Microsoft Lists Error

Question

I believe I deleted a column in one of my views and the whole lists is gone. If I can get help to retrieve that information it would be greatly appreciated!

Answer 1

The list itself is not deleted. The error indicates a problem with one or more columns (fields) in the list, not that the whole list is gone. The data is still in the list unless the columns themselves were permanently deleted.

Use these steps to check and repair the list:

1. Open the list in SharePoint (not via the Microsoft Lists app, if possible).
2. Go to Settings > List settings (or Library settings if it is a library).
3. In the Columns section, review the columns:
   • If a column was deleted and is no longer listed, it and its data cannot be restored from the Recycle Bin once removed from the list schema.
   • If a column is still listed but is causing issues, consider removing only that problematic column:
     1. Select the column name.
     2. Scroll to the bottom of the Change Column page and select Delete.
     3. Confirm with OK to permanently delete that column and its data.
4. If the list items themselves were deleted (not just a column), check the site Recycle Bin and restore them if present.

Important behaviors to be aware of:

• Deleting items from a list sends them to the Recycle Bin (if configured), where they can be restored.
• Deleting a column from a list permanently removes that column and its data; it cannot be restored from the Recycle Bin.
• Some required columns such as Title or Name cannot be deleted; the Delete button will not be available for them.

If the list items are missing from all views but appear in List settings → Columns, then the issue is likely with view configuration or a corrupt column. If the items were deleted, use the Recycle Bin to restore them; if a column was deleted, its data cannot be recovered and a new column must be created.

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References:

• Add, edit, or delete list items
• Delete a column in a list or library
• How to recover missing, deleted or corrupted items in SharePoint and OneDrive for work or school

Answer 2

Hi @Chefgreene86, 

Good day, and thank you for sharing the screenshot and details of the issue. 

From the error shown, this does not necessarily mean the entire Microsoft List has been deleted. The message usually indicates that one or more underlying columns in the SharePoint-based list may now be in an invalid state, for example a lookup column pointing to a removed source list or a custom field type that is no longer available. 

In your case, you may kindly try the following: 

1. Open the SharePoint site directly and go to Site contents 

• Since the list is accessed from SharePoint, please try opening the SharePoint site itself first, then go to Site contents and open the affected list from there.  
• Opening the site directly is suggested as a way to reach the list when the normal list page will not render. 
  •  

1. If you can access List settings, review the columns carefully 

• Please check for any columns that were recently changed, deleted, or configured as lookup or custom fields.  
• The guidance for this exact error recommends reviewing the Columns section and removing or temporarily deleting suspicious columns, then testing the list again. 

1. Try opening the list in classic experience, if available I also suggest trying the classic SharePoint experience to reach List settings when the modern page is no longer usable. 

• To change to classic experience, kindly follow: 
• In the modern experience for a list or document library, select Settings   
• From a list, select List settings, then select Advanced settings.  
• 
• 
• Scroll down to List experience and select one of the three experience options. To save your selection, select OK 
• 

1. If the list was using a custom or integrated form, switch back to the default SharePoint form    One suggested step was to go to List Settings > Form Settings and switch back to Use the default SharePoint form to test whether the custom form is the cause.

Note: exporting the list to Excel is recommended before making further structural changes, so that the data is preserved as much as possible. 

Please also note that if a column was truly deleted from the list schema itself (not only removed from a view), SharePoint Lists do not provide previous version history for deleted columns, so restoring that structure is not always possible through normal version history. 

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If the issue still continues after these checks, I would recommend that you contact your IT admin or SharePoint admin and ask them to open a support ticket with Microsoft for further investigation. The SharePoint support agent may be able to check the list configuration and related logs from the backend side. Please also share the list URL, correlation ID, and a screenshot of the error with them to help speed up the investigation. 

• For detailed instructions on how to get support, please refer to Get support - Microsoft 365 admin.  
• In case you do not know who is your IT admin, kindly refer to this article: How do I find my Microsoft 365 admin? - Microsoft Support.  

Should you have any further questions, please feel free to reach out.

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Answer 3

Hello,

It won't let me open the Lists. I don't have the App and just access it from Sharepoint. Can you send a screenshot of what your instructing so I know I'm on the right page? Thanks!