Hello Please i need your help on this issue. Files or Folders are missing from SharePoint. I need to recover missing files.

Question

Hello

 

Please i need your help on this issue.

 

Files or Folders are missing from SharePoint.

 

I need to recover missing files. I used to have an inventory folder in the Plainville MR282388 on my sharepoint. I have nothing in my recycle bin nor an activity alert showing its was deleted or moved...

Please help asap.

Answer 1

Hi @Mat Medeiros,

Thank you for posting in this community.

Step 1:

First of all, please confirm the approximate time when your files disappeared, because after a certain period of time, the files will be permanently deleted, and we cannot recover them.

SharePoint has two Recycle Bins.

The First Stage is also known as the “End-User Recycle Bin” and is specific to each user. When you delete an item, it is moved to the First Stage, where it stays for 93 days. If the item is not restored within that time frame, it’s permanently deleted from the site collection.

The Second Stage is also known as the “Site Collection Recycle Bin” and is specific to the site collection. When an item is deleted from the First Stage, it is moved to the Second Stage, where it stays for an additional period, based on the Recycle Bin retention settings. After the retention period expires, the item is permanently deleted and cannot be recovered.

Step 2:

It is likely that the files were deleted from the recycle bin of the first stage, and we recommend that you go to the recycle bin of the second stage to check it.

Go to your site >Site contents >Recycle Bin > Second-stage recycle bin (At the very bottom of the page).

Step 3:

If you haven't exceeded the retention period and don't find your files in both recycle bins, we need to confirm whether your files have been deleted or moved somewhere else.

To view an audit log report for a site collection, follow these steps:

1. Browse to the Site Settings page for the OneDrive Library or site collection.
2. If you aren't at the root of your site collection, click Go to top level site settings under Site Collection Administration.
3. In the Site Collection Administration section, select Audit log reports. If you can't see this option, please click on Site collection features under Site Collection Administration >Find the Reporting feature >Click on the activate button next to it to activate the feature.
4. On the View Auditing Reports page, select the report Deletion.
5. Type or browse to the library where you want to save the report, and then click OK. Please note that it may take a long time for the report to be generated.
6. On the Operation Completed Successfully page, click on the click here link to view this report.

Step 4:

If none of the above works and the files are very important to you, we recommend that you Contact Microsoft 365 support. Include the following information in your request:

• The full URL for the affected site collection or library. For example: https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/<SiteCollectionName>/Shared%20Documents
• The names of several of the affected items. For files, include the file name extension.
• The date and time when you think the file was last in a healthy state.

Note: SharePoint Online retains backups of all content for 14 additional days beyond actual deletion. If content cannot be restored via the Recycle Bin, an administrator can contact Microsoft Support to request a restore any time inside the 14-day window. Restorations from backups can be completed only for site collections or sub-sites, not for specific files, lists, or libraries.

Reference: How to recover missing, deleted or corrupted items in SharePoint and OneDrive for work or school

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