Video · dual-slot exFAT camera media
relay-recorded MP4: recover after deletion
How can I recover clips split across two card slots after deletion?
Short answer
Yes, but you need both cards: in relay recording a take continues on the card in the second slot, so the deleted recording may be split across two cards. Keep both, note which slot filled first, and scan each card read-only. The part on the first card ends where the second card's part begins.
The situation
clips split across two card slots no longer appears in its recording folder even though the storage device is still detected.
A relay take lives on two cards: recording ran until the first slot was full and carried straight on in the second. Deleting that take freed clusters on both cards, so a recovery that looks at one card only ever brings back half of the material.
01 / Diagnose
Work out what actually disappeared
Relay recording closes one file when a card fills and opens the next on the other card, so what felt like one long take is two files with consecutive numbers on different media. Deletion released both directory entries. The footage stays until either card is recorded on again, and the two can be in very different condition.
Deletion can release a directory reference before later writes reuse every block that belonged to the file. For relay-recorded MP4, this matters because a recording may continue on another card while numbering and metadata span both slots
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 both cards out of the camera, keep them together and mark which slot each came from and which one filled first.
- 2
Note the start time of the recording and the length of the take, so you can tell where the first part ends.
- 3
Scan each card read-only in turn and export into two folders named after the slots, never onto either card itself.
- 4
Play both recovered parts and place them end to end on a timeline to see whether the take runs through without a gap.
Do not shoot on either card while the other one is being scanned, and do not assume the second card is unaffected because the deletion happened in the first slot. Formatting one card for a clean start costs you the half of the take that lived there.
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.
File Recovery Hero reads each exFAT card read-only and recovers deleted files card by card; joining relay parts into one clip stays an editing step. If a card was recorded on after the deletion, that half of the take can come back damaged or not at all.
04 / Verify
Check the recovered content, not just its name
The take is complete when the second part begins at the frame where the first one stops and the joined duration matches the length noted at the shoot. Both files should play to their end, and the audio should run across the seam without a jump or a repeated moment.
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 dual-slot exFAT camera media be recovered in this situation?+
A relay take lives on two cards: recording ran until the first slot was full and carried straight on in the second. Deleting that take freed clusters on both cards, so a recovery that looks at one card only ever brings back half of the material. The result still depends on what remains readable on the source.
What should I avoid before scanning?+
Do not shoot on either card while the other one is being scanned, and do not assume the second card is unaffected because the deletion happened in the first slot.
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?+
The take is complete when the second part begins at the frame where the first one stops and the joined duration matches the length noted at the shoot.