Emergency · affected exFAT source
Prevent overwriting deleted media during recovery
How do I avoid overwriting files I need to recover?
Short answer
Never write anything to the affected source: no recording, no import cache, no format and no export back onto it. Disconnect it from cameras and editing software, open it read-only, and save images and recovered files only to a different physical disk, not just another partition of the same drive.
The situation
Deleted entries may still reference blocks that the device now considers reusable.
Overwriting is not something that happens slowly in the background; it happens the moment a device allocates a block. Deleted entries still point at clusters the file system now considers free, so every write to that source is a lottery over the exact data you want.
01 / Diagnose
Work out what actually disappeared
The writes that cause the damage are usually not deliberate. A camera creates a new folder as soon as it powers up, an editing suite builds cache and peak files beside the media it opens, an import tool writes a catalogue onto the card, and an operating system can drop index or thumbnail databases on any volume it mounts. None of that looks like writing to a user.
Every new recording, import cache, format, or export to the source can allocate those blocks.
First separate a missing path from deleted content. Check the last known folder, trash, backups and the physical device that held the original without writing a test file to it.
02 / Protect the source
Preserve the best recovery chance
- 1
Disconnect the affected source from every device that might write to it: camera, drone, phone, editing software and any sync or backup agent.
- 2
Attach it only to a computer where the automatic import of the photo application is switched off, and close applications that scan new volumes.
- 3
Work from a read-only scan, or take a sector image once and run every further attempt against the image instead of the original.
- 4
Send images and recovered files to a separate physical disk, not to another partition of the same drive, and keep that disk half empty.
Do not test the source by copying a file onto it, do not let a disk utility repair the volume, and do not defragment or optimise anything. A repair writes new structures precisely where the old ones stood.
03 / Choose the method
Match the tool to the source
A recovery workflow must match the physical source, file system and recording format. File Recovery Hero directly scans stable, readable exFAT, NTFS and FAT16/FAT32 devices and uncompressed IMG, DD, RAW or BIN images with raw-volume, MBR or GPT layout on macOS and Windows.
Encrypted sources, unsupported file systems, standalone damaged-file import and physical media failure require another workflow. Unconfirmed File Recovery Hero exports are visibly named .UNVERIFIED.
Caution protects what is still there; it cannot restore what an earlier write already replaced. On an SSD the question is settled sooner, because TRIM often clears released blocks within seconds and no software reaches them afterwards.
04 / Verify
Check the recovered content, not just its name
You can tell the approach held if the source still reports the same used capacity, the same free space and the same file count as when you started, and if the destination disk holds every exported file at its expected size. Any change on the source means something wrote to it.
Keep the original source until the result has been checked and copied twice. Do not reformat or return the source to production because one preview opens.
Sources and technical references
FAQ
Questions about this recovery case
Can affected exFAT source be recovered in this situation?+
Overwriting is not something that happens slowly in the background; it happens the moment a device allocates a block. Deleted entries still point at clusters the file system now considers free, so every write to that source is a lottery over the exact data you want. The result still depends on what remains readable on the source.
What should I avoid before scanning?+
Do not test the source by copying a file onto it, do not let a disk utility repair the volume, and do not defragment or optimise anything.
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 can tell the approach held if the source still reports the same used capacity, the same free space and the same file count as when you started, and if the destination disk holds every exported file at its expected size.