Access an orphaned web application

Question

I have a web application (for which I use a host header) in a now older MOSS farm. It did not attach successfully to my SharePoint 2010 farm. I would be satisfied just accessing it locally and copying off the content (its only use was to store lots of files). However, the host header now applies to a different server.

Ideally, I think, I would like something like the jussi:12345 that runs the Central Admin on that older server. In other words, i would like to address that web application as, say, jussi:13456 rather than the http://[host header] that is no longer possible.

Possible? Any better ideas?

Answer 1

Here's what I did. I renamed a copy of the database I wanted to use. I then created a new web application, and attempted to assign that "new" database to the new web application. SP warned me that the ID of the db was the same as an existing db, so I removed the existing db.

When the web app creation process went further this time, it eventually told me that it could not connect to the config database. A nice Internet link pointed to permissions and accounts, which I already knew was part of the problem. Turned out (through Central Admin) that no one was a site collection administrator, and it took a bit to find or create an account that was also a local admin.

Once I had a legitimate account as the site collection admin, all fell into place. I was able to open the site collection locally, and copied off all the "lost" content onto the file system (from which it is now backed up).

All of this came about because of some accounts changes that took place while SharePoint was in place (I had to rebuild accounts on the domain controller because of some disaster I can no longer recall). That violated nearly all SharePoint accounts.