Photos & RAW · Sony exFAT card
Sony ARW RAW: recover after an interrupted recording
What can I do with deleted Sony ARW originals after a recording interruption?
Short answer
Mostly the frames finished before the failure: if the battery died or the card errored while buffering, the last ARW files may be truncated. Do not let the camera rebuild its image database. Switch off, remove the card, keep an untouched copy and check that the final frames develop fully, not just their previews.
The situation
deleted Sony ARW originals is missing, too short or unreadable after power loss, a card error or an unsafe stop.
Two things go wrong at once here: the last frames can be truncated, and the camera wants to rebuild its database the moment the card goes back in. Both matter, because that rebuild writes to the very card that still carries the incomplete files.
01 / Diagnose
Work out what actually disappeared
When the battery dies or the card errors while the buffer is emptying, the ARW being written stops part-way. Its preview may already be stored while the sensor data or the closing directory entries are missing. The file system can still report the intended size, so the frame looks normal until a converter tries to read it.
The payload may have been written before duration fields, indexes, directory entries or closing structures were committed. For Sony ARW RAW, this matters because ARW is TIFF-derived and combines Sony metadata, previews and sensor data at separate offsets.
Check the last known path, trash and backups without writing to the original device.
02 / Protect the source
Preserve the best recovery chance
- 1
Switch the body off properly and remove the card before it can be mounted again and trigger a database rebuild.
- 2
Note the last frame number the display showed, the compression setting and whether the card had already reported errors.
- 3
Create an uncompressed image of the card, then run every scan and repair attempt against that image alone.
- 4
Export the frames to another drive and develop them in order until the first file that fails marks the break.
Do not let the camera repair the card or recreate its database, and do not continue the shoot on it. A rebuild writes new files into the free space, and on a card that is already failing every further write costs readable frames.
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.
What the camera never finished writing cannot be recovered, and an unreliable card belongs with a laboratory rather than with software. File Recovery Hero reads stable exFAT, NTFS and FAT16/FAT32 media read-only and exports files; repairing a cut-off raw frame is not part of it.
04 / Verify
Check the recovered content, not just its name
The last frames decide it. A complete ARW develops at full sensor resolution, while a truncated one typically still shows its embedded preview and then breaks off, and its file size falls clearly below the others taken with the same settings.
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 Sony exFAT card be recovered in this situation?+
Two things go wrong at once here: the last frames can be truncated, and the camera wants to rebuild its database the moment the card goes back in. Both matter, because that rebuild writes to the very card that still carries the incomplete files. The result still depends on what remains readable on the source.
What should I avoid before scanning?+
Do not let the camera repair the card or recreate its database, and do not continue the shoot on it.
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 last frames decide it.