Video · Canon exFAT memory card
Canon XFVC: recover after deletion
How can I recover Canon XFVC clips and matching DAT extents after deletion?
Short answer
Often yes, if the card has not recorded again, but XFVC needs extra care: the MP4 header and the separately recorded DAT media extent may have to be matched by size and order. Remove the card, keep its complete structure, scan it read-only and check that every reassembled clip plays to the end.
The situation
Canon XFVC clips and matching DAT extents no longer appears in its recording folder even though the storage device is still detected.
The card still mounts and the XFVC material is physically present; only the directory entries went. What makes this case unusual is that a Canon XFVC clip can consist of an MP4 header and a separately recorded media extent that have to be paired again.
01 / Diagnose
Work out what actually disappeared
Deleting a clip releases its clusters on the exFAT card without erasing them. For XFVC the recovery job is larger than usual: the header describes a media extent stored elsewhere on the card, and once the directory is gone, header and DAT data have to be matched by size, position and recording order rather than by file name.
Deletion can release a directory reference before later writes reuse every block that belonged to the file. For Canon XFVC, this matters because the MP4 header and recorded media extent may need to be matched by size and card layout
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 and eject the card; keep the whole Canon folder structure as it is rather than tidying anything away.
- 2
Write down how many clips are missing, their order and approximate lengths, since order is what pairs headers with media extents.
- 3
Scan the card read-only, or image it first, and recover headers and DAT extents together rather than one type at a time.
- 4
Export everything to another drive keeping the original names and sequence, then test each reassembled clip in a player.
Do not record another clip on this card and do not let the camera rebuild or initialise it. Renaming or resorting recovered files is equally harmful here, because the pairing of header and media extent depends on their original order and size.
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 read-only scan needs a card that still mounts as exFAT. File Recovery Hero recovers the files but does not reassemble Canon clips for you, so pairing headers and extents is manual work, and a physically damaged card belongs in a laboratory.
04 / Verify
Check the recovered content, not just its name
A correct pairing plays from the first frame to the last with sound and picture in step. If a clip opens, runs for a moment and then falls apart, the header was matched to the wrong extent; compare the expected length against the size of the media data.
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 memory card be recovered in this situation?+
The card still mounts and the XFVC material is physically present; only the directory entries went. What makes this case unusual is that a Canon XFVC clip can consist of an MP4 header and a separately recorded media extent that have to be paired again. The result still depends on what remains readable on the source.
What should I avoid before scanning?+
Do not record another clip on this card and do not let the camera rebuild or initialise it.
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?+
A correct pairing plays from the first frame to the last with sound and picture in step.