Emergency · recovery output and preserved source
Recovered media files will not open
What should I check when recovered files still do not open?
Short answer
Usually the recovered file is incomplete, not merely unreadable: it may contain only a signature, wrong boundaries, missing blocks or a damaged container. Keep the source unchanged and check the header, exact size, streams, duration and full decode. Attempt repair only on a copy, and only when the media data itself is present.
The situation
A recovery tool exported files with familiar names or extensions, but applications reject them.
A file with the right name and extension is not yet a working recording. Recovery tools name their results after the signature they found, so the header can be correct while the data behind it is short, wrongly bounded or assembled from the wrong clusters.
01 / Diagnose
Work out what actually disappeared
Without directory information a scan has to guess where each file ends. It may stop too early and leave a fragment, run too far and append foreign data, or skip a piece if the file was fragmented across the card. For MP4 and MOV the moov area also has to be present, otherwise nothing plays at all.
The result may contain only a signature, wrong boundaries, missing extents, or a damaged container.
Check the last known path, trash and backups without writing to the original device.
02 / Protect the source
Preserve the best recovery chance
- 1
Leave the source card or drive untouched so the scan can be repeated later with different settings if needed.
- 2
Look at the file sizes: a few kilobytes means a header only, while a plausible size suggests real media behind it.
- 3
Open the promising files in a player that reports stream details, and note duration, resolution and where the decode stops.
- 4
Copy those files once more and hand the copies to a repair tool, keeping the original export as it came out of the scan.
Do not rename the results or change their extension in the hope that another application opens them, and do not run repair software directly on the exported file. The first changes nothing about the content, the second can overwrite the intact part and leave nothing to work with.
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.
Recovering a file and repairing one are separate tasks. File Recovery Hero exports read-only from exFAT, NTFS and FAT sources and marks results it could not confirm with the suffix UNVERIFIED, but it does not repair damaged single files; that needs format-specific repair software.
04 / Verify
Check the recovered content, not just its name
A file passes when its header details match the camera settings, its size fits duration and bitrate, and it decodes without stalling to the final second. For photos, full resolution must appear on screen; for audio, the channel count and sample rate must match the recorder.
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 recovery output and preserved source be recovered in this situation?+
A file with the right name and extension is not yet a working recording. Recovery tools name their results after the signature they found, so the header can be correct while the data behind it is short, wrongly bounded or assembled from the wrong clusters. The result still depends on what remains readable on the source.
What should I avoid before scanning?+
Do not rename the results or change their extension in the hope that another application opens them, and do not run repair software directly on the exported file.
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 file passes when its header details match the camera settings, its size fits duration and bitrate, and it decodes without stalling to the final second.