Fix Windows Backup App Stuck at 99% (App Preferences)

The backup runs for an hour, crawls to 99%, and then… nothing. The bar just sits there. No error, no progress, no clue what it’s waiting on.

Here’s what’s usually jamming it: the “App preferences” category. That’s the part of the backup that saves your app settings and Store licenses. And one corrupted entry — or a stale Microsoft Store token — hangs the count forever. Right at the finish line.

A stalled helper service causes the rest (Volume Shadow Copy, the thing that lets Windows photograph files while they’re open). So the plan is easy: skip the broken category, clear the caches, and kick the services. Ready?

Table of Contents

Fix 1 – Uncheck “App Preferences” and Back Up Again

Wondering if you can just skip the broken part? You can. Everything else backs up safely while you sort out the stuck category.

1 – Click Start, type “Windows Backup”, and open the app.

2 – Click the Apps dropdown to expand it.

3 – Uncheck App preferences.

4 – Click Back up.

The bar should sail past 99% this time. Your files, folders, and settings are all covered — and you can switch the category back on after Fix 3 or Fix 4.

Fix 2 – End the Hung Backup Task

Before anything else can work, the frozen process has to actually die. Closing the window is not enough (it keeps running in the background).

1 – Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.

2 – Look for Windows Backup in the process list.

3 – Right-click it and select End task.

Now the app is fully stopped. And the next two fixes can safely touch its files.

Fix 3 – Clear the Backup Cache Folder

The app stages your backup in a temporary folder before uploading. When a file in there corrupts, every backup afterward hits the same wall. Wiping the folder forces a fresh count from scratch.

1 – End the backup task first, like in Fix 2.

2 – Press Windows + R.

3 – Type %localappdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Backup and press Enter. A File Explorer window opens.

4 – Select everything inside the folder (press Ctrl + A).

5 – Press Delete.

Don’t worry — this is staging data, not your actual backed-up files. The app rebuilds it on the next run.

Fix 4 – Repair or Reset the Backup App

Windows has a built-in repair tool for its own apps. And it’s genuinely good at this.

1 – Press Windows + I to open Settings.

2 – Go to Apps, then Installed apps.

3 – Type “backup” in the search box at the top.

4 – Click the three dots (⋯) next to Windows Backup and choose Advanced options. (Don’t see it listed? Some builds tuck it inside the Windows Feature Experience Pack — search for that instead.)

5 – Scroll down and click Repair. Wait for the checkmark.

6 – Run a backup. Still hanging? Come back here and click Reset — it sits right below Repair.

Fix 5 – Restart the Volume Shadow Copy Service

When VSS stalls, backups freeze at whatever percent they happened to reach. Frozen service, frozen bar.

1 – Press Windows + R, type services.msc, and press Enter.

2 – Scroll down to Volume Shadow Copy (the list is alphabetical).

3 – Right-click it and choose Restart — or Start if it is stopped.

4 – Right-click it again and open Properties.

5 – Set Startup type to Automatic, then click OK.

Check if this works.

Fix 6 – Clear the Microsoft Store Cache

Odd one, right? But the backup app checks your Store licenses while saving app preferences, and a corrupted Store token stalls that check forever.

1 – Press Windows + R.

2 – Type wsreset.exe and press Enter.

3 – A blank black window appears. That’s normal — leave it alone.

4 – Wait for it to close on its own (takes half a minute or so), then try backing up.

Keep It From Coming Back

Let one backup finish before starting another. Overlapping runs are exactly how the cache corrupts.
Once a clean backup completes, re-tick App preferences and run one more. Full coverage restored.
If backups start crawling again, check the Volume Shadow Copy service first — and keep its startup type on Automatic.