Emergency · in-camera formatted exFAT card
Camera card formatted in-camera: do not record again
What should I do immediately after formatting a card in the camera?
Short answer
Immediately switch the camera off and remove the card, without recording anything else. An in-camera quick format replaces the directory structures, but older photos and clips remain until new recordings overwrite them. Label the card, keep it out of every camera and scan it read-only for the formats that camera records.
The situation
The format command completed before the card was confirmed backed up.
A format command in the camera is a bookkeeping operation, not an erase. The card now presents an empty exFAT volume, while the photo and video blocks from before are still in place and stay readable until the next recording claims that space.
01 / Diagnose
Work out what actually disappeared
In-camera formatting writes fresh directory and allocation structures and reports the card as empty; the media extents themselves are untouched. What makes this case urgent is the camera: a single new clip is written across a large run of clusters and can bury dozens of older files in one take.
A quick format replaces directory structures; subsequent recording can overwrite older media extents.
Check the last known path, trash and backups without writing to the original device.
02 / Protect the source
Preserve the best recovery chance
- 1
Turn the camera off, take the card out and put a different card in the body if shooting has to continue today.
- 2
Label the formatted card with the date and keep it out of every camera, phone and drone until the scan is finished.
- 3
Read the card through a card reader and scan the whole exFAT volume read-only for the formats that camera writes.
- 4
Export everything to a drive that is not the card, then open a sample from the beginning, middle and end of the shoot.
Do not record a test clip to check whether the card still works, and do not let the camera format it a second time. Each new recording overwrites a long stretch of the card at once, and that is the one thing that makes this loss permanent.
03 / Choose the method
Match the tool to the source
For stable, readable exFAT, NTFS and FAT16/FAT32 or uncompressed IMG, DD, RAW and BIN images.
Unconfirmed exports are marked .UNVERIFIED.
After a format the original filenames and folder tree are usually gone, so recovered files often arrive with new names sorted by type. File Recovery Hero scans the exFAT card read-only and charges a one-time 50 EUR licence for export; the scan itself costs nothing.
04 / Verify
Check the recovered content, not just its name
Count the recovered files against what the shoot should contain and check the capture dates: a complete result covers the whole period, not only the last hour. Open several photos at full size and play the longest clip through to its end before the card is reused.
Keep the source until two verified copies exist. One working preview is not enough.
Sources and technical references
FAQ
Questions about this recovery case
Can in-camera formatted exFAT card be recovered in this situation?+
A format command in the camera is a bookkeeping operation, not an erase. The card now presents an empty exFAT volume, while the photo and video blocks from before are still in place and stay readable until the next recording claims that space. The result still depends on what remains readable on the source.
What should I avoid before scanning?+
Do not record a test clip to check whether the card still works, and do not let the camera format it a second time.
Does scanning write to my memory card?+
Your memory card is only read. Nothing is saved to it.
How do I know whether the result is complete?+
Count the recovered files against what the shoot should contain and check the capture dates: a complete result covers the whole period, not only the last hour.