Photos & RAW · exFAT camera card
JPEG photo series: find after an import failure
Where are a deleted JPEG photo series after a failed import?
Short answer
First look at the destination, not the card: search the import folder, the trash and the catalog path by file name. A failed move or a delete-after-import step can leave half the series on each side. If frames are still missing, stop using the card and scan it read-only for the remaining burst range.
The situation
a deleted JPEG photo series is incomplete at the destination and no longer appears reliably on the source.
An incomplete series after an import usually means two half-filled locations rather than one loss: some frames sit at the destination, others were already removed from the card. Count the frames the burst should contain before you decide that anything is really gone.
01 / Diagnose
Work out what actually disappeared
Import tools copy, verify, catalog and then delete in separate steps. If the run stopped between them, the card may have lost its directory entries while the destination never received every JPEG. Nothing on the exFAT card is physically erased at that moment; the entries for the burst were released and the files simply stopped being listed.
Move, rename, catalog and delete-after-import steps can fail at different moments and leave source and destination in different states. For JPEG photo series, this matters because each image should contain a valid JPEG start, complete scan data and a terminal marker.
Check the last known path, trash and backups without writing to the original device.
02 / Protect the source
Preserve the best recovery chance
- 1
Take the card out of the camera and leave it out, because every further frame you shoot can land on the JPEG data still present.
- 2
Write down the burst range, the capture date and the camera model, then search the destination drive, the trash and the catalog folder for those names.
- 3
Connect the card through a reader and run a read-only scan for JPEG data, or make an uncompressed image of the card and search that copy instead.
- 4
Export the recovered frames to a different drive, open each one at full size and file the complete burst in a folder named after the shoot.
Do not repeat the import onto the same card, and do not let the camera rebuild its folder while frames are missing. A test shot, a format or a second import run all write to the exFAT card and can cost the JPEGs still sitting there.
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.
This route treats the exFAT card as a storage device, not damaged single images: a frame whose scan data never reached the destination stays incomplete however it is recovered. File Recovery Hero reads exFAT, NTFS and FAT16/FAT32 sources read-only and exports after licensing; it repairs nothing.
04 / Verify
Check the recovered content, not just its name
A usable result is a JPEG that opens at the camera's original pixel dimensions instead of a cached preview. Check that the picture draws down to the bottom edge without grey blocks, and match the recovered file numbers against the burst range you noted, so you can see which frames remain absent.
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 exFAT camera card be recovered in this situation?+
An incomplete series after an import usually means two half-filled locations rather than one loss: some frames sit at the destination, others were already removed from the card. Count the frames the burst should contain before you decide that anything is really gone. The result still depends on what remains readable on the source.
What should I avoid before scanning?+
Do not repeat the import onto the same card, and do not let the camera rebuild its folder while frames are missing.
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 usable result is a JPEG that opens at the camera's original pixel dimensions instead of a cached preview.