HELP: EX3 32Gb Card reformatted by accident at DVinfo.net

Shawn Dooling · September 19th, 2010, 10:26 PM

i'll keep this short because it's too painful to explain in depth.

My business partner and i had an all day EX3 2cam shoot last weekend. Somehow one of our Sony 32gb cards was reformatted by accident with 2 hours of footage on it from that day.

Is there any way to rescue that footage or are we doomed?

any suggestions would greatly be appreciated.

thank you in advance

Andy Taplin · September 20th, 2010, 03:42 AM

This sort of thing keeps me awake at night!. Try this:

Free memory card data recovery demo software restore lost compact flash cards file

Otherwise search for data recovery services in your region. Might be expensive but as long as you don't overwrite the card you should be able to recover the footage - reformatting does not delete the data.

Let us know how you got on as it may happen to one of us at some point!

Craig Seeman · September 20th, 2010, 08:04 AM

They have specific expertise with XDCAM EX. They have a free Mac based utility to check the card.
Aero Quartet: Video gets Personal on your Mac

I'm sure you know this but the safest workflow is to have enough cards to never have to offload during a shoot. There would be no need to ever go near the format menu selection during a shooting in those cases.

Dean Sensui · September 20th, 2010, 09:20 PM

Just for future reference, it helps to maintain a strict procedure for handling cards.

-- Cards are formatted prior to the start of the day.
-- Nothing is ever formatted in the field.
-- "Exposed" cards are stowed immediately in a secure place (not someone's pocket).
-- Data is transferred to a safe archive as soon as possible.
-- Cards are formatted right after the data is determined to have been transferred to the archive, and is confirmed intact.

It's tedious, but this is probably one of the safer procedures.

How do I know? Because I learned from my mistakes! :-)

Andrew Stone · September 20th, 2010, 09:47 PM

I echo Dean's statement and workflow with card handling.

There is a reason why the veterans in this business and the companies insuring productions were extremely resistant towards moving to solid state recording...

Olakunle Olanrewaju · September 20th, 2010, 11:36 PM

your sure bet is Aero Quartet: Video gets Personal on your Mac though it is pretty expensive.

Shawn Dooling · September 29th, 2010, 08:57 PM

Thanks Guys, i honestly don't need a lesson in how to manage media. This isn't my first trip to the rodeo and i have been doing this for nearly 20 years at a very high level. It happens to everyone and i guess it was my turn, even though it wasn't me who actually reformatted the card. I know you all meant well but lets save the lessons for another time thx.

As my post stated i requested help in possible solutions to getting the reformatted media restored. So far i have had no luck.

Olakunle Olanrewaju · September 29th, 2010, 11:41 PM

are you sure you have tried Aero Quartet: Video gets Personal on your Mac
and if u have done that with no success check photo rec sofware its free just google it .

Olakunle Olanrewaju · September 30th, 2010, 12:28 AM

photo rec will help you check the card if there is any thing recoverable on it and it may to recover it but you may still need Aero Quartet: Video gets Personal on your Mac to get the video to a usable stage.

Andy Taplin · September 30th, 2010, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shawn Dooling

Thanks Guys, i honestly don't need a lesson in how to manage media. This isn't my first trip to the rodeo and i have been doing this for nearly 20 years at a very high level. It happens to everyone and i guess it was my turn, even though it wasn't me who actually reformatted the card. I know you all meant well but lets save the lessons for another time thx.

As my post stated i requested help in possible solutions to getting the reformatted media restored. So far i have had no luck.

I don't think anyone intended to patronise you Shawn. You've also received some advice about data recovery, (for which you have offered no thanks) and if nothing's worked then that's not our fault. And as to receiving lessons in data management, well these events are not accidents, someone in your team screwed up by not following a safe protocol, so they at least should take the friendly and non-judgemental advice. No matter how experienced you are, in this business, there is always something new to learn.

Piotr Wozniacki · September 30th, 2010, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy Taplin

I don't think anyone intended to patronise you Shawn. You've also received some advice about data recovery, (for which you have offered no thanks) and if nothing's worked then that's not our fault. And as to receiving lessons in data management, well these events are not accidents, someone in your team screwed up by not following a safe protocol, so they at least should take the friendly and non-judgemental advice. No matter how experienced you are, in this business, there is always something new to learn.

Amen to that...

