topic Re: Recovery from Vixia HFR40 INTERNAL memory in Professional Video

Recovery from Vixia HFR40 INTERNAL memory

ccm007 — Sun, 31 Jul 2016 02:17:38 GMT

Is there any way to recover deleted videos from the Vixia HFR40 internal memory? We accidentally deleted all our videos (two years of kids) when trying to free up space.

We have tried all of the recovery software (10+), but they do not recognize the camcorder and its onboard, internal memory as a drive. The normal solution is to remove the flash card and use a card reader.

That is obviously not possible with the internal memory. We need a way to create a full image of the internal memory and its partitions/allocations...not just the remaining pics/videos.

Any suggestions would be extremely appreciated.

Best,

Chris

Re: Recovery from Vixia HFR40 INTERNAL memory

Richard — Mon, 01 Aug 2016 21:20:53 GMT

Hi Ccm007,

Thank you for posting.

Canon does not offer image/ movie recovery software for memory cards or internal memory. I regret the difficulty this causes.

The recovery of images and movies from your camcorder would probably best be performed by a company that offers this sort of service. If you have local camera shops, I recommend selecting one that caters to professional photographers.

As you're searching for a solution, I recommend seeking out and scrutinize user and professional reviews for the shops you're considering.

Re: Recovery from Vixia HFR40 INTERNAL memory

VideoGeek — Tue, 02 Aug 2016 05:18:59 GMT

Are you using a Mac or PC? When you connect the camcorder do you see an extra drive letter in Windows Explorer or Finder? Just out of curiosity what recovery software have you tried using? When you connect the camcorder to the computer have you removed the SD card if there is one?

Re: Recovery from Vixia HFR40 INTERNAL memory

ccm007 — Tue, 02 Aug 2016 11:37:14 GMT

Video geek -

I'm using a pc, but we tried a Mac too. I've tried photorec, easeUS, wondershare, card recovery, asof tech, etc.

The camcorder shows up as a device (camera) with no drive letter in explorer. There is no sd card, as its internal memory. For there were, we could just put it in a card reader. 😞

Thanks for asking the follow ups. Any ideas wouldn't e great.

Re: Recovery from Vixia HFR40 INTERNAL memory

ccm007 — Tue, 02 Aug 2016 11:38:33 GMT

To be clear, I think the software would work but it can't even see the camera in the interface. Only the c drive.

Re: Recovery from Vixia HFR40 INTERNAL memory

VideoGeek — Tue, 02 