Audio · exFAT field recorder card
Poly WAV multitrack: recover after a quick format
Can multichannel Poly WAV takes be recovered after a quick format?
Short answer
Often yes, if the card has not been recorded on: a quick format leaves the Poly WAV data untouched until overwritten. Eject the card and scan it read-only. Multitrack files grow fast, so long takes may exceed 4 GB and come back as RF64; match each result's channel count to your track sheet before relabeling.
The situation
The medium now has a new empty directory, while the previous multichannel Poly WAV takes is missing.
A quick format on an exFAT recorder card rebuilds the directory and allocation records, not the audio itself. The empty folder you see is a new file system laid over intact Poly WAV blocks, which stay readable until the recorder writes a fresh take across them.
01 / Diagnose
Work out what actually disappeared
Recorders format their own cards between sessions, and a single confirmed prompt is enough. The format wrote a new empty take folder; the multichannel takes from before it were never erased block by block. Each Poly WAV holds all microphone channels interleaved in one container with a shared length and timecode, so a recovered take either carries every channel or none.
A quick format can replace file-system records without immediately overwriting every older content block. For Poly WAV multitrack, this matters because several microphone channels share a container, timecode and common length
Check the last known path, trash and backups without writing to the original device.
02 / Protect the source
Preserve the best recovery chance
- 1
Power the recorder down and take the card out, so no automatic test tone, project file or new take folder can be written to it.
- 2
Write down the track sheet for each lost take: channel count, channel order, sample rate, bit depth and the approximate length you recorded.
- 3
Read the card in a card reader and scan it read-only, or make an uncompressed image of it first and search that image instead.
- 4
Export recovered takes to a different drive, then open each one in your editor and compare its channel count against the track sheet before renaming.
Do not put the card back into the recorder to see whether anything appears, and do not record a short test take to check the card still works. Both write to exactly the free space your takes occupy. A repair prompt from the operating system is equally destructive here.
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 works while the card is stable and formatted exFAT, NTFS or FAT32; File Recovery Hero reads those and uncompressed IMG, DD, RAW or BIN images on macOS and Windows. Scanning is free, exporting needs a licence at 50 € once. Takes already overwritten by new recording cannot come back.
04 / Verify
Check the recovered content, not just its name
A usable take opens with the right sample rate and bit depth, plays from first to last sample without a dropout, and shows the same number of channels as the session. Long takes past 4 GB come back as RF64 instead of plain WAV; that is expected, not damage.
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 field recorder card be recovered in this situation?+
A quick format on an exFAT recorder card rebuilds the directory and allocation records, not the audio itself. The empty folder you see is a new file system laid over intact Poly WAV blocks, which stay readable until the recorder writes a fresh take across them. The result still depends on what remains readable on the source.
What should I avoid before scanning?+
Do not put the card back into the recorder to see whether anything appears, and do not record a short test take to check the card still works.
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 take opens with the right sample rate and bit depth, plays from first to last sample without a dropout, and shows the same number of channels as the session.