It's been brought to my attention that Full Control site admins on one of my SharePoint Server 2013 site collections are unable to delete their own sub-sites. The error that presents when they attempt to do so is:
Sorry, something went wrong This site cannot be deleted because there might be items which are either on hold or declared as records in this site. Only a Site Collection Administrator or an eDiscovery Manager can delete sites with held content or records.
As administrator I can successfully delete the subsites, but this is not a function I want to be in the middle of for them. I tested other collections in our farm and they do not have this problem - it's just this one. And there are multiple teams with secured sites in this collection so making everyone a site collection admin is not an option.
I've done my best to troubleshoot this before crowdsourcing help but I've hit a wall and hoping someone might have some ideas for where I can look next. Things I've already tried:
- Mirroring full control permissions with my test account, which also gets the error
- Creating a new blank publishing site from scratch at the site collection root, which my test account still gets the error on
- Deleting individual lists and libraries off affected sites with test account -- the only ones left are the default Documents, Images, Pages, Workflow Tasks created with blank publishing site which can't be removed by end user. Still can't delete the site.
- Checked Information Management Policy Settings on every list/library and none list any defined.
- I've seen some posts which suggest this could be from a custom content or column type at the site collection level, or perhaps a feature, but I've flipped through there and can't find anything that sticks out. We don't have a lot of customizations going on, but it's possible there's some remnant from before my time (5+ years ago) that's still left over and nobody but me has tried to delete any sites in all that time.
Which leads me to here, stuck and asking all of you for ideas. I pulled the log from the correlation ID and nothing appears relevant, but in case you notice something I missed I've included that below as well. Please halp!
Timestamp Process TID Area Category EventID Level Message Correlation
02/15/2019 14:00:28.95 w3wp.exe (SP13WEB2:0x068C) 0x3660 SharePoint Foundation Logging Correlation Data xmnv Medium Name=Request (POST:https://SITE/COLLECTION/TEST/_layouts/15/deleteweb.aspx) 9b55c09e-f501-1059-492f-40de48580415
02/15/2019 14:00:28.95 w3wp.exe (SP13WEB2:0x068C) 0x3660 SharePoint Foundation Authentication Authorization agb9s Medium Non-OAuth request. IsAuthenticated=True, UserIdentityName=0#.w|DOMAIN\qauser5, ClaimsCount=29 9b55c09e-f501-1059-492f-40de48580415
02/15/2019 14:00:28.95 w3wp.exe (SP13WEB2:0x068C) 0x3660 SharePoint Foundation Logging Correlation Data xmnv Medium Site=/collab 9b55c09e-f501-1059-492f-40de48580415
