The data from the sahre folder https://saccwal.file.core.windows.net/walfileshare has dissapeared.

Question

This is a charity data storage which was setup by one of the staff. That member of staff has now left and I am trying to get my head around the setup. since the weekend their data has disapeared in the walfileshare. I can see in Azure that the only file there is Foundation Member Badge.bmp.

When I try and get access to the share through I get an error :-

I have looked through the logs and can not see that the data has been deleted, however I have also noticed that deleted blobs are retained for 7 days but I dont think the backup is enabled.

Is there anyway someone can throw some light on this please?

Thanks

Answer 1

Dear James Rutherford,

thank you for reaching out about the issue with the missing data in your Azure file share. I understand how concerning this must be, especially since the storage was set up by a former staff member, and you’re now managing it. Let me explain the situation in simple terms and provide some guidance to help resolve this.

First, you mentioned that the data in the share https://saccwal.file.core.windows.net/walfileshare has disappeared, and only one file ("Foundation Member Badge.bmp") remains. This could happen for a few reasons, and I’ll walk you through the possible causes and solutions.

Azure Files offers a feature called "soft delete," which helps recover accidentally deleted files or shares. If soft delete was enabled, deleted files would be retained for a specified period (like the 7 days you mentioned). However, if it wasn’t enabled, the files may not be recoverable through this method. You can verify whether soft delete is enabled by checking the share’s properties in the Azure portal. For more details, refer to the Microsoft documentation on soft delete for Azure Files.

The error you encountered when trying to access the share might be related to permissions. Since the original staff member who set this up is no longer available, their credentials or role assignments might have been the only way to access certain data. You can check and update the share’s access control by reviewing the "Access Control (IAM)" settings in the Azure portal. The Microsoft documentation on managing access to Azure Files explains how to configure this properly.

You mentioned checking the logs but not finding evidence of deletion. Azure Storage provides logging and metrics that can help track changes. You can review the "Activity Log" in the Azure portal to see if any recent operations (like deletions or modifications) were performed on the share. For step-by-step guidance, see the Microsoft documentation on monitoring Azure Files.

Confirm whether soft delete was enabled. If it was, you might be able to restore the files.

Check the share’s permissions to ensure your account has the necessary access.

Review the Activity Log for any unusual or unexpected actions.

If you’re still unable to locate the data, you might need to consider restoring from a backup (if one exists). Azure Backup can be configured for file shares, but it requires prior setup. You can learn more about this in the Microsoft documentation on backing up Azure File Shares.

I hope this helps clarify the situation.

Best regards,
Alex
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