sharepoint online restore

Question

Over 9,000 files stored in my OneDrive were deleted by an external program. They are not in the first-stage or second-stage Recycle Bin, and even our administrator cannot see them. The OneDrive Restore feature also does not bring them back. Please advise how I can recover these files.

Answer 1

If the files you are trying to recover from OneDrive are not found in the first-stage or second-stage Recycle Bin, and the OneDrive Restore feature is not able to recover them, it indicates that the files may have been permanently deleted. In such cases, there are limited options available:

1. Contact Microsoft Support: Since the files are not retrievable through the standard recovery options, your best course of action is to contact Microsoft Support. They may have additional tools or methods to assist in recovering lost data, especially if it was deleted recently.
2. Check for Backups: If your organization has a backup solution in place, check with your IT department to see if there are any backups available that could restore the lost files.
3. Version History: If the files were part of a document library or shared folder, check if version history is enabled for those files. This could allow you to restore previous versions of the documents, if applicable.

Unfortunately, if none of these options are viable, it may not be possible to recover the deleted files directly from OneDrive or SharePoint.

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References:

• OneDrive retention and deletion
• "Error: 404 File/Page not found" in OneDrive or SharePoint

Answer 2

Dear @박근아 사원,

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft 365 Q&A forum community. I understand how critical these files are, and I’ll provide the most effective recovery options available. 

When files are deleted from OneDrive and are not in the first-stage or second-stage Recycle Bin, and the Files Restore feature does not recover them, it usually means they were permanently deleted beyond the retention period or by a process that bypassed the recycle bin. 

To help me narrow down the cause, could you please provide the following details?  

1. Is there any backup solution in place for your OneDrive data?
2. Has your admin performed any restoration attempts? If so, what were the results?
3. Can you check if there are any recent changes in admin settings or permissions that might affect the restore functionality?

In the meantime, please try the following official troubleshooting steps which usually resolve issues with basic issues: 

Step 1: Verify retention policy 

• For work or school accounts, deleted items remain in the recycle bin for 93 days unless purged by an admin. If they are not there, they are permanently deleted. 

For detailed guidance, please refer to Microsoft’s official documentation: How to recover missing, deleted or corrupted items in SharePoint and OneDrive for work or school - …  

Step 2: Check Audit Logs 

Admins can use Microsoft 365 Compliance Center for Audit Logs to confirm when and how files were deleted. 

• Go to Microsoft Purview compliance portal 
• Navigate to Audit > Search. 
• If you see the search page, auditing is already enabled (it’s on by default for most tenants). 
• If not, click Start recording user and admin activity. 

For detailed guidance step by step, please refer to Microsoft’s official documentation:  Search the audit log | Microsoft Learn 

 

Step 3: Restore OneDrive to a previous state 

• If you are a Microsoft 365 subscriber, use Restore your OneDrive to revert to a point in time within the last 30 days. 

For detailed guidance step by step, please refer to Microsoft’s official documentation: Restore deleted files or folders in OneDrive - Microsoft Support 

 

Step 4: If all above fails 

• Unfortunately, if files are not in the recycle bins and OneDrive Restore does not recover them, they are irretrievable through standard Microsoft tools. At this point, you may need to:  
• Check local device backups or third-party backup solutions. 
• Contact Microsoft Support for advanced recovery options (may require escalation). 

Important notes: OneDrive and SharePoint do not provide recovery beyond retention limits unless backups or retention policies were configured. 

For more details, please refer to:  How to recover missing, deleted or corrupted items in SharePoint and OneDrive for work or school - … 

I truly hope you understand that the initial steps I suggested may not have completely resolved the issue, as there might still be underlying causes, we haven't uncovered yet. Please know that I’m here with you every step of the way, ready to work together and do everything I can to help troubleshoot and find the best solution.  

Please let me know if you have any further questions or if the problem persists after trying these solutions. Thank you for your patience and cooperation.  

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Answer 3

Thank you for your support. Below are my answers to the detailed questions you asked:

1. I checked all available recycle bins, but none of the deleted files were found. Our admin also attempted a library restore, but the files still could not be recovered.
2. As mentioned earlier, the admin also confirmed that recovery was not possible.
3. There were no changes in admin settings or permissions that could affect the restore functionality. However, since a large number of files disappeared at once, it seems they were deleted through a process that bypassed the recycle bin.

Regarding Step 4, it does not apply to my case. It appears the files may have been permanently deleted. However, since I was using a SharePoint site for work, restoration within 14 days should still be possible according to Microsoft’s policy in the link below.

Therefore, I would appreciate your guidance on how this recovery method can be applied in my situation.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/how-to-recover-missing-deleted-or-corrupted-items-in-sharepoint-and-onedrive-for-work-or-school-3d748edf-c072-46c9-81a4-4989056ebc87