SharePoint 2019 - Import-SPWeb -IncludeUserSecurity - Updates to system roles is not allowed

Question

I have a problem when moving a subsite to a new site collection with the same URL when using the Import-SPWeb command and its IncludeUserSecurity parameter.

Structure:

Manage Path: /a - Explicit

Site collection: https://webapp.com/a

Subsite: https://webapp.com/a/b/c

Manage Path: /a/b/c - Explicit

New Site collection: https://webapp.com/a/b/c

Export and import commands:

Export-SPWeb -Identity $subsiteURL -Path $backupLoc -IncludeUserSecurity -IncludeVersions All -NoLogFile -NoFileCompression -Force -Verbose

Import-SPWeb -Identity $url -Path $backupLoc -UpdateVersions Overwrite -NoLogFile -NoFileCompression -Force -IncludeUserSecurity -Verbose

When Import-SPWeb I get the error "Import-SPWeb: Updates to system roles is not allowed.". For example, I get this error for a file that has inheritance stopped but when requesting access to the site. Without the IncludeUserSecurity parameter it is successful. I have read that I am not the only one having the same problem, maybe this parameter is not working from the beginning.

Is there another way to move subsites to site collection with URL preservation? Am I making a mistake somewhere or is the command just not working correctly with the IncludeUserSecurity parameter?

Answer 1

I have great news! I was able to identify the issue, which can be triggered on site collections originally created in SharePoint 2007. According to my communication with Microsoft Support, a fix for this issue is scheduled to be released in the upcoming January 2025 update.

Answer 2

Hi @Adrián Ďurica,

I couldn't reproduce this issue in my environment.

My commands:

Export-SPWeb -Identity "http://sp19/sites/test/sub" -Path "C:\ExportFileName.cmp" -IncludeUserSecurity -IncludeVersions All -NoLogFile -NoFileCompression -Force -Verbose

Import-SPWeb -Identity "http://sp19/newsub" -Path "C:\ExportFileName.cmp" -UpdateVersions Overwrite -NoLogFile -NoFileCompression -Force -IncludeUserSecurity -Verbose

My SharePoint build number is 16.0.10337.12109. You can check yours with this PowerShell:

$farm = [Microsoft.SharePoint.Administration.SPFarm]::Local

write-host $farm.BuildVersion

And did you run your commands in SharePoint 2019 management shell as administrator?

Also if you try moving a blank subsite or to a new target site, will it work? I want to confirm whether it is caused by the content of your source subsite or target site.

Thanks.

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