02/15/2019 14:00:28.99 w3wp.exe (SP13WEB2:0x068C) 0x3660 SharePoint Foundation Files ak8dj High UserAgent not available, file operations may not be optimized. at Microsoft.SharePoint.SPFileStreamManager.get_UserAgent() at Microsoft.SharePoint.SPFileStreamManager.CreateCobaltStreamContainer(SPFileStreamStore spfs, ILockBytes ilb, Boolean copyOnFirstWrite, Boolean disposeIlb) at Microsoft.SharePoint.SPFileStreamManager.SetInputLockBytes(SPFileInfo& fileInfo, SqlSession session, PrefetchResult prefetchResult) at Microsoft.SharePoint.CoordinatedStreamBuffer.SPCoordinatedStreamBufferFactory.CreateFromDocumentRowset(Guid databaseId, SqlSession session, SPFileStreamManager spfstm, Object[] metadataRow, SPRowset contentRowset, SPDocumentBindRequest& dbreq, SPDocumentBindResults& dbres) at Microsoft.SharePoint.SPSqlClient.GetDocumentContentRow(Int32 rowOrd, Object ospFileSt... 9b55c09e-f501-1059-492f-40de48580415
02/15/2019 14:00:28.99* w3wp.exe (SP13WEB2:0x068C) 0x3660 SharePoint Foundation Files ak8dj High ...mMgr, SPDocumentBindRequest& dbreq, SPDocumentBindResults& dbres) at Microsoft.SharePoint.Library.SPRequestInternalClass.GetFileAndMetaInfo(String bstrUrl, Byte bPageView, Byte bPageMode, Byte bGetBuildDependencySet, String bstrCurrentFolderUrl, Int32 iRequestVersion, Byte bMainFileRequest, Boolean& pbCanCustomizePages, Boolean& pbCanPersonalizeWebParts, Boolean& pbCanAddDeleteWebParts, Boolean& pbGhostedDocument, Boolean& pbDefaultToPersonal, Boolean& pbIsWebWelcomePage, String& pbstrSiteRoot, Guid& pgSiteId, UInt32& pdwVersion, String& pbstrTimeLastModified, String& pbstrContent, UInt32& pdwPartCount, Object& pvarMetaData, Object& pvarMultipleMeetingDoclibRootFolders, String& pbstrRedirectUrl, Boolean& pbObjectIsList, Guid& pgListId, UInt32& pdwItemId, Int64& pllListFlags, Boolean& p... 9b55c09e-f501-1059-492f-40de48580415
02/15/2019 14:00:28.99* w3wp.exe (SP13WEB2:0x068C) 0x3660 SharePoint Foundation Files ak8dj High ...bAccessDenied, Guid& pgDocid, Byte& piLevel, UInt64& ppermMask, Object& pvarBuildDependencySet, UInt32& pdwNumBuildDependencies, Object& pvarBuildDependencies, String& pbstrFolderUrl, String& pbstrContentTypeOrder, Guid& pgDocScopeId) at Microsoft.SharePoint.Library.SPRequestInternalClass.GetFileAndMetaInfo(String bstrUrl, Byte bPageView, Byte bPageMode, Byte bGetBuildDependencySet, String bstrCurrentFolderUrl, Int32 iRequestVersion, Byte bMainFileRequest, Boolean& pbCanCustomizePages, Boolean& pbCanPersonalizeWebParts, Boolean& pbCanAddDeleteWebParts, Boolean& pbGhostedDocument, Boolean& pbDefaultToPersonal, Boolean& pbIsWebWelcomePage, String& pbstrSiteRoot, Guid& pgSiteId, UInt32& pdwVersion, String& pbstrTimeLastModified, String& pbstrContent, UInt32& pdwPartCount, Object& pvarMeta... 9b55c09e-f501-1059-492f-40de48580415
02/15/2019 14:00:28.99* w3wp.exe (SP13WEB2:0x068C) 0x3660 SharePoint Foundation Files ak8dj High ...Data, Object& pvarMultipleMeetingDoclibRootFolders, String& pbstrRedirectUrl, Boolean& pbObjectIsList, Guid& pgListId, UInt32& pdwItemId, Int64& pllListFlags, Boolean& pbAccessDenied, Guid& pgDocid, Byte& piLevel, UInt64& ppermMask, Object& pvarBuildDependencySet, UInt32& pdwNumBuildDependencies, Object& pvarBuildDependencies, String& pbstrFolderUrl, String& pbstrContentTypeOrder, Guid& pgDocScopeId) at Microsoft.SharePoint.Library.SPRequest.GetFileAndMetaInfo(String bstrUrl, Byte bPageView, Byte bPageMode, Byte bGetBuildDependencySet, String bstrCurrentFolderUrl, Int32 iRequestVersion, Byte bMainFileRequest, Boolean& pbCanCustomizePages, Boolean& pbCanPersonalizeWebParts, Boolean& pbCanAddDeleteWebParts, Boolean& pbGhostedDocument, Boolean& pbDefaultToPersonal, Boolean& pbIsWebWelcome... 9b55c09e-f501-1059-492f-40de48580415
