Restore OneDrive files in bulk from Preservation Library - Powershell

Question

Is there a way to pull files from the OneDrive Preservation library in bulk?

User had two computers and had OneDrive sync'd on both.

While in the process of issues they lost their OneDrive files and had cleared the trash.

They are all now located in the preservation library and need to restore most if not all.

Is there a method or script to expedite this? (bulk restore)

Answer 1

Hi @Capt America,

First, make sure your OneDrive has retention policies enabled. If you're unsure, you can contact your Purview administrator to confirm.

Second, open OneDrive Preservation Hold Library:

• Go to your OneDrive settings.
• Click on "Return to classic OneDrive" at the bottom left.
• Click on the settings gear icon again and select "Site Contents".
• You should see the Preservation Hold Library listed there.

You can select the files you want to restore and click Copy to button to copy the files to the location you want to restore.

Or you can use PnP PowerShell to restore the files:

This site where OneDrive save Preservation Hold Library in is similar to the SharePoint site and we can try to recover the files using the command of the SharePoint. Just need to replace it with OneDrive site url.

# Define Parameters
$SiteURL = "https://contoso-my.sharepoint.com/personal/username_contoso_onmicrosoft_com/"
$ListName= "Preservation Hold Library"
$User = "username@contoso.onmicrosoft.com"
 
# Connect to PnP Online
Connect-PnPOnline -Url $SiteURL -UseWebLogin
 
# Get deleted Items that match conditions
$DeletedItems = Get-PnPListItem -List $ListName -PageSize 2000  | Where {$_.FieldValues.Modified_x0020_By -like $User} | Sort-Object $_.FieldValues.PreservationDatePreserved -Descending
 
#Iterate through each item in the preservation hold library and restore to original location
ForEach($Item in $DeletedItems) {  
    Try {
        $OriginalURL = $Item.FieldValues.PreservationOriginalURL
        Write-host -f Yellow "Copying item:"$OriginalURL
        
        $SourceUrl = $Item.FieldValues.FileRef
 
        #Check if the File exists Already
        $FileExists = Get-PnPFile -Url $OriginalURL -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
         
        If($FileExists)
        {
            Write-host -f Yellow "`tFile Already Exists!"  
        }
        Else
        {
            #Copy the file to its original location
            Copy-PnPFile -SourceUrl $SourceUrl -TargetUrl $OriginalURL -Force -ErrorAction Stop
            Write-host -f Green "`tFile Restored:" $OriginalURL
        }
    }
    Catch {
        Write-host "Error: $($_.Exception.Message)" -foregroundcolor Red
    }
}

Reference: SharePoint Online: How to Recover Deleted Files from Preservation Hold Library?

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