Workaround for: Config DB restore fails with "Failed to get the parent directory of path '<GUID>'"

[FireExit]

Hi,

I tried to migrate a VBR server using backup/restore of the config database.

The restore wizard connected to SQL Server, verified the configuration backup file, then tried to backup the SQL database and failed with this error:

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[18.08.2026 18:30:10.146]    <03>    Info (3)    [MSSQL] Connection established successfully to SQL Server (ServerInstance=[<censored>])
[18.08.2026 18:30:10.147]    <03>    Info (3)    [TaskLog] 'Backing up database VeeamBackupCC' append, OrdinalId 125, Status ENone, Desc ''

[18.08.2026 18:30:10.149]    <03>    Info (3)    [TASK] Getting physical path of last database backup file
[18.08.2026 18:30:10.163]    <03>    Info (3)    [TASK] Detected physical path [{161BE5A9-A9D3-433C-9541-C857171643F6}4] of last database backup file

[18.08.2026 18:30:10.296]    <03>   Error (1)    Failed to get the parent directory of path '{161BE5A9-A9D3-433C-9541-C857171643F6}4'. (System.ArgumentException)
[18.08.2026 18:30:10.296]    <03>   Error (1)       at Veeam.Backup.TypedPaths.LocalPath.GetParentDirectory()
[18.08.2026 18:30:10.296]    <03>   Error (1)       at Veeam.Backup.Configuration.Engine.MsSqlDatabaseNativeBackuper.GetBackupFolder()
[18.08.2026 18:30:10.296]    <03>   Error (1)       at Veeam.Backup.Configuration.Engine.MsSqlDatabaseNativeBackuper.Backup(ITaskLog taskLog)
[18.08.2026 18:30:10.296]    <03>   Error (1)       at Veeam.Backup.Configuration.Engine.VeeamBackupDatabaseTask.Veeam.Backup.Tool.Core.IVeeamTask.Run(ITaskLog taskLog)

Google can't find error "Failed to get the parent directory of path".

Claude told me that backup systems give SQL Server a 'virtual device' to write to instead of a filesystem path, and guessed that the restore wizard queries something like this:

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SELECT TOP 10
    bs.database_name,
    bs.backup_finish_date,
    bs.type,               -- D=full, I=diff, L=log
    bmf.physical_device_name,
    bmf.device_type
FROM msdb.dbo.backupset bs
JOIN msdb.dbo.backupmediafamily bmf
    ON bs.media_set_id = bmf.media_set_id
WHERE bs.database_name = '<YourDBNameHere>'
ORDER BY bs.backup_finish_date DESC;

I ran that query in SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) and saw the GUID from the error message in there as the physical_device_name.

My workaround (not from Claude) was to run a manual backup of the database (right click in SSMS), backup "to disk" with a normal path, wait for it to finish.
Re-run that query and see the latest backup now has a filesystem path.

Close SQL Server Management Studio, and retry the Veeam restore, and the restore wizard's backup of the SQL database worked now, and the restore has continued.

Google, please find this for the next people to trip over it.