Photos & RAW · exFAT media card
PNG still images: find after an import failure
Where are deleted PNG stills after a failed import?
Short answer
First search the import destination, the trash and any catalog folder for the PNG file names. An import that moved or renamed files and then failed can leave some stills at the target and others nowhere visible. Only then scan the unused source medium read-only and check each result against its expected dimensions.
The situation
deleted PNG stills is incomplete at the destination and no longer appears reliably on the source.
Half a set at the destination and nothing on the card points to an import that broke off between copying and deleting. Each side then holds a different part of the session, so the first task is to compare what arrived with what the device actually recorded.
01 / Diagnose
Work out what actually disappeared
Import programs copy, rename and catalog in separate steps, and many delete from the card only after copying. When the run stopped, some stills reached the destination under new names while others were cleared from the card without ever being written. A cancelled copy can also leave a truncated file at the target that looks complete in a list.
Move, rename, catalog and delete-after-import steps can fail at different moments and leave source and destination in different states. For PNG still images, this matters because PNG uses chunk lengths and CRCs that allow a stricter structural check than a filename alone.
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 device and do not start the import again while pictures are still missing from the destination folder.
- 2
Search the destination drive, the trash and the program's catalog folder by name, date and extension before concluding that anything is lost.
- 3
Only then attach the card through a reader and scan it read-only for PNG signatures, so the medium stays untouched while the search runs.
- 4
Export the results to a third location and compare their sizes with the copies at the destination to expose truncated imports.
Do not repeat the failed import, do not empty the trash at the destination and do not let the program delete from the card after copying. A second run can overwrite the incomplete files it created and clear the last stills that are still readable.
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.
If the stills disappeared at the destination rather than on the card, the trash, a snapshot or a backup is the faster route. File Recovery Hero reads exFAT, NTFS and FAT16/FAT32 volumes read-only and cannot look inside an APFS or ext4 destination.
04 / Verify
Check the recovered content, not just its name
You are finished when every picture of the session exists once, at full dimensions, in one place. Open each file instead of trusting a thumbnail, and compare the count with the numbering the device used; a file noticeably smaller than its siblings is a broken copy.
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 media card be recovered in this situation?+
Half a set at the destination and nothing on the card points to an import that broke off between copying and deleting. Each side then holds a different part of the session, so the first task is to compare what arrived with what the device actually recorded. The result still depends on what remains readable on the source.
What should I avoid before scanning?+
Do not repeat the failed import, do not empty the trash at the destination and do not let the program delete from the card after copying.
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?+
You are finished when every picture of the session exists once, at full dimensions, in one place.