02/15/2019 14:00:28.99* w3wp.exe (SP13WEB2:0x068C) 0x3660 SharePoint Foundation Files ak8dj High ...Page, String& pbstrSiteRoot, Guid& pgSiteId, UInt32& pdwVersion, String& pbstrTimeLastModified, String& pbstrContent, UInt32& pdwPartCount, Object& pvarMetaData, Object& pvarMultipleMeetingDoclibRootFolders, String& pbstrRedirectUrl, Boolean& pbObjectIsList, Guid& pgListId, UInt32& pdwItemId, Int64& pllListFlags, Boolean& pbAccessDenied, Guid& pgDocid, Byte& piLevel, UInt64& ppermMask, Object& pvarBuildDependencySet, UInt32& pdwNumBuildDependencies, Object& pvarBuildDependencies, String& pbstrFolderUrl, String& pbstrContentTypeOrder, Guid& pgDocScopeId) at Microsoft.SharePoint.SPWeb.GetWebPartPageContent(Uri pageUrl, Int32 pageVersion, PageView requestedView, HttpContext context, Boolean forRender, Boolean includeHidden, Boolean mainFileRequest, Boolean fetchDependencyInformation, Bool... 9b55c09e-f501-1059-492f-40de48580415
02/15/2019 14:00:28.99* w3wp.exe (SP13WEB2:0x068C) 0x3660 SharePoint Foundation Files ak8dj High ...ean& ghostedPage, String& siteRoot, Guid& siteId, Int64& bytes, Guid& docId, UInt32& docVersion, String& timeLastModified, Byte& level, Object& buildDependencySetData, UInt32& dependencyCount, Object& buildDependencies, SPWebPartCollectionInitialState& initialState, Object& oMultipleMeetingDoclibRootFolders, String& redirectUrl, Boolean& ObjectIsList, Guid& listId) at Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationRuntime.SPRequestModuleData.FetchWebPartPageInformationForInit(HttpContext context, SPWeb spweb, Boolean mainFileRequest, String path, Boolean impersonate, Boolean& isAppWeb, Boolean& fGhostedPage, Guid& docId, UInt32& docVersion, String& timeLastModified, SPFileLevel& spLevel, String& masterPageUrl, String& customMasterPageUrl, String& webUrl, String& siteUrl, Guid& siteId, Object& buildDe... 9b55c09e-f501-1059-492f-40de48580415
02/15/2019 14:00:28.99* w3wp.exe (SP13WEB2:0x068C) 0x3660 SharePoint Foundation Files ak8dj High ...pendencySetData, SPWebPartCollectionInitialState& initialState, String& siteRoot, String& redirectUrl, Object& oMultipleMeetingDoclibRootFolders, Boolean& objectIsList, Guid& listId, Int64& bytes) at Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationRuntime.SPRequestModuleData.FetchWebPartPageInformation(HttpContext context, String path, Boolean impersonate, Boolean& isAppWeb, Boolean& fGhostedPage, Guid& docId, UInt32& docVersion, String& timeLastModified, SPFileLevel& level, String& masterpageUrl, String& customMasterPageUrl, String& webUrl, String& siteUrl, Guid& siteId, Object& buildDependencySetData) at Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationRuntime.SPRequestModuleData.GetWebPartPageData(HttpContext context, String path, Boolean throwIfFileNotFound) at Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationRuntime.SPVir... 9b55c09e-f501-1059-492f-40de48580415
