Easily Fix your SPWebConfigModification Mistakes

The problem with SPWebConfigModification is that it ACTUALLY modifies your web.config. So if you are relying on a Feature to apply and remove your SPWebConfigModifications, that's a problem when you put in a bad modification. Here is a code block to remove the errored web config problem.

1. Create a new C# console application
2. Paste this code
3. Replace "{24D97BF4-E67E-44ae-92E1-39E0029B61FE}" with the .Owner value you supplied
4. Replace "SharePoint - 8083" with the friendly name of your web application, which can be found in Central Admin's web application list.
5. Run and you are done.

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using Microsoft.SharePoint.Administration;
using System.Collections.ObjectModel;

namespace AdamCleanupWebConfigModification
{
    class Program
    {
        // matches the ID in the feature.xml for this feature
        private const string FEATURE_ID = "{24D97BF4-E67E-44ae-92E1-39E0029B61FE}";

        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            SPWebService svc = SPWebService.ContentService;
            SPWebApplication webApp = svc.WebApplications["SharePoint - 8083"];
            Collection<SPWebConfigModification> collection = webApp.WebConfigModifications;

            int iStartCount = collection.Count;

            // Remove any modifications that were originally created by the owner.
            for (int c = iStartCount - 1; c >= 0; c--)
            {
                SPWebConfigModification configMod = collection[c];

                if (configMod.Owner == FEATURE_ID)
                    collection.Remove(configMod);
            }

            // Apply changes only if any items were removed.
            if (iStartCount > collection.Count)
            {
                webApp.Farm.Services.GetValue<SPWebService>().ApplyWebConfigModifications();
                webApp.Update();

                Console.WriteLine("Removed " + (iStartCount - collection.Count));

            }

            Console.WriteLine("Press any key to exit..");
            Console.ReadKey();

        }
    }
}