Restore a deleted site in SharePoint Server 2010

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Applies to: SharePoint Server 2010, SharePoint Foundation 2010

This article describes new functionality of how to restore a deleted site in Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 with Service Pack 1.

In prior versions of SharePoint Server 2010, if a site (that is, an SPWeb object) was accidentally deleted, there was not a direct way of restoring a specific deleted site. The only method to restore a deleted site was to restore the entire farm from a backup. This was costly and time consuming, and typically was not performed.

In Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 with Service Pack 1 (SP1), a deleted site is not permanently deleted. Instead, it is stored in the second-stage Recycle Bin. By default, the Delete item in Recycle Bin setting is set for 30 days, which means a deleted site will be permanently removed from the farm after the time value expires. The value of the Delete item in Recycle Bin setting can be increased if more time is needed to retain the deleted site.

For more information, see Configure Recycle Bin settings (SharePoint Server 2010).

At any point before the default time value expires, a site collection administrator can simply use Central Administration to restore the deleted site.

Before you restore a site, be aware of the following known behaviors:

  • Any content types that were added while the site was in the Recycle Bin are skipped, so field definitions might not be up-to-date.

  • Content deployment will not work for a deleted site while in the Recycle Bin. To resolve it, scoped deployment must be run for this site.

  • When an update package or QFE is installed, the update package will skip the site while it is still located in the Recycle Bin. To resolve this issue, update the site afterwards.

To restore a deleted site from the second-stage Recycle Bin

  1. Verify that the user account that is performing this procedure has the Site Collection Administrator permission.

  2. In Central Administration, on the Home page, click Site Actions and then click Site Actions.

  3. On the Site Actions page, click Site Collection Administration.

  4. On the Site Collection Administration page, click Recycle Bin.

  5. On the Recycle Bin page, click the check box for the deleted site you want to restore.

  6. Click OK.