Job Fails When Snapshot Is Deleted During Execution

Product version: All

Last modified: 11 May 2026

Problem

A backup, replication, or real-time replication (RTR) job fails with an error similar to the following:

Generic source disk failure (error 10) Disk 0 error 10

Background

This issue can occur if a snapshot on the source VM is deleted while a job is running.

During job execution, NAKIVO Backup & Replication relies on the existing VMware snapshot chain to read virtual disks. If a user deletes a manually created snapshot (or otherwise modifies the snapshot chain) while the job is in progress, VMware may reorganize or consolidate the disk chain.

As a result:

  • Disk references may change

  • The snapshot chain structure may be altered.

  • The transporter may lose access to the source disk.

This behavior is not specific to real-time replication and can affect backup and replication jobs as well.

Solution

Do not modify or delete snapshots on the source VM while a backup, replication, or real-time replication job is running:

  • Wait for the job to complete before deleting any snapshots.

  • Avoid manual snapshot operations during job execution.

  • If the job fails, wait until all snapshot operations are completed, then restart the job.