The Active Directory Recycle Bin feature allows you to restore deleted objects in Active Directory without having to resort to a system state restore or other recovery methods. Here are the steps to restore deleted Active Directory objects using Recycle Bin:
- Make sure that the Active Directory Recycle Bin feature is enabled in your environment. You can check this by running the following PowerShell command on a domain controller:
Get-ADOptionalFeature -Filter * | where {$_.Name -eq "Recycle Bin Feature"}If the feature is not enabled, you can enable it using the following PowerShell command:Enable-ADOptionalFeature -Identity 'CN=Recycle Bin Feature,CN=Optional Features,CN=Directory Service,CN=Windows NT,CN=Services,CN=Configuration,DC=<domain>,DC=<com>' -Scope ForestOrConfigurationSet -Target <domain>
Replace <domain> with the name of your domain. - Log on to a domain controller with administrative privileges.
- Open Active Directory Users and Computers.
- Click on the “View” menu and select “Advanced Features”.
- In the left pane, navigate to the location where the deleted object was located.
- Right-click on the container or object and select “Properties”.
- Click on the “Object” tab and check the “Show deleted objects” box.
- You should now see the deleted object listed. Right-click on it and select “Restore”.
- Confirm the restore operation by clicking on “Yes” in the confirmation dialog box.
The object should now be restored to its original location in Active Directory. Note that the Active Directory Recycle Bin feature only works for objects that were deleted after the feature was enabled. If an object was deleted before the feature was enabled, you will need to resort to other recovery methods.