Cameras · Canon exFAT MOV card
Canon MOV files missing from an exFAT card
How can I recover deleted Canon MOV clips?
Short answer
First stop recording on the card, then scan it read-only for MOV. A found filename proves nothing: the QuickTime boxes and the media data must still belong together. After exporting to another drive, check every clip for all audio and video streams, the expected duration and a complete demux before you delete anything from the card.
The situation
QuickTime MOV recordings disappeared before a backup was verified.
A filename in a result list is not yet a clip. A MOV is usable only when its QuickTime atoms and the media data they describe still belong to each other, so this job ends with playback checks rather than with a list of promising names.
01 / Diagnose
Work out what actually disappeared
Canon bodies write MOV in several recording modes, and the container keeps its structure in atoms that reference the media area by offset. Once the directory entry is deleted, a scan identifies candidates through those structures. If a later recording overwrote part of the media area, the atoms survive and point at data that is no longer there, which is why a file can look complete and play badly.
MOV container boxes and media extents must remain coherent; a filename alone does not prove recoverability.
Check the last known path, trash and backups without writing to the original device.
02 / Protect the source
Preserve the best recovery chance
- 1
Stop recording on the card at once and take it out of the camera before anything else happens to it.
- 2
Note how many MOV clips are missing and how long each of them ran, so the results can be compared against something.
- 3
Scan the exFAT volume read-only for MOV through a stable reader and leave every other format out of the pass.
- 4
Export the clips to another drive and check each one in a player before removing anything from the card.
Do not format the card or delete anything on it while the results are unverified, and do not copy recovered clips back onto the source. A glance at the first frames is not a check, so keep the card until playback has proven every result.
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.
A MOV whose media area was partly overwritten comes back damaged, and File Recovery Hero repairs no container and rebuilds no atom. Cards that are failing physically, encrypted volumes and file systems other than exFAT, NTFS and FAT16/FAT32 cannot be scanned.
04 / Verify
Check the recovered content, not just its name
Each clip should demux completely, show every audio and video track the camera records, report the duration you expect and run to its final frame. Checking the middle and the closing seconds catches clips that start correctly and lose their media data further in.
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 Canon exFAT MOV card be recovered in this situation?+
A filename in a result list is not yet a clip. A MOV is usable only when its QuickTime atoms and the media data they describe still belong to each other, so this job ends with playback checks rather than with a list of promising names. The result still depends on what remains readable on the source.
What should I avoid before scanning?+
Do not format the card or delete anything on it while the results are unverified, and do not copy recovered clips back onto the source.
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?+
Each clip should demux completely, show every audio and video track the camera records, report the duration you expect and run to its final frame.