Sometimes you want to rename a Sharepoint site without losing the content. The way to go is not easy, but it is possible:

1. On the SharePoint server, open a command prompt by selecting Start > Run and typing cmd in the textbox.  Click the OK button.
2. Navigate to the directory that contains the utility by typing cd %systemdrive%\program files\common files\microsoft shared\web server extensions\12\bin at the command prompt and pressing [Enter].
3. Now the original site can be backed up by typing stsadm -o backup -url http://server/sites/site1 -overwrite -filename %systemdrive%\backup.dat at the command prompt and pressing [Enter]. Replace server and site1 as appropriate for your environment.
4. If you are restoring the site to the same virtual server, you must first deleted the original site because the globally-unique identifiers (GUIDs) for SharePoint lists are preserved in the backup file.  The SharePoint content database requires that all list GUIDs be unique.  Delete the original site by typing stsadm -o deletesite -url http://server/sites/site1 at the command prompt and pressing [Enter].   Replace server and site1 as appropriate for your environment.
5. Now the site can be restored to its new site name by typing stsadm -o restore -url http://server/sites/site2 -filename %systemdrive%\backup.dat at the command prompt and pressing [Enter].  Replace server and site2 as appropriate for your environment.

Have fun!

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