Craig Seeman · September 30th, 2010, 11:34 AM

And my amen too!

Like not wearing seat belts, one accident kills. Being experienced doesn't make one less dead. Accidents are generally rare but your workflow should be defensive and something went wrong. One has to reevaluate the workflow at that point. Sorry to be harsh. Keep in mind others are reading this thread and they need to learn safe workflows. If you were willing to explain what want wrong you might get some good suggestion. Keep in mind we're hear to HELP. You can also mention what you tried and failed for recovery so others can learn what didn't work. It isn't just about "help me" but "us helping each other." Being silent isn't conducive to sharing/helping so people reading can learn about safety, learn about file recovery. Please consider sharing what you've experienced and learned.

Kevin Spahr · September 30th, 2010, 12:37 PM

I'm not 100% sure about this, but I seem to remember that SSD and some other solid state memory devices actually clear the data from the locations when formatting and erasing. This is to prepare that location for a future write. Unlike deleting info from a hard drive where just the index to the information location is marked as available. If this is the case recovery is not an option after a format, where as if the problem was corruption, you might have a chance at recovering info.

It would be nice to know for sure if the EX camera clears the data in SxS and SDHC during format.

Dean Sensui · September 30th, 2010, 03:35 PM

Another amen.

I've been working with digital media as soon as it came into the market but, as the saying goes, even monkeys fall out of trees.

It's a sad thing to see a post asking how to recover files that have been inadvertently deleted, especially knowing that such calamities are easily avoided.

Sometimes files can't be recovered.

So I try to share my workflow with others in hopes that it might save someone some grief someday.

Shawn Dooling · October 1st, 2010, 09:17 PM

Believe me i am thankful for the suggestions and help. This forum has been an amazing resource to me and my company. So if anyone thinks i am not grateful for any help i get they are wrong.

As for my comments about certain suggestions for proper media management? Should coulda woulda!!!! Accidents happen, and on this day it was an accident. Miscommunication.

The sad part is a 32gb card full of 1080p footage is now gone with no option of a reshoot.

So for those who took the time to reply and help THANK YOU very much, i truly do appreciate it.

I hope i can return the favor down the road.

September 19th, 2010, 10:26 PM	#1
Shawn Dooling Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: St. John's, NL Canada Posts: 79	HELP: EX3 32Gb Card reformatted by accident i'll keep this short because it's too painful to explain in depth. My business partner and i had an all day EX3 2cam shoot last weekend. Somehow one of our Sony 32gb cards was reformatted by accident with 2 hours of footage on it from that day. Is there any way to rescue that footage or are we doomed? any suggestions would greatly be appreciated. thank you in advance

September 20th, 2010, 03:42 AM	#2
Andy Taplin Regular Crew Join Date: May 2009 Location: Cambridge, UK Posts: 39	This sort of thing keeps me awake at night!. Try this: Free memory card data recovery demo software restore lost compact flash cards file Otherwise search for data recovery services in your region. Might be expensive but as long as you don't overwrite the card you should be able to recover the footage - reformatting does not delete the data. Let us know how you got on as it may happen to one of us at some point! __________________ Andy Taplin www.andytaplin.co.uk

September 20th, 2010, 09:20 PM	#4
Dean Sensui Inner Circle Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Honolulu, HI Posts: 2,054	Just for future reference, it helps to maintain a strict procedure for handling cards. -- Cards are formatted prior to the start of the day. -- Nothing is ever formatted in the field. -- "Exposed" cards are stowed immediately in a secure place (not someone's pocket). -- Data is transferred to a safe archive as soon as possible. -- Cards are formatted right after the data is determined to have been transferred to the archive, and is confirmed intact. It's tedious, but this is probably one of the safer procedures. How do I know? Because I learned from my mistakes! :-) __________________ Dean Sensui Exec Producer, Hawaii Goes Fishing

September 29th, 2010, 11:41 PM	#8
Olakunle Olanrewaju Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Ibadan, Nigeria Posts: 103	are you sure you have tried Aero Quartet: Video gets Personal on your Mac and if u have done that with no success check photo rec sofware its free just google it . Last edited by Olakunle Olanrewaju; September 30th, 2010 at 12:25 AM. Reason: add info