02/15/2019 14:00:28.99* w3wp.exe (SP13WEB2:0x068C) 0x3660 SharePoint Foundation Files ak8dj High ...tualFile.GetVirtualPathProviderCacheKey(String virtualPath) at Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationRuntime.SPVirtualPathProvider.GetCacheKey(String virtualPath) at System.Web.Compilation.BuildManager.GetCacheKeyFromVirtualPath(VirtualPath virtualPath, Boolean& keyFromVPP) at System.Web.Compilation.BuildManager.GetVPathBuildResultFromCacheInternal(VirtualPath virtualPath, Boolean ensureIsUpToDate) at System.Web.Compilation.BuildManager.GetVPathBuildResultInternal(VirtualPath virtualPath, Boolean noBuild, Boolean allowCrossApp, Boolean allowBuildInPrecompile, Boolean throwIfNotFound, Boolean ensureIsUpToDate) at System.Web.Compilation.BuildManager.GetVPathBuildResultWithNoAssert(HttpContext context, VirtualPath virtualPath, Boolean noBuild, Boolean allowCrossApp, Boolean allo... 9b55c09e-f501-1059-492f-40de48580415
02/15/2019 14:00:28.99* w3wp.exe (SP13WEB2:0x068C) 0x3660 SharePoint Foundation Files ak8dj High ...wBuildInPrecompile, Boolean throwIfNotFound, Boolean ensureIsUpToDate) at System.Web.Compilation.BuildManager.GetVPathBuildResult(HttpContext context, VirtualPath virtualPath, Boolean noBuild, Boolean allowCrossApp, Boolean allowBuildInPrecompile, Boolean ensureIsUpToDate) at System.Web.UI.MasterPage.CreateMaster(TemplateControl owner, HttpContext context, VirtualPath masterPageFile, IDictionary contentTemplateCollection) at System.Web.UI.Page.get_Master() at System.Web.UI.Page.ApplyMasterPage() at System.Web.UI.Page.PerformPreInit() at System.Web.UI.Page.ProcessRequestMain(Boolean includeStagesBeforeAsyncPoint, Boolean includeStagesAfterAsyncPoint) at System.Web.UI.Page.ProcessRequest(Boolean includeStagesBeforeAsyncPoint, Boolean includeStagesAfterAsyncPoint) ... 9b55c09e-f501-1059-492f-40de48580415
02/15/2019 14:00:28.99* w3wp.exe (SP13WEB2:0x068C) 0x3660 SharePoint Foundation Files ak8dj High ... at System.Web.UI.Page.ProcessRequest() at System.Web.UI.Page.ProcessRequest(HttpContext context) at System.Web.HttpApplication.CallHandlerExecutionStep.System.Web.HttpApplication.IExecutionStep.Execute() at System.Web.HttpApplication.ExecuteStepImpl(IExecutionStep step) at System.Web.HttpApplication.ExecuteStep(IExecutionStep step, Boolean& completedSynchronously) at System.Web.HttpApplication.PipelineStepManager.ResumeSteps(Exception error) at System.Web.HttpApplication.BeginProcessRequestNotification(HttpContext context, AsyncCallback cb) at System.Web.HttpRuntime.ProcessRequestNotificationPrivate(IIS7WorkerRequest wr, HttpContext context) at System.Web.Hosting.PipelineRuntime.ProcessRequestNotificationHelper(IntPtr rootedObjectsPointer, IntPtr nativeR... 9b55c09e-f501-1059-492f-40de48580415
02/15/2019 14:00:28.99* w3wp.exe (SP13WEB2:0x068C) 0x3660 SharePoint Foundation Files ak8dj High ...equestContext, IntPtr moduleData, Int32 flags) at System.Web.Hosting.PipelineRuntime.ProcessRequestNotification(IntPtr rootedObjectsPointer, IntPtr nativeRequestContext, IntPtr moduleData, Int32 flags) at System.Web.Hosting.UnsafeIISMethods.MgdIndicateCompletion(IntPtr pHandler, RequestNotificationStatus& notificationStatus) at System.Web.Hosting.UnsafeIISMethods.MgdIndicateCompletion(IntPtr pHandler, RequestNotificationStatus& notificationStatus) at System.Web.Hosting.PipelineRuntime.ProcessRequestNotificationHelper(IntPtr rootedObjectsPointer, IntPtr nativeRequestContext, IntPtr moduleData, Int32 flags) at System.Web.Hosting.PipelineRuntime.ProcessRequestNotification(IntPtr rootedObjectsPointer, IntPtr nativeRequestContext, IntPtr moduleData, Int32 flags) 9b55c09e-f501-1059-492f-40de48580415
