Storage media · field-recorder exFAT microSDXC card
Recover field-recorder files from microSDXC
Can I recover WAV recordings from a microSDXC card?
Short answer
Yes, often: a damaged project folder on the recorder does not mean the WAV audio underneath is lost. Remove the microSD card, scan it read-only for the audio type set in the recorder, and keep take numbers and timestamps with each recovered file so the session can be reassembled correctly.
The situation
WAV-family takes are missing from a compact recorder.
Your recorder writes takes into a project folder, and that folder is the fragile part. If it was damaged, truncated by a power loss or cleared by the device, the WAV data underneath usually still occupies the card. The folder entry is metadata; the audio extents are not.
01 / Diagnose
Work out what actually disappeared
Compact recorders keep each take as a WAV or WAV-family file plus a small project database that maps takes to scenes. Interrupted writes, a full card or a cancelled export damage that database first, because it is rewritten after every single take. The individual audio files are written once and then left alone, which is why they usually survive the folder that listed them.
A project folder can be damaged while the underlying audio extents remain identifiable.
Check the last known path, trash and backups without writing to the original device.
02 / Protect the source
Preserve the best recovery chance
- 1
Power the recorder down, eject the microSDXC card and put a fresh card in the device so nobody records over the session.
- 2
Note the sample rate, bit depth, channel count and the take numbers you expect, taking them from the slate, the session log or an earlier backup.
- 3
Mount the card through a full-size adapter and scan it read-only for the audio type the recorder was configured to write, never letting the recorder itself rebuild the project.
- 4
Export the found takes to a computer drive and keep take numbers and timestamps in the report, so the session can be reassembled in the editor.
Do not let the recorder repair or rebuild the project when it offers to; that rewrites exactly the area still needed as evidence. Do not record a test tone on the card to check that it works, and never save recovered takes back onto the same microSDXC.
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.
Recovered WAV files carry no project structure: scene names, notes and markers that existed only inside the recorder database do not come back, and takes may need renaming by hand. File Recovery Hero reads exFAT and FAT card volumes; a card the reader cannot address needs a laboratory.
04 / Verify
Check the recovered content, not just its name
A take is usable when its header reports the sample rate, bit depth and channel count the session actually used, when the duration matches the slate or the session log, and when playback runs from the first sample to the last without a burst of noise or an early stop.
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 field-recorder exFAT microSDXC card be recovered in this situation?+
Your recorder writes takes into a project folder, and that folder is the fragile part. If it was damaged, truncated by a power loss or cleared by the device, the WAV data underneath usually still occupies the card. The folder entry is metadata; the audio extents are not. The result still depends on what remains readable on the source.
What should I avoid before scanning?+
Do not let the recorder repair or rebuild the project when it offers to; that rewrites exactly the area still needed as evidence.
Does scanning write to my memory card?+
Your memory card is only read. Nothing is saved to it.