how to delete files in sharepoint

Because the SharePoint storage is full, a Microsoft 365 administrator must first restore writable capacity by increasing available storage, archiving content, or freeing space elsewhere before retrying the file deletion.

1. Restore storage capacity

When the tenant storage quota is exceeded, SharePoint sites can enter read-only mode, preventing changes—including deletion. An administrator should check whether only this site has reached its assigned limit or the entire tenant has exhausted its pooled storage.^1^

• If pooled tenant storage is still available: increase the affected site’s storage quota. Microsoft specifically recommends increasing the site quota when exceeding the storage limit prevents item deletion.^2^
• If the entire tenant is full: increasing only the site limit will not help. The administrator must do one of the following:
  • Purchase extra storage or eligible licenses.
  • Archive inactive content.
  • Free space from another site.

After capacity is available and the site is writable, retry deleting the file from its document library.

2. Check the file itself for deletion restrictions

Since the retention policy has already been disabled, do not recreate or disable it again. Check these separate item-level controls instead:

1. Retention label or record status
   • Open the library, select the file, and open its Details pane.
   • Look for an applied retention label and determine whether it declares the item as a record.
   • Deletion is blocked for locked records, unlocked records, and regulatory records. A tenant setting can also block deletion of files carrying a standard retention label.^3^
   • An authorized compliance administrator can review the relevant setting in Microsoft Purview portal → Settings → Solutions settings → Records Management → Retention Labels → Deletion of items.
2. Checked-out status
   • Confirm that the file is not checked out to another user. That user must check it in before it can be deleted.^2^
3. Permissions
   • Have a site collection administrator attempt the deletion. This distinguishes a permissions problem from a compliance restriction.^2^

3. Identify any hold that still applies

Disabling one retention policy does not establish that every preservation mechanism has been removed. Tenant-wide, site-scoped, group-scoped, eDiscovery, retention-label, and delay holds can independently preserve SharePoint content.^4^

An authorized compliance administrator should use Exchange Online PowerShell to inventory the site’s hold sources:

Invoke-HoldRemovalAssistant `
  -Identity "https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/SiteName"

Get-OrganizationConfig |
  Format-List InPlaceHolds

Get-RetentionCompliancePolicy |
  Where-Object {
    $_.SharePointLocation -or $_.OneDriveLocation
  }

Investigate every returned hold and release it through its owning policy or eDiscovery case only with the required compliance or legal approval. Do not edit or delete files directly from the hidden Preservation Hold Library; Microsoft does not support manually modifying that library.^5^

Conditional diagnostic for site or file-version deletion

If the actual blocked operation is deleting the entire site or a document version, rather than deleting an ordinary file, a Global or Compliance administrator can run Run Tests: Invalid Retention or grace eDiscovery Hold in the Microsoft 365 admin center:

1. Enter the SharePoint site URL.
2. Select Run Tests.
3. If it detects an invalid policy or a hold in the 30-day grace period, use the offered remediation.^6^

This diagnostic is not available in GCC High, DoD, or Microsoft 365 operated by 21Vianet.

Recover storage after deletion

Deleted SharePoint items normally remain in the recycle-bin system and can continue consuming storage. After confirming that the data is no longer required, approved for permanent deletion, and backed up if necessary, empty the site recycle bin and then the second-stage recycle bin to reclaim that space.^7^

Warning: Emptying both stages permanently removes the items from normal user and administrator recovery. Access to the second-stage recycle bin requires site collection administrator permissions.

If the user is not an administrator, send the site URL, affected filename, and complete error message to the Microsoft 365 administrator; storage, record-management, and hold remediation require administrative or compliance permissions.

References

1. SharePoint Online out of storage space
2. Unable to delete items in SharePoint and OneDrive
3. Learn about records management
4. Manage holds in eDiscovery
5. Learn about retention for SharePoint and OneDrive
6. Can't delete a site because of a retention policy or eDiscovery hold
7. SharePoint storage planning