Emergency · source card and destination drive
Files missing after a copy was cancelled
Can I recover files after cancelling a card copy?
Short answer
Usually yes, and after a cancelled copy the originals normally remain on the card anyway. A cancelled move is different and may already have removed some sources. Keep both devices unchanged, compare exact file sizes on source and destination, and scan only the card whose originals are really missing.
The situation
A large transfer was cancelled or force-quit before completion.
Cancelling a copy leaves a predictable mess: files that finished, one file that stopped mid-write, and files never started. The originals normally stay where they were. A cancelled move is the exception, because it deletes each source as soon as its copy is reported complete.
01 / Diagnose
Work out what actually disappeared
The destination is where the damage shows. A cancelled transfer leaves the file that was in flight at whatever length it had reached, and the file system happily lists it at that size. Large video files are the usual victims, since they take long enough for a cancel to land in the middle. On the source side nothing has changed unless the operation was a move.
Completed destination files, partial files, and untouched source entries can coexist; a move operation may also have removed some sources.
Check the last known path, trash and backups without writing to the original device.
02 / Protect the source
Preserve the best recovery chance
- 1
Leave both devices connected but idle, and start no second transfer until you know what arrived and what did not.
- 2
List source and destination side by side with exact byte sizes, not with the rounded figures a file browser shows by default.
- 3
Delete the one truncated file at the destination and copy that original again, file by file rather than as a whole folder.
- 4
Scan read-only only where an original is genuinely gone, which means the cancelled operation was a move and not a copy.
Do not restart the same transfer as a move, and do not let a synchronisation tool resolve the difference automatically. A resume that trusts existing filenames can leave the truncated file in place and count it as done.
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 truncated file at the destination cannot be completed from itself; the missing part has to come from the original. File Recovery Hero recovers files from readable sources and does not repair a partial copy into a whole one.
04 / Verify
Check the recovered content, not just its name
Every file at the destination must match its original byte for byte in size, and the last file of the batch has to open and play or display to the end. A clip that plays for two minutes of a ten-minute take is the cancelled one, whatever the listing says.
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 source card and destination drive be recovered in this situation?+
Cancelling a copy leaves a predictable mess: files that finished, one file that stopped mid-write, and files never started. The originals normally stay where they were. A cancelled move is the exception, because it deletes each source as soon as its copy is reported complete. The result still depends on what remains readable on the source.
What should I avoid before scanning?+
Do not restart the same transfer as a move, and do not let a synchronisation tool resolve the difference automatically.
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?+
Every file at the destination must match its original byte for byte in size, and the last file of the batch has to open and play or display to the end.