Storage media · exFAT CFexpress Type A card
Recover media from an exFAT CFexpress Type A card
Can File Recovery Hero scan a CFexpress Type A card?
Short answer
Yes, if a desktop reader mounts it as a stable, readable exFAT volume: the form factor differs from SDXC, but the directory and allocation data work the same way. Use a dedicated Type A reader, confirm exFAT, and scan read-only for supported Sony photo and MP4 formats. Physically failing cards need a lab.
The situation
Supported Sony photo or MP4 media is missing from a card that a desktop reader can access.
CFexpress Type A is a different connector and a different controller, not a different file system. Once a desktop reader mounts the card as exFAT and the volume stays readable, the directory entries, the allocation bitmap and the file extents behave exactly as they do on an SDXC card.
01 / Diagnose
Work out what actually disappeared
Sony bodies format Type A cards as exFAT and fill them with ARW stills and XAVC MP4 clips. Material missing after a deletion, an in-camera format or a failed ingest is a metadata problem first: the entry that named the file is gone, while its data blocks stay where they were until the next take reuses them.
The physical form factor differs from SDXC, but an ordinary readable exFAT volume can expose the same directory and allocation evidence.
Check the last known path, trash and backups without writing to the original device.
02 / Protect the source
Preserve the best recovery chance
- 1
Take the card out of the camera, switch the body to a second card and label the original so it does not go back into the slot.
- 2
Put it in a dedicated CFexpress Type A reader, open the volume information and confirm that the file system reads exFAT and the capacity matches the label.
- 3
Scan read-only for the formats the body actually recorded, ARW stills or XAVC MP4 clips, rather than for every known signature at once.
- 4
Send recovered files to an internal or external disk other than the card, then check the count against the frame numbers the camera reported.
Avoid the camera menu format, avoid card-vendor repair utilities that write to the volume, and avoid cheap combination readers that drop the connection halfway through a scan. A reader that disconnects turns a complete scan into a partial one without ever saying so.
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.
A Type A card that is physically failing, dropping off the bus or reporting the wrong capacity is a hardware case for a laboratory, not for software. File Recovery Hero reads exFAT, NTFS and FAT volumes only, and it does not repair an individual damaged clip.
04 / Verify
Check the recovered content, not just its name
Open each ARW in the raw converter you normally use and confirm that the full image renders, not only the embedded preview. Play each XAVC clip to its final second and check that audio and video are both present and that the duration matches what the camera logged.
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 CFexpress Type A card be recovered in this situation?+
CFexpress Type A is a different connector and a different controller, not a different file system. Once a desktop reader mounts the card as exFAT and the volume stays readable, the directory entries, the allocation bitmap and the file extents behave exactly as they do on an SDXC card. The result still depends on what remains readable on the source.
What should I avoid before scanning?+
Avoid the camera menu format, avoid card-vendor repair utilities that write to the volume, and avoid cheap combination readers that drop the connection halfway through a scan.
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?+
Open each ARW in the raw converter you normally use and confirm that the full image renders, not only the embedded preview.