SharePoint problems, in the order people hit them.
Every post starts with the manual route — the clicks and the PowerShell — including the parts that fail. The tool comes in once, where the manual route stops being reasonable.
Undelete365
IncidentA user deleted thousands of files from SharePoint. Here's how to get them all back (without clicking 100 at a time)
The recycle bin lets you select 100 items at once. Here is the PowerShell that restores everything one person deleted on one day, the two reasons it silently restores nothing, and the one-click alternative.
TroubleshootingDeleted file not in the SharePoint recycle bin? The five places it can still be
Before you tell someone the file is gone, check the second-stage bin, another person's bin, the Preservation Hold Library, the 93-day clock and Microsoft's 14-day site backup — in that order.
TroubleshootingYou restored the folder but it came back empty. Why SharePoint does that, and the fix
Restoring a folder from the recycle bin can recreate the path with nothing inside it. It is not a bug and the files are not lost — they are separate recycle-bin entries. Here is how to get them back together.
How-toHow to see who deleted a file in SharePoint (and restore everything they deleted)
The recycle bin already records who deleted every item and when. Here is how to read it, how to check the audit log when the bin is empty, and how to restore one person's deletions as a set.
ConceptThe SharePoint recycle bin, explained properly: two stages, one 93-day clock, and who can see what
Site bin, second-stage bin, the 93-day rule, the 200% quota, what happens when someone empties a bin, and why "it's in the recycle bin" is not the same as "it's safe".
Rollback365
Incident'Restore this library' will undo everyone's work. How to roll back only the files that were actually damaged
Microsoft's library restore rolls back every file to a point in time and reaches only 30 days. When one user, one flow or one sync client damaged a subset, you want a targeted rollback. Here is both routes.
IncidentA Power Automate flow overwrote hundreds of files in SharePoint. Getting them back
When a flow's Create file or Copy file action replaces existing files, the old content is usually still in version history — unless the flow deleted first. Here is how to tell which, and how to restore the set.
IncidentRansomware hit a SharePoint library. The recovery order that doesn't re-infect you
SharePoint keeps versions and a recycle bin, so encrypted files are usually recoverable. The order matters — clean the endpoints, stop the sync, identify the pattern, then restore — or the restored files get encrypted again.
IncidentA user's OneDrive sync client rewrote hundreds of SharePoint files. Undo just that user's changes
A re-sync, a restored laptop or a "resolve conflict" click can push stale copies over everyone's current work. Version history has the good copies; here is how to find every file that user's client touched and put them back.
TrimVersions365
How-toSharePoint won't let you keep fewer than 100 versions. Here's how to actually get to 5
The library settings page refuses anything under 100 major versions. PowerShell doesn't. Here is how to set a lower limit, what happens to existing versions, and how to see what a trim would delete before it deletes it.
How-toHow much of your SharePoint storage is version history? A ten-minute audit
SharePoint keeps up to 500 versions of every file and counts each one in full. Here is how to see the share per library with Storage Metrics and PowerShell, and how to read the numbers.
ComparisonIntelligent versioning vs. a hard version limit in SharePoint: which to turn on, and what each one deletes
Microsoft now offers two ways to control version history — a fixed count, or automatic age-based thinning. They keep different versions, reclaim different amounts, and one of them is much safer to switch on blind.
TroubleshootingOne SharePoint file has 3,000 versions. Find the writer before you trim
A single file with thousands of versions is never a person editing. It is a flow, a sync loop, a Power BI refresh or a script saving on a schedule. Trimming buys a week; fixing the writer buys forever.
Storage Analyzer
TroubleshootingSharePoint says storage is full but the files don't add up. Where the missing gigabytes are
The library shows 60 GB, the site shows 400 GB, and deleting things changed nothing. The gap is versions, two recycle bins, the Preservation Hold Library and a 48-hour lag. Here is how to see each one.
CostWhat actually happens when SharePoint storage hits 100% (and the twenty-minute triage before you buy more)
Sites go read-only, uploads fail, and Microsoft's add-on is billed per GB per month. Most tenants can reclaim more than they would buy — here is the order to check before you spend.
ConceptHow SharePoint storage is really calculated: the 1 TB + 10 GB pool, per-site quotas, and the licences that add nothing
Tenant pool, site quotas, what counts, what doesn't, and why the numbers in three admin pages disagree with each other. The reference you wanted before the storage conversation with your director.
WhoHasAccess365
AuditWho has access to this SharePoint site, and how? A report your auditor will accept
The four ways someone gets into a site, why clicking through Site permissions misses two of them, the PowerShell for the site-level list with groups expanded, and what to hand the auditor.
AuditEvery external user and sharing link in your SharePoint, without buying Advanced Management
Guests in the site groups, guests on individual files, and "anyone with the link" links are three different lists in three different places. Here is how to get each with PowerShell, and what Microsoft's paid reports add.
Security'Everyone except external users' is on more of your sites than you think
One claim grants every employee, contractor and service account in the tenant access to a site or file. It gets added by templates, by "People in your organisation" links and by well-meaning owners. Here is how to find every instance.
AuditOffboarding: which SharePoint sites can this person still reach? (and the shares that outlive the account)
Disabling the account is the easy part. Site groups, direct grants, item-level shares and sharing links in their name keep working for guests and for the next person to get the URL. Here is how to list them per user.
Inheritance365 + Unlock365
SecurityBefore you 'delete unique permissions' on a SharePoint library: who loses access, exactly
Resetting inheritance removes every grant that isn't on the parent — shares, guests, group additions, links. Microsoft's dialog says "you will lose unique permissions" and nothing more. Here is how to list the names first.
How-toReset permission inheritance on every subfolder at once (and keep the exceptions you actually want)
The UI resets one folder at a time and nothing below it. PowerShell can do a whole tree — but it will also flatten the two folders that were broken on purpose. Here is the script with an exclusion list, and the 100,000-item wall.
TroubleshootingA file is checked out by someone who left. Will checking it in delete newer work? (No. But discard will.)
Check in keeps the changes they made; discard check-out throws them away. Here is the exact difference, the hidden page that lists every stuck file, the override permission, and the bulk route for a departed user's fifty files.
SyncHealth365
Concept260, 259, 400, 520: the four path limits that break OneDrive sync, and which one you're actually hitting
SharePoint allows 400 characters. Windows Explorer stops at 260. Office at 259. The synced path adds your local folder on top. The error message is the same for all of them — here is how to tell which limit you hit and what fixes it.
How-toFind every file in SharePoint whose path is too long to sync (before the migration does)
The PnP script everyone links errors out on large libraries, and it only checks the 400-character server limit anyway. Here is one that survives big libraries and checks the limit users actually hit — and why the per-client version needs more than a script.