Photos & RAW · exFAT image medium
TIFF camera images: recover after deletion
How can I recover deleted TIFF photographs after deletion?
Short answer
Yes, often, provided the medium has not been written to since. TIFF stores byte order, image directories and offsets, so a recovered file is only usable when those offsets point to complete image data. Stop using the medium, scan it read-only, and check bit depth, dimensions and layers against the original you expect.
The situation
deleted TIFF photographs no longer appears in its recording folder even though the storage device is still detected.
A deleted TIFF is unusually easy to find and unusually easy to destroy. The files are large, so their blocks cover much of the medium and are among the first to be taken when anything new is saved. Speed matters more here than with small pictures.
01 / Diagnose
Work out what actually disappeared
Deleting the file frees its directory entry and marks its clusters as available. A TIFF describes itself through a byte-order mark, image-file directories and offsets that point at strips or tiles, and all of that stays in place. Size is the risk: one new file can land in the middle of the freed area and break those offsets.
Deletion can release a directory reference before later writes reuse every block that belonged to the file. For TIFF camera images, this matters because TIFF stores byte order, image-file directories and offsets that must point to complete strips or tiles.
Check the last known path, trash and backups without writing to the original device.
02 / Protect the source
Preserve the best recovery chance
- 1
Unmount the medium at once and stop every program that could write to it, including backup, preview and indexing services.
- 2
Note the bit depth, the dimensions and whether the originals were layered or flattened, so the results can be judged afterwards.
- 3
Attach the medium read-only and scan it for TIFF structures; on a large volume an image file is the safer working basis.
- 4
Export the recovered files to a different drive and open each one completely, not merely its preview, before touching the source again.
Do not copy recovered files back onto the same medium and do not start a repair command against it. With files this size a single careless write covers whole strips, and a TIFF whose offsets point at replaced blocks opens grey from that row downwards.
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.
A large TIFF survives intact only if all of its blocks were still free; partial hits stay partial. File Recovery Hero reads exFAT, NTFS and FAT16/FAT32 media and uncompressed IMG, DD, RAW or BIN images read-only, and it does not repair broken image directories.
04 / Verify
Check the recovered content, not just its name
Open every file at full size and scroll to the bottom edge. The result is sound when bit depth and dimensions match the original and each strip decodes; a TIFF with a valid header whose lower half stays empty was only partly recovered.
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 image medium be recovered in this situation?+
A deleted TIFF is unusually easy to find and unusually easy to destroy. The files are large, so their blocks cover much of the medium and are among the first to be taken when anything new is saved. Speed matters more here than with small pictures. The result still depends on what remains readable on the source.
What should I avoid before scanning?+
Do not copy recovered files back onto the same medium and do not start a repair command against 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?+
Open every file at full size and scroll to the bottom edge.