Error 105979 : Backup Failed Due to Duplicate VM UUID
KB ID 105979
Issue
Cause
This error occurs when two or more VMs on the same Proxmox host have the same UUID.
The backup cannot uniquely identify these VMs, so the backup of the affected VMs is skipped.
Resolution
Follow the steps below to assign a new UUID to one of the affected VMs.
Step 1: Identify the Affected VMs
Open the backup failure message for Error 105979.
The message displays the duplicate UUID and the names of the affected VMs.
Note down the VM name(s) shown in the error message.
Step 2: Find the VM ID
Log in to the Proxmox host and run:
qm list
Find the VM ID (VMID) corresponding to one of the affected VMs.
| VMID | VM Name | Status |
|---|---|---|
<VMID> | <VM_NAME> | <STATUS> |
Step 3: Verify the Duplicate UUID
Run the following command using the VM ID:
qm config <VMID>
Check for the following entry:
smbios1: uuid=<DUPLICATE_UUID>
Repeat this step for the other affected VM(s) to confirm that they have the same UUID.
Step 4: Generate a New UUID
If the uuidgen package is not available, install it using:
apt update
apt install -y uuid-runtime
Generate a new UUID:
uuidgen
Copy the generated UUID.
Step 5: Stop the VM and Assign the New UUID
Stop the VM whose UUID needs to be changed:
qm shutdown <VMID>
Check that the VM has stopped:
qm status <VMID>
The status should be:
status: stopped
Assign the newly generated UUID:
qm set <VMID> --smbios1 uuid=<NEW_UUID>
Step 6: Start the VM
Start the VM:
qm start <VMID>
Verify that it is running:
qm status <VMID>
The status should be:
status: running
Step 7: Verify the UUID and Run the Backup
Verify the new UUID:
qm config <VMID>
Make sure that:
The VM now has the newly assigned UUID.
The new UUID is different from the duplicate UUID reported in Error 105979.
Once verified, run the backup job again.
The backup should now complete successfully.
