recover deleted VM

Question

Hello,

I recently deleted a virtual machine (it was a SQL VM), but during the process, another VM was also deleted unexpectedly.

I would like to know if it is possible to recover both the virtual machine and its associated disk.

Thank you.

Answer 1

Hello Hashem,

Thank you for reaching out. I’m sorry to hear that both of your virtual machines were deleted—this can definitely be concerning.

In Azure, when a virtual machine resource is deleted, it is permanently removed. However, recovery may still be possible depending on whether the underlying disks, backups, or snapshots are still available.

If you only deleted the VM (not the OS disk)

First, I recommend checking whether the disks still exist. In many cases, when a VM is deleted, the OS disk and data disks are not deleted along with it.

You can:

Go to the Azure portal, search for “Disks”, and look for any disks that were associated with your deleted VM.

If you find a disk whose status shows as “Unattached”, you can use it to recreate the VM.

Reference: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/attach-os-disk?tabs=portal#create-a-vm-from-a-disk

If the disk is available, you can simply select it and choose the option to create a new VM. During this process, you will be asked to provide details such as the VM name, size, and networking configuration. This will restore your VM using the existing disk data. The same documentation above will guide you through the steps.

If you do not see any disks, the next step is to check whether Azure Backup was enabled. If backups were configured, you can go to the Recovery Services Vault in the Azure portal, look under “Backup Items,” select your virtual machine, and choose the restore option. This will allow you to recover the VM or its disks from a backup point.

Reference: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/backup/backup-azure-arm-restore-vms

Another possibility is that snapshots were taken earlier. If so, you can go to the “Snapshots” section in the Azure portal, create a new disk from the snapshot, and then create a VM using that disk.

Reference: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/disks-incremental-snapshots?tabs=azure-cli

If soft delete was enabled for disks, there is also a chance that the deleted disks can be recovered within the retention period (typically 14 days). After restoring the disk, you can recreate the VM.

Reference: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/backup/soft-delete-virtual-machines?tabs=azure-portal

Hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any queries in comments.