How to fix Error 5190 on Windows Server 2025 / Windows 11

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Troubleshooting Guide: Error 5190 – Checkpoint Failure on Transactional File System Resource Manager (SQL Server 2025)

Why This Error Happens

Error 5190 occurs when SQL Server 2025, leveraging the Windows Transactional NTFS (TxF) subsystem, fails to checkpoint the resource manager (RM) responsible for tracking filesystem transaction logs, typically due to I/O failures, disk corruption, or insufficient permissions on the $TxfLog directory. This can also happen if the underlying volume has TxF disabled, is running low on disk space, or if third-party antivirus/backup software is locking the transaction log files during the checkpoint operation. Since Windows Server 2025 and Windows 11 have deprecated and restricted TxF functionality by default, SQL Server instances relying on FILESTREAM or FileTable features are particularly susceptible to this NT status failure.

Step-by-Step Resolution Guide

Step 1: Verify Transactional NTFS (TxF) Status on the Volume

  • Open an elevated Command Prompt and run fsutil resource info <VolumeLetter>: to check if TxF is active on the drive hosting your SQL Server data files.
  • Confirm the resource manager GUID is valid and not marked as corrupted or unavailable.
  • If TxF is disabled (common on fresh Windows Server 2025/Windows 11 builds), you will need to re-enable it or migrate away from FILESTREAM/FileTable features that depend on it.

Step 2: Check Disk Space and Health on the Hosting Volume

  • Run chkdsk <VolumeLetter>: /f /r during a maintenance window to repair underlying NTFS structural issues.
  • Ensure at least 15-20% free space remains on the volume, as TxF checkpointing requires buffer space for the $TxfLog system file.
  • Review Event Viewer under Windows Logs > System for any corresponding Disk or Ntfs warnings (Event ID 55 or 140) that correlate with the SQL Server error timestamp.

Step 3: Audit and Correct NTFS Permissions on the Resource Manager

  • Navigate to the root of the affected volume and use icacls <VolumeLetter>:\$Extend\$RmMetadata /T to verify the SQL Server service account has Read/Write access.
  • Grant the SQL Server service account (e.g., NT Service\MSSQLSERVER) full control over the $TxfLog and $TxfLogContainer system files if access is denied.
  • Restart the SQL Server service via services.msc or net stop MSSQLSERVER && net start MSSQLSERVER to reinitialize the resource manager handle.

Step 4: Exclude SQL Server Files from Antivirus and Backup Agents

  • Add exclusions for the SQL Server data directory (e.g., D:\SQLData\) and the $TxfLog system folder in your antivirus console.
  • Disable “real-time scanning” temporarily to test if a third-party agent is locking the file handle during the checkpoint cycle.

Alternative or Verification Steps

  • Verify the Fix: Monitor the SQL Server Error Log and Windows Event Viewer for 24-48 hours to confirm Error 5190 does not recur during automatic checkpoint intervals.
  • Alternative Solution: If TxF remains unstable due to Microsoft’s deprecation roadmap, migrate FILESTREAM data to a standard VARBINARY(MAX) column or utilize FileTable alternatives that do not rely on the legacy Transactional NTFS driver, as this feature is slated for full removal in future Windows builds.