02/15/2019 14:00:28.99 w3wp.exe (SP13WEB2:0x068C) 0x3660 SharePoint Foundation Files aiv4w Medium Spent 0 ms to bind 34503 byte file stream 9b55c09e-f501-1059-492f-40de48580415
02/15/2019 14:00:29.00 w3wp.exe (SP13WEB2:0x068C) 0x3660 SharePoint Foundation Files ahjkm Medium Spent 15 ms to send 34503 byte file stream 9b55c09e-f501-1059-492f-40de48580415
02/15/2019 14:00:29.02 w3wp.exe (SP13WEB2:0x068C) 0x3660 SharePoint Foundation General m7hw High Recycling the web at https://SITE/COLLECTION/TEST . 9b55c09e-f501-1059-492f-40de48580415
02/15/2019 14:00:29.24 w3wp.exe (SP13WEB2:0x068C) 0x3660 SharePoint Foundation Dev Events ajekb High [Forced due to logging gap, cached @ 02/15/2019 14:00:29.02, Original Level: Verbose] Invoking EventReceiver - [Id: {0}] 9b55c09e-f501-1059-492f-40de48580415
02/15/2019 14:00:29.24 w3wp.exe (SP13WEB2:0x068C) 0x3660 SharePoint Foundation Monitoring b4ly High Leaving Monitored Scope (Event Receiver (Microsoft.SharePoint.Publishing, Version=15.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=71e9bce111e9429c, Microsoft.SharePoint.Publishing.CPVAreaEventReceiver)). Execution Time=215.863744850456 9b55c09e-f501-1059-492f-40de48580415
02/15/2019 14:00:29.25 w3wp.exe (SP13WEB2:0x068C) 0x3660 Document Management Server Information Policy Management 4zxi High Hold Web Deletion activation event handled. 9b55c09e-f501-1059-492f-40de48580415
02/15/2019 14:00:29.35 w3wp.exe (SP13WEB2:0x068C) 0x3660 SharePoint Foundation General 8kh7 High This site cannot be deleted because there might be items which are either on hold or declared as records in this site. Only a Site Collection Administrator or an eDiscovery Manager can delete sites with held content or records. 9b55c09e-f501-1059-492f-40de48580415
02/15/2019 14:00:29.35 w3wp.exe (SP13WEB2:0x068C) 0x3660 SharePoint Foundation Dev Events ajekb High [Forced due to logging gap, cached @ 02/15/2019 14:00:29.24, Original Level: Verbose] Invoking EventReceiver - [Id: {0}] 9b55c09e-f501-1059-492f-40de48580415
02/15/2019 14:00:29.35 w3wp.exe (SP13WEB2:0x068C) 0x3660 SharePoint Foundation General aix9j High SPRequest.DeleteWeb: UserPrincipalName=i:0).w|s-1-5-21-1129549822-3088922563-2289938303-112354, AppPrincipalName= ,bstrUrl=https://SITE/COLLECTION/TEST ,bRecycle=True 9b55c09e-f501-1059-492f-40de48580415
