Video · exFAT recording drive
ProRes MOV: recover after deletion
How can I recover ProRes recordings in MOV after deletion?
Short answer
Yes, often, if the recording medium has not been written since. ProRes MOV files are large, and their QuickTime sample tables must point to the complete high-bitrate payload. Stop recording, scan the exFAT medium read-only for MOV, and check each clip's duration against the ProRes flavor and length you expected.
The situation
ProRes recordings in MOV no longer appears in its recording folder even though the storage device is still detected.
The recording folder no longer lists the take, yet the medium mounts normally and the ProRes data has not moved. Deletion only released the reference. Because ProRes files are enormous, the window before new footage covers them is shorter than with compressed codecs.
01 / Diagnose
Work out what actually disappeared
When a MOV is deleted, exFAT marks its clusters free and drops the directory entry; the QuickTime atoms themselves stay where they were. A recovered ProRes file is only usable when the sample tables in moov still point at a complete run of high-bitrate frames, and at several hundred megabits per second that run covers a lot of the card.
Deletion can release a directory reference before later writes reuse every block that belonged to the file. For ProRes MOV, this matters because QuickTime sample tables must point to the complete high-bitrate ProRes payload
Check the last known path, trash and backups without writing to the original device.
02 / Protect the source
Preserve the best recovery chance
- 1
Stop the shoot on that medium at once and unmount it; at ProRes data rates a few seconds of recording covers gigabytes.
- 2
Note which ProRes flavour you were recording, the resolution and the expected running time of each take you are missing.
- 3
Connect the medium through a reader and run a read-only scan for MOV, or image it and scan the image on a workstation.
- 4
Send results to a drive with room for files that size, then open every clip in an editor and check its full duration.
Do not keep filming on the medium, and do not let the camera reformat it to clear a supposed error. Avoid tools that write their own index or cache onto the source. A single new ProRes take can bury several deleted ones in seconds.
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.
The medium must present a readable exFAT, NTFS or FAT volume; File Recovery Hero scans for free and needs a licence, 50 € once, to export. It works read-only on macOS and Windows and cannot help with a physically damaged card or a partly overwritten take.
04 / Verify
Check the recovered content, not just its name
Check the running time first: a recovered take should last as long as you remember filming, not a few seconds. Then confirm the flavour and resolution in the file inspector and scrub through the whole clip, because a truncated ProRes file often plays its opening minutes cleanly.
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 recording drive be recovered in this situation?+
The recording folder no longer lists the take, yet the medium mounts normally and the ProRes data has not moved. Deletion only released the reference. Because ProRes files are enormous, the window before new footage covers them is shorter than with compressed codecs. The result still depends on what remains readable on the source.
What should I avoid before scanning?+
Do not keep filming on the medium, and do not let the camera reformat it to clear a supposed error.
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?+
Check the running time first: a recovered take should last as long as you remember filming, not a few seconds.