Catch my Point

Recently I have come across an issue where my CAML Query didn't yield right results. I did get expected results when I execute at the Site Level but when execute on the Site Collection level we got totally unexpected results.

After doing some research and drilling through the SharePoint ULS Logs we noticed below error

SMReportsData GetQueryResults - Query Execution threw SPException: One or more field types are not installed properly. Go to the list settings page to delete these fields.

after testing each and every colum in the "Site Column Gallery" we found out one column which was created (a year ago) using a solution downloaded of the internet (some one's blog) is throwing exceptions, though this coulmn is not used anywhere is the Site Collection it is breaking my CAML Query.

The biggest problem is I cannot delete the column as it is throwing exceptions while trying to select it from Site Column Gallery and I don't have Source Code of this Column. Luckily I was able to find a mirror site and get the source code with the Key to sign the assmbly but Imagine if we didn't had the key? I feel like it is very important to make sure you have the solution key if you are downloading a solution (esp. Custom Site Columns) from internet. It should be Ok if you are downloading a solution from professional software provider where we can get support.