September 30th, 2010, 12:28 AM	#9
Olakunle Olanrewaju Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Ibadan, Nigeria Posts: 103	photo rec will help you check the card if there is any thing recoverable on it and it may to recover it but you may still need Aero Quartet: Video gets Personal on your Mac to get the video to a usable stage. __________________ SONY EX1R,QUADRO FX3800,CANON T2I & 400D/18-55,18-135,70-300,50MM 1.4 SENN MKH-416 MIC,TOK 11-16,PANASONIC MD10000 & HDC-MDH1 Cam,NEXTO 2725,EZFX JIB,Sony HDR-XR160E,

September 20th, 2010, 08:04 AM	#3
Craig Seeman Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Brooklyn, NY, USA Posts: 3,841	They have specific expertise with XDCAM EX. They have a free Mac based utility to check the card. Aero Quartet: Video gets Personal on your Mac I'm sure you know this but the safest workflow is to have enough cards to never have to offload during a shoot. There would be no need to ever go near the format menu selection during a shooting in those cases.

September 20th, 2010, 09:47 PM	#5
Andrew Stone Major Player Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 975	I echo Dean's statement and workflow with card handling. There is a reason why the veterans in this business and the companies insuring productions were extremely resistant towards moving to solid state recording...

September 20th, 2010, 11:36 PM	#6
Olakunle Olanrewaju Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Ibadan, Nigeria Posts: 103	your sure bet is Aero Quartet: Video gets Personal on your Mac though it is pretty expensive.

September 29th, 2010, 08:57 PM	#7
Shawn Dooling Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: St. John's, NL Canada Posts: 79	Thanks Guys, i honestly don't need a lesson in how to manage media. This isn't my first trip to the rodeo and i have been doing this for nearly 20 years at a very high level. It happens to everyone and i guess it was my turn, even though it wasn't me who actually reformatted the card. I know you all meant well but lets save the lessons for another time thx. As my post stated i requested help in possible solutions to getting the reformatted media restored. So far i have had no luck.

September 30th, 2010, 11:34 AM	#12
Craig Seeman Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Brooklyn, NY, USA Posts: 3,841	And my amen too! Like not wearing seat belts, one accident kills. Being experienced doesn't make one less dead. Accidents are generally rare but your workflow should be defensive and something went wrong. One has to reevaluate the workflow at that point. Sorry to be harsh. Keep in mind others are reading this thread and they need to learn safe workflows. If you were willing to explain what want wrong you might get some good suggestion. Keep in mind we're hear to HELP. You can also mention what you tried and failed for recovery so others can learn what didn't work. It isn't just about "help me" but "us helping each other." Being silent isn't conducive to sharing/helping so people reading can learn about safety, learn about file recovery. Please consider sharing what you've experienced and learned.

September 30th, 2010, 12:37 PM	#13
Kevin Spahr Major Player Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Carlisle, PA Posts: 451	I'm not 100% sure about this, but I seem to remember that SSD and some other solid state memory devices actually clear the data from the locations when formatting and erasing. This is to prepare that location for a future write. Unlike deleting info from a hard drive where just the index to the information location is marked as available. If this is the case recovery is not an option after a format, where as if the problem was corruption, you might have a chance at recovering info. It would be nice to know for sure if the EX camera clears the data in SxS and SDHC during format.

September 30th, 2010, 03:35 PM	#14
Dean Sensui Inner Circle Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Honolulu, HI Posts: 2,054	Another amen. I've been working with digital media as soon as it came into the market but, as the saying goes, even monkeys fall out of trees. It's a sad thing to see a post asking how to recover files that have been inadvertently deleted, especially knowing that such calamities are easily avoided. Sometimes files can't be recovered. So I try to share my workflow with others in hopes that it might save someone some grief someday. __________________ Dean Sensui Exec Producer, Hawaii Goes Fishing

October 1st, 2010, 09:17 PM	#15
Shawn Dooling Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: St. John's, NL Canada Posts: 79	Believe me i am thankful for the suggestions and help. This forum has been an amazing resource to me and my company. So if anyone thinks i am not grateful for any help i get they are wrong. As for my comments about certain suggestions for proper media management? Should coulda woulda!!!! Accidents happen, and on this day it was an accident. Miscommunication. The sad part is a 32gb card full of 1080p footage is now gone with no option of a reshoot. So for those who took the time to reply and help THANK YOU very much, i truly do appreciate it. I hope i can return the favor down the road.