diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index d9bec1d..df027e8 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -9,6 +9,23 @@ range. Versions before 0.3.0 predate the GitHub releases and are reconstructed f
 Merge commits, automated `Tagged <version>` commits and version bumps are omitted, as are bullets
 that only restate the release note above them.
 
+## Unreleased
+
+### Fixed
+
+- **`roll restore --force` works on a stopped environment.** The restore only ran `roll env down`
+  when one of the environment's containers was running. Docker refuses to remove a volume that any
+  container references, stopped ones included, so a stopped environment kept every volume in use
+  and the restore died on the first one. `stopEnvironment` in `utils/backup.sh` now takes the
+  environment down whenever it has containers, running or stopped, and passes `--remove-orphans`,
+  so containers of services the current `.env.roll` no longer enables are removed as well; volumes
+  are kept. `roll restore-full` shares the change.
+- **A volume `roll restore --force` cannot remove now stops the restore with a reason.** The
+  `docker volume rm` result was never checked, so under roll's errexit the restore ended right after
+  `Removing existing volume: …` with exit 1 and no error message. It now prints Docker's error and
+  the containers still holding the volume, then exits 1 without writing into it. Volumes restored
+  earlier in the same run keep their new contents.
+
 ## [0.8.5](https://github.com/epartment/rolldev/releases/tag/0.8.5) — 2026-10-07
 
 ### Added
diff --git a/docs/backup-restore.md b/docs/backup-restore.md
index 23c6472..30cf452 100644
--- a/docs/backup-restore.md
+++ b/docs/backup-restore.md
@@ -317,6 +317,21 @@ roll restore --force
 docker volume rm ${ROLL_ENV_NAME}_dbdata
 ```
 
+**`--force` fails with "Could not remove volume … volume is in use":**
+
+Docker will not remove a volume that a container still references, and a stopped container counts.
+`roll restore` runs `roll env down --remove-orphans` first whenever the environment has containers,
+running or stopped, so this error means something else still holds the volume: a container from
+outside this environment, or an `env down` that failed. The restore stops at that volume, before
+writing into it, and names the containers holding it. Volumes restored earlier in the same run keep
+their new contents, so rerun the whole restore once the containers are gone:
+
+```bash
+# Remove the container by the name the error printed, then retry
+docker rm <name>
+roll restore --force
+```
+
 **Encrypted backup won't decrypt:**
 ```bash
 # Ensure GPG is installed
diff --git a/utils/backup.sh b/utils/backup.sh
index c776d13..47a1381 100644
--- a/utils/backup.sh
+++ b/utils/backup.sh
@@ -379,7 +379,23 @@ function restoreVolume() {
         if [[ $RESTORE_FORCE -eq 1 ]]; then
             logMessage INFO "Removing existing volume: $volume_name"
             logVerbose "Executing: docker volume rm $volume_name"
-            docker volume rm "$volume_name" >/dev/null 2>&1
+            # Docker refuses to remove a volume that any container references, stopped ones
+            # included. Unchecked, that failure ended the restore under errexit with no message at
+            # all, and without errexit the idempotent `docker volume create` below would let the
+            # archive be extracted over the old contents and report success. Either way a volume
+            # that could not be removed must never be restored into, and the user needs the reason.
+            local rm_output
+            if ! rm_output="$(docker volume rm "$volume_name" 2>&1)"; then
+                local holders
+                holders="$(docker ps -a --filter volume="$volume_name" --format '{{.Names}}' 2>/dev/null | tr '\n' ' ')" || true
+                holders="${holders% }"
+                logMessage ERROR "Could not remove volume $volume_name: $rm_output"
+                if [[ -n "$holders" ]]; then
+                    logMessage ERROR "Containers still holding it (running or stopped): $holders"
+                fi
+                logMessage ERROR "Remove them first - 'roll env down' for this environment's containers, 'docker rm <name>' for any other - then rerun the restore."
+                return 1
+            fi
         else
             logMessage ERROR "Volume $volume_name already exists. Use --force to overwrite."
             return 1
@@ -754,6 +770,12 @@ function signEnvironmentCertificate() {
 ## Restore and restore-full disagreed here: a full restore has no .env.roll yet, because the
 ## configuration is inside the backup, and the env commands require one. The guard covers both,
 ## so the two callers no longer need separate copies.
+##
+## Stopped containers count: Docker will not remove a volume that any container references, running
+## or not, so a stopped environment left in place made every `restore --force` fail on its first
+## volume. `--remove-orphans` takes the containers of services the current .env.roll no longer
+## enables as well (an Elasticsearch left behind after a switch to OpenSearch still holds esdata).
+## Volumes are kept - restoreVolume decides per volume what to replace.
 function stopEnvironment() {
     logVerbose "Environment path: ${ROLL_ENV_PATH}"
 
@@ -762,15 +784,15 @@ function stopEnvironment() {
         return 0
     fi
 
-    logVerbose "Checking for running containers with project: ${ROLL_ENV_NAME}"
-    local running_containers
-    running_containers="$(docker ps --filter "label=com.docker.compose.project=${ROLL_ENV_NAME}" -q)" || true
+    logVerbose "Checking for containers with project: ${ROLL_ENV_NAME}"
+    local env_containers
+    env_containers="$(docker ps -a --filter "label=com.docker.compose.project=${ROLL_ENV_NAME}" -q)" || true
 
-    if [[ -n "${running_containers}" ]]; then
+    if [[ -n "${env_containers}" ]]; then
         logMessage INFO "Stopping environment..."
-        "${ROLL_DIR}/bin/roll" env down || true
+        "${ROLL_DIR}/bin/roll" env down --remove-orphans || true
     else
-        logVerbose "No running containers for this environment"
+        logVerbose "No containers for this environment"
     fi
 
     return 0