02/15/2019 14:00:29.35 w3wp.exe (SP13WEB2:0x068C) 0x3660 SharePoint Foundation General ai1wu Medium System.Runtime.InteropServices.COMException: This site cannot be deleted because there might be items which are either on hold or declared as records in this site. Only a Site Collection Administrator or an eDiscovery Manager can delete sites with held content or records., StackTrace: at Microsoft.SharePoint.SPWeb.Recycle() at Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.DeleteWebPage.<BtnDelete_Click>b__1(SPLongOperation longOperation) at Microsoft.SharePoint.SPLongOperation.Begin(String leadingHtml, String trailingHtml, BeginOperation beginOperation) at Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.DeleteWebPage.BtnDelete_Click(Object sender, EventArgs e) at System.Web.UI.WebControls.Button.OnClick(EventArgs e) at System.Web.UI.WebControls.Button.RaisePostBackEvent(String eventAr... 9b55c09e-f501-1059-492f-40de48580415
02/15/2019 14:00:29.35* w3wp.exe (SP13WEB2:0x068C) 0x3660 SharePoint Foundation General ai1wu Medium ...gument) at System.Web.UI.Page.ProcessRequestMain(Boolean includeStagesBeforeAsyncPoint, Boolean includeStagesAfterAsyncPoint) at System.Web.UI.Page.ProcessRequest(Boolean includeStagesBeforeAsyncPoint, Boolean includeStagesAfterAsyncPoint) at System.Web.UI.Page.ProcessRequest() at System.Web.UI.Page.ProcessRequest(HttpContext context) at System.Web.HttpApplication.CallHandlerExecutionStep.System.Web.HttpApplication.IExecutionStep.Execute() at System.Web.HttpApplication.ExecuteStepImpl(IExecutionStep step) at System.Web.HttpApplication.ExecuteStep(IExecutionStep step, Boolean& completedSynchronously) at System.Web.HttpApplication.PipelineStepManager.ResumeSteps(Exception error) at System.Web.HttpApplication.BeginProcessRequestNotification(HttpContext cont... 9b55c09e-f501-1059-492f-40de48580415
02/15/2019 14:00:29.35* w3wp.exe (SP13WEB2:0x068C) 0x3660 SharePoint Foundation General ai1wu Medium ...ext, AsyncCallback cb) at System.Web.HttpRuntime.ProcessRequestNotificationPrivate(IIS7WorkerRequest wr, HttpContext context) at System.Web.Hosting.PipelineRuntime.ProcessRequestNotificationHelper(IntPtr rootedObjectsPointer, IntPtr nativeRequestContext, IntPtr moduleData, Int32 flags) at System.Web.Hosting.PipelineRuntime.ProcessRequestNotification(IntPtr rootedObjectsPointer, IntPtr nativeRequestContext, IntPtr moduleData, Int32 flags) at System.Web.Hosting.UnsafeIISMethods.MgdIndicateCompletion(IntPtr pHandler, RequestNotificationStatus& notificationStatus) at System.Web.Hosting.UnsafeIISMethods.MgdIndicateCompletion(IntPtr pHandler, RequestNotificationStatus& notificationStatus) at System.Web.Hosting.PipelineRuntime.ProcessRequestNotificationHelper(IntPtr rooted... 9b55c09e-f501-1059-492f-40de48580415
02/15/2019 14:00:29.35* w3wp.exe (SP13WEB2:0x068C) 0x3660 SharePoint Foundation General ai1wu Medium ...ObjectsPointer, IntPtr nativeRequestContext, IntPtr moduleData, Int32 flags) at System.Web.Hosting.PipelineRuntime.ProcessRequestNotification(IntPtr rootedObjectsPointer, IntPtr nativeRequestContext, IntPtr moduleData, Int32 flags) 9b55c09e-f501-1059-492f-40de48580415
02/15/2019 14:00:29.35 w3wp.exe (SP13WEB2:0x068C) 0x3660 SharePoint Foundation Micro Trace uls4 Medium Micro Trace Tags: 0 nasq,6 agb9s,29 ak8dj,31 m7hw,219 b4ly,109 aix9j,0 ai1wu 9b55c09e-f501-1059-492f-40de48580415
02/15/2019 14:00:29.35 w3wp.exe (SP13WEB2:0x068C) 0x3660 SharePoint Foundation Monitoring b4ly Medium Leaving Monitored Scope (Request (POST:https://SITE/COLLECTION/TEST/_layouts/15/deleteweb.aspx)). Execution Time=400.505698959457 9b55c09e-f501-1059-492f-40de48580415