Tridion: "The item is published. Unable to delete Page." error when page has been unpublished

Question

When I try to unpublish and delete a page, Tridion throws a 'The item is published. Unable to delete Page.' error and refuses to delete it.

I confirmed that the files were successfully unpublished from both targets and the unpublish jobs showed up marked 'Successful' in the Publish Queue.

In the CM database tables, it looks like there are additional entries in the ITEM_STATES and PUBLISH_STATES tables associated with that page ID. These additional rows have STATE = 1 (which I'm guessing means published) and COMPONENT_TEMPLATE_REF_ID = NULL. Here is how it appears in SQL, AFTER unpublishing:

Is it safe for me to (1) zero out the 'State' field in these tables, or (2) delete the rows entirely?

We just upgraded to Tridion 2011 SP 1 from Tridion 2011, and it seemed to start after that conversion. We only publish from one publication. That publication has two targets (if that matters).

Answer 1

There is a known issue with SDL Tridion 2011 SP1. Please take a look at this hotfix: https://www.sdltridionworld.com/images/CM_2011.1.0.77065_tcm89-20293.zip (requires login)

Answer 2

I don't recommend updating or deleting anything in the database as it can void your warranty and support agreement.

I've encountered this issue when modifying the publishing targets and their configuration while published pages exist. After the pub target modifications the page just stayed in the CM in the "published" status and you can't unpublish or delete it.

The resolution was to contact Support who provided a SQL script that removed these "dead" pages.