
Point is, you will have to use an agent that was made for that system
and tested on it (in case of 32-bit XP, that's a pretty ancient Bareos
14.2).
I'm honestly not sure when we broke 2008 R2 (as we surely didn't break
it intentionally). I guess at least the Bareos 24 cross-build should
still work.
Nevertheless, you need a subscription to get access to the installer,
build it yourself or find somebody to build it for you.

Concerning building it, I guess it could also be possible to convince
MSVC to target an older platform (like 2008 R2) and build the latest
Bareos 25 for that.

Best Regards,
Andreas

Am 01.07.26 um 14:44 schrieb arthur:

>
>
> Going backwards to an older client isn't as simple as I hoped either.
> The public Bareos download server only offers the latest Windows
> installer for free, and the older winbareos builds sit behind a paid
> subscription. On top of that, I'm not even sure an old FD 21 would play
> nicely with a version 25 Director.
>
> So I'm mostly wondering if anyone has actually gotten a modern VC++
> 2015-2022-linked app to run on 2008 R2 just by installing the Universal
> CRT and the SHA-2 updates, did that clear up a 0xc0000005-on-load like
> mine, or was there more to it? I've also read that you have to stay on
> VC++ redist 14.32 or older because 14.40+ dropped Windows 7 and 2008 R2
> support, and I'd love to hear that confirmed by someone who's been
> there. And if there's a smarter way to back up a stranded 2008 R2 box
> with a modern Bareos Director that I'm just not seeing, I'm all ears.
>
> I know 2008 R2 is long dead and the real fix is to retire it. That's the
> plan, honestly. I just need solid backups of the thing before that can
> happen. Thanks in advance to anyone who's got a war story to share.

--
Andreas Rogge andrea...@bareos.com
Bareos GmbH & Co. KG Phone: +49 221-630693-86
http://www.bareos.com

Sitz der Gesellschaft: Köln | Amtsgericht Köln: HRA 29646
Komplementär: Bareos Verwaltungs-GmbH
Geschäftsführer: Stephan Dühr, Jörg Steffens, Philipp Storz

[Andreas Rogge]

Am 01.07.26 um 17:17 schrieb 'Andreas Rogge' via bareos-users:

> Nevertheless, you need a subscription to get access to the installer,
> build it yourself or find somebody to build it for you.

That sounded wrong after reading it a second time. You either need a
Bareos subscription to get an off-the-shelf installer of that version or
you can always get the complete sources from GitHub and build the
software yourself or have someone build it for you.