vmss deleted associated vm

Question

vmss deleted associated vm

Kiran Pande 0

I attached a vmss to a vm and then this process deleted the vm it is attached to. Now our application and databsae on the vm is lost. We need to recover it.

Manish Deshpande 1,170 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-11-19T16:22:19.4666667+00:00
Hello @Kiran Pande

I’m sorry this happened losing an application VM is stressful. Below is a clear recovery plan you can follow.

Check the Activity Log in the VM’s resource group to confirm the Delete operation and its initiator (portal, policy, script, VMSS action).

Identify your backup source:

Azure Backup / Recovery Services vault protection - Proceed with vault-based restore.

ADE-encrypted disks - Use the encrypted VM restore workflow (disk-only restore).

Need only a subset of data (e.g., DB files)? Use file/folder recovery from VM backup.

Restore the entire VM from Azure Backup

In Azure portal, open Recovery Services vault → Backup items → Azure Virtual Machine → select your VM.

Choose a Recovery point → Restore → Restore VM.

Provide target VM name, resource group, network, and region (must match vault region).

Start the job and monitor Backup jobs; when it completes, validate boot, RDP/SSH, app and DB services.

Restore from Disks

In the vault, select the VM backup item → pick a Recovery point → choose Restore Type: Restore disks.

Select a staging resource group in the same region; start the Recover Disks job to materialize managed disks.

After job completion:

Option 1: Create new VM from the restored OS disk (via Create VM or ARM template).

Option 2: OS Disk Swap on an existing VM (stop VM → detach old OS disk → attach restored OS disk → start VM).

Attach the restored data disks (if any) and validate services.

To proceed with restoring your application and database, could you please confirm if the deleted VM was protected by Azure Backup in a Recovery Services vault.

Here is the document you can refer to recover the VM.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/backup/backup-azure-arm-restore-vms#restore-options

Let us know if you have any questions, Happy to assist you.

Thanks,
Manish Deshpande.
Kiran Pande 0 Reputation points

2025-11-19T22:54:23.5233333+00:00

If this was that simple we would not have come here. The vm in question was not in Azure Backup in a Recovery Services vault. And was not deleted by a user. It looks like that it got deleted by an azure service either before or after creating a vm scale set .
Kiran Pande 0 Reputation points

2025-11-19T23:50:09.4266667+00:00
SUNOJ KUMAR YELURU 17,321 Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2025-11-20T09:50:22.49+00:00

@Kiran Pande ,To follow-up, Please let us know if you have further query on this and don’t forget to Accept the answer

2 answers

Your answer

Manish Deshpande 1,170 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-11-19T16:22:19.4666667+00:00

Hello @Kiran Pande

I’m sorry this happened losing an application VM is stressful. Below is a clear recovery plan you can follow.

Check the Activity Log in the VM’s resource group to confirm the Delete operation and its initiator (portal, policy, script, VMSS action).

Identify your backup source:

Azure Backup / Recovery Services vault protection - Proceed with vault-based restore.

ADE-encrypted disks - Use the encrypted VM restore workflow (disk-only restore).

Need only a subset of data (e.g., DB files)? Use file/folder recovery from VM backup.

Restore the entire VM from Azure Backup

In Azure portal, open Recovery Services vault → Backup items → Azure Virtual Machine → select your VM.

Choose a Recovery point → Restore → Restore VM.

Provide target VM name, resource group, network, and region (must match vault region).

Start the job and monitor Backup jobs; when it completes, validate boot, RDP/SSH, app and DB services.

Restore from Disks

In the vault, select the VM backup item → pick a Recovery point → choose Restore Type: Restore disks.

Select a staging resource group in the same region; start the Recover Disks job to materialize managed disks.

After job completion:

Option 1: Create new VM from the restored OS disk (via Create VM or ARM template).

Option 2: OS Disk Swap on an existing VM (stop VM → detach old OS disk → attach restored OS disk → start VM).

Attach the restored data disks (if any) and validate services.

To proceed with restoring your application and database, could you please confirm if the deleted VM was protected by Azure Backup in a Recovery Services vault.

Here is the document you can refer to recover the VM.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/backup/backup-azure-arm-restore-vms#restore-options

Let us know if you have any questions, Happy to assist you.

Thanks,
Manish Deshpande.
Kiran Pande 0 Reputation points

2025-11-19T22:54:23.5233333+00:00

If this was that simple we would not have come here. The vm in question was not in Azure Backup in a Recovery Services vault. And was not deleted by a user. It looks like that it got deleted by an azure service either before or after creating a vm scale set .
Kiran Pande 0 Reputation points

2025-11-19T23:50:09.4266667+00:00
SUNOJ KUMAR YELURU 17,321 Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2025-11-20T09:50:22.49+00:00

@Kiran Pande ,To follow-up, Please let us know if you have further query on this and don’t forget to Accept the answer

Answer 1

Hello @Kiran Pande

The recovery procedure depends on whether the managed disks were kept when the VM was deleted. If the disks were kept, locate the unattached disks in the Azure portal and create a new VM, attaching the existing OS and data disks. If the disks were deleted, check Azure Backup vaults, application/database backups, and snapshot policies for potential recovery options.

If the Answer is helpful, please click Accept Answer and Up-Vote, so that it can help others in the community looking for help on similar topics.

Answer 2

Kiran Pande 0

Got the old data disk, but can't locate OS disk. nothing in backup vault etc.

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vmss deleted associated vm

2 answers

Your answer