Storage media · audio recorder card
Recover deleted WAV recordings from an exFAT card
How can I recover deleted WAV audio?
Short answer
Usually yes, and WAV is easy to verify: surviving exFAT entries often keep the original length, and the RIFF or RF64 header states how much audio should follow. Stop recording, scan the card read-only for WAV, BWF or RF64, and check duration, sample rate, channel count and a full decode.
The situation
WAV takes were deleted before being backed up.
Audio takes are the easiest case to verify. A WAV header states the sample rate, the channel count, and the size of the data block, so a recovered file can be measured against its own declaration before you rely on it in an edit.
01 / Diagnose
Work out what actually disappeared
Deleting a take on an exFAT recorder card frees the directory entry, which often still carries the original length and the extents of the recording. The audio itself is uncompressed PCM behind a short header, so a candidate either matches its declared data size or it does not. Takes beyond the 4 GB RIFF limit are written as RF64 and have to be searched separately.
Retained exFAT entries can provide original length and extents; the RIFF or RF64 structure must still agree with the data.
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 recorder and take the card out before it opens a new project folder or writes another take.
- 2
Note the sample rate, bit depth, and channel count that were configured, since those numbers verify each recovered file later.
- 3
Scan the card read-only for WAV, BWF, and RF64, so long takes above the 4 GB boundary are covered as well.
- 4
Export to another drive and open each take in an audio editor to inspect its waveform across the full length.
Do not record a test take to check that the machine still works, and do not let it repair or reformat the card. Avoid normalising or converting recovered takes before the originals are verified, because a conversion hides a truncated ending.
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.
Takes whose blocks were reused by later recording cannot be restored, and File Recovery Hero neither repairs a truncated WAV nor rebuilds a broken RF64 header. It reads exFAT, NTFS, and FAT recorder cards read-only and exports each take to a different drive.
04 / Verify
Check the recovered content, not just its name
Compare the declared duration with what the editor actually plays. Sample rate, bit depth, and channel count should match the recorder settings, and the waveform should reach the end without a flat tail of silence. A canonical PCM header is 44 bytes, so a tiny file holds no audio.
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 audio recorder card be recovered in this situation?+
Audio takes are the easiest case to verify. A WAV header states the sample rate, the channel count, and the size of the data block, so a recovered file can be measured against its own declaration before you rely on it in an edit. The result still depends on what remains readable on the source.
What should I avoid before scanning?+
Do not record a test take to check that the machine still works, and do not let it repair or reformat the card.
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?+
Compare the declared duration with what the editor actually plays.