Veeam for Microsoft 365 Error: Failed to Resolve Personal Site Owner

The “Failed to resolve personal site owner” error in Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 occurs when Veeam cannot validate or identify the owner of a Microsoft 365 personal site (OneDrive/SharePoint). This typically happens when a personal site is included in a backup job—often through an organizational or group selection—but the associated user account cannot be resolved.

Common Causes

  • The user account that owns the personal site has been deleted, disabled, or unlicensed in Microsoft 365.
  • The personal site remains in SharePoint but has orphaned metadata, preventing Veeam from confirming ownership.
  • The backup job includes entire organizations or groups, causing Veeam to attempt backing up personal sites with invalid or missing owner information.

Resolutions

Resolution 1: Verify or Reassign the Personal Site Owner

In SharePoint Admin Center, confirm that the personal site has a valid owner:

  1. Navigate to SharePoint Admin Center → Active sites → Filter by personal sites (URLs typically contain /personal/).
  2. Locate the affected personal site and check the Owner field.
  3. If the owner is listed as Deleted or Unknown, assign a new owner with a valid Microsoft 365 license.
  4. Retry the Veeam backup job once the ownership change has propagated.

Resolution 2: Create a Dedicated Job for the Personal Site

If the personal site cannot be resolved but still needs to be backed up:

  1. In Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365, create a new job.
  2. Manually add only the affected personal site or user.
  3. Run the job.
    • Veeam can sometimes successfully process individual sites even when organization-level metadata is incomplete.

Resolution 3: Exclude the Personal Site from the Job

If the personal site data is not required for backup:

  1. Edit the existing backup job.
  2. Open Selected Objects → Exclusions.
  3. Add the specific personal site or user to the exclusion list.
  4. Save and rerun the job to clear the warning.

Additional Notes

  • This error commonly appears in the job session log as a warning, not a failure.
  • If the user account has been intentionally deleted (e.g., offboarding), the warning can be safely ignored after exclusion.
  • For larger organizations, it’s best practice to periodically review personal site ownership and licensing to prevent orphaned sites.

If you continue to experience issues, need help reviewing personal site ownership, or have further questions, please contact Support@Managecast.com for assistance.

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