Video · QuickTime recording media
MOV with a missing moov atom: find after an import failure
Where are QuickTime media with an incomplete closing structure after a failed import?
Short answer
First check the import destination, the trash and the catalog folder: a failed import often leaves a truncated MOV there while the original still sits on the card. If the card copy is gone too, scan the unused card read-only. A MOV that exists but will not open usually lacks its moov atom and needs repair on a copy.
The situation
QuickTime media with an incomplete closing structure is incomplete at the destination and no longer appears reliably on the source.
Two different failures produce this symptom, and they need different answers. Either the transfer wrote only part of the QuickTime file, or the take was already incomplete when it left the camera and the import merely exposed it. The size of what arrived tells them apart.
01 / Diagnose
Work out what actually disappeared
Copying stops for ordinary reasons: a full disk, an ejected card, a sleeping computer. What lands at the destination is then a partial file whose closing atom never arrived, and which behaves exactly like the interrupted recordings this format is known for. If the import also ran a delete step, the card copy may be gone as well.
Move, rename, catalog and delete-after-import steps can fail at different moments and leave source and destination in different states. For MOV with a missing moov atom, this matters because a power interruption can leave the media payload without final sample tables
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 the card out of the camera and quit the import tool so it cannot retry the copy or clear the source.
- 2
Compare the file sizes at the destination, in the trash and in the catalog folder against the same clips on the card.
- 3
Copy the card original again by hand if it is still there, rather than repairing the truncated destination file.
- 4
If the clip is missing on the card too, scan the exFAT volume read-only and export to a drive of its own.
Do not repeat the import onto the same destination while a partial file with the same name sits there, and do not erase the card to free space for a retry. Overwriting the partial copy removes the evidence of how far the transfer got.
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.
File Recovery Hero scans readable exFAT, NTFS and FAT16/FAT32 sources on macOS and Windows and exports what it finds; it cannot complete an interrupted copy or rebuild a MOV header. APFS and HFS+ destinations are outside its range.
04 / Verify
Check the recovered content, not just its name
Byte size is the fastest check: the destination file must match the card original exactly. Then open it, confirm the duration matches the shoot notes, and play the last minute. A copy that is a few megabytes short will still look fine at the start and fail near the end.
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 QuickTime recording media be recovered in this situation?+
Two different failures produce this symptom, and they need different answers. Either the transfer wrote only part of the QuickTime file, or the take was already incomplete when it left the camera and the import merely exposed it. The size of what arrived tells them apart. 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 destination while a partial file with the same name sits there, and do not erase the card to free space for a retry.
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?+
Byte size is the fastest check: the destination file must match the card original exactly.