Video · camera and proxy media
proxy and camera-original MP4: recover after an interrupted recording
What can I do with missing camera originals with surviving proxies after a recording interruption?
Short answer
Often the small proxy is complete while the large original lacks its closing index. Remove the card and keep an untouched copy before any repair. Use the playable proxy to confirm content and duration, but repair the original MP4 only on a copy, with a reference clip from the same camera and mode.
The situation
missing camera originals with surviving proxies is missing, too short or unreadable after power loss, a card error or an unsafe stop.
Two files of the same take can end in different states. The proxy is small and was often closed while the original was still growing, so a card error or power loss usually leaves the playable proxy next to an original without its closing index.
01 / Diagnose
Work out what actually disappeared
MP4 recording writes frames into mdat as they arrive and appends the moov index when the take stops cleanly. An unsafe stop skips that last write on the file that was still open. The proxy, finished earlier or written at a much lower bitrate, often made it through, which is why it plays while the original does not.
The payload may have been written before duration fields, indexes, directory entries or closing structures were committed. For proxy and camera-original MP4, this matters because small proxy files can survive in a separate folder while high-resolution originals are absent
Check the last known path, trash and backups without writing to the original device.
02 / Protect the source
Preserve the best recovery chance
- 1
Cut power to the camera rather than pulling the card while it spins, then remove the card once the recording lamp is dark.
- 2
Play the proxy of the affected take and note its exact duration, resolution and frame rate; that is the target a repaired original must match.
- 3
Copy the whole card to a disk, or scan the exFAT volume read-only, so every later attempt happens on a duplicate and not on the card.
- 4
Give a repair tool the duplicate plus a complete original from the same camera and mode, and keep the untouched version aside.
Do not let the camera offer to fix the card or the clip, and do not keep shooting on the same card because the proxy still plays. Repairing the only copy of an original in place can destroy the frames 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.
File Recovery Hero recovers files from readable exFAT, NTFS and FAT media read-only; it does not repair a damaged MP4 container, and a proxy cannot be upscaled into an original. Frames never written before the interruption are gone. Scan free, export with the 50 € license.
04 / Verify
Check the recovered content, not just its name
A repaired original is right when its duration equals the proxy length, its resolution is the full recording size, and playback survives a scrub to the very end. Compare a frame from the middle of both files; if the proxy shows action the original lacks, the rebuild stopped early.
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 camera and proxy media be recovered in this situation?+
Two files of the same take can end in different states. The proxy is small and was often closed while the original was still growing, so a card error or power loss usually leaves the playable proxy next to an original without its closing index. The result still depends on what remains readable on the source.
What should I avoid before scanning?+
Do not let the camera offer to fix the card or the clip, and do not keep shooting on the same card because the proxy still plays.
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 repaired original is right when its duration equals the proxy length, its resolution is the full recording size, and playback survives a scrub to the very end.