Storage media · exFAT SDXC photo card
Recover photos from an exFAT SDXC card
How do I recover deleted photos from an SDXC card?
Short answer
Usually yes, if you stop shooting: exFAT on SDXC cards often keeps the names, sizes and cluster locations of deleted photos. Scan read-only for JPEG plus the RAW format your camera writes, such as CR3, ARW or NEF, export to another drive and open each image at full resolution, not only its embedded preview.
The situation
JPEG and supported RAW files are missing from a high-capacity photo card.
Deleting a photo on an exFAT card removes the pointer, not the picture. The directory entry is flagged as free while the JPEG or RAW data stays in its clusters, which is why the first hours after the loss decide far more than the tool that is used later.
01 / Diagnose
Work out what actually disappeared
SDXC cards are larger than 32 GB and ship with exFAT, whose deleted entries often keep the filename, the size and the first cluster. That makes deleted photos comparatively easy to rebuild, as long as the camera has not filled the freed clusters with new exposures. RAW files are bigger and therefore lose out first.
SDXC commonly uses exFAT, whose deleted entries may retain names, sizes, and cluster locations.
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 straight away and continue shooting on a different card if the session has to go on.
- 2
Find out which formats the camera writes, for instance JPEG plus CR3, ARW or NEF, and note the capture dates involved.
- 3
Connect the card through a reader and scan the exFAT volume read-only, limited to exactly those photo formats.
- 4
Export the results to a computer disk or external drive, never back to the card, and review them in an image browser.
Do not use the card for a quick test shot and do not copy anything onto it, not even the recovered files. Each new exposure claims free clusters, and the clusters marked free are precisely the ones that still hold the deleted pictures.
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.
Photos whose clusters have been reused come back damaged or not at all, and no scan reverses that. File Recovery Hero reads the exFAT card read-only, scans without cost and asks for a one-time 50 EUR licence only when the found images are to be exported.
04 / Verify
Check the recovered content, not just its name
Open every recovered image at full size, not as a thumbnail: an embedded preview can display perfectly while the image data behind it is truncated. Check that the pixel dimensions match the camera and that RAW files load in the raw converter with their metadata.
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 SDXC photo card be recovered in this situation?+
Deleting a photo on an exFAT card removes the pointer, not the picture. The directory entry is flagged as free while the JPEG or RAW data stays in its clusters, which is why the first hours after the loss decide far more than the tool that is used later. The result still depends on what remains readable on the source.
What should I avoid before scanning?+
Do not use the card for a quick test shot and do not copy anything onto it, not even the recovered files.
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 every recovered image at full size, not as a thumbnail: an embedded preview can display perfectly while the image data behind it is truncated.