SharePoint: Deleting Orphan Sites

Article
1/17/2024

Applies To

SharePoint 2010
SharePoint 2013
SharePoint 2016

Scenario

You are trying to clean up the Content Databases and deleting all unused databases which are attached to SharePoint. Usually, you detach the Content DB from SharePoint and then delete it from SQL. But what if you forget to detach it from SharePoint but you removed it from SQL Server? Now you have all those sites showing in the Central admin but no properties for them.

You are trying to create tons of site collections via a batch script and some sites collections failed to provision completely and become orphaned in the SharePoint.

Solutions

Solution # 1: Remove-SPSite

Try to run the following PowerShell command to remove them.
```
Remove-SPSite -Identity "http://Sitecollection"
```
But this throws the below error:

Remove-SPSite : <nativehr>0x80070003</nativehr><nativestack></nativestack>At line:1 char:14

Solution # 2: STSADM

Try to use Old Fashioned Stsadm command.

stsadm -o deletesite -force -siteid e2a114b8-80c9-41f6-87bf-3feddf2ad9b6 -databaseserver DS1 -databasename DB1

Again, luck is not with us and failed with the same error mentioned above.

Solution # 3: Repair Content DB

Try to repair the Content DB.

$db = Get-SPContentDatabase -Site ""; 
$db.Repair($true); $db.Update();

Even this completed without any issue but bad sites are still showing.

Solution # 4: Delete SiteDatabase

Try to delete using SPContentaDatbase Force Method.

$site = Get-SPSite ""; 
$siteId = $site.Id; 
$siteDatabase = $site.ContentDatabase; $siteDatabase.ForceDeleteSite($siteId, $false, $false);

As soon as this script completed successfully, the orphan site is gone from Central Admin.

There is no guarantee that these methods will work in your situation, but all above list options which we are using in our farm for deleting orphaned stuff. In your case maybe #1 or #2 or maybe #4 works. But Solution #4 should work for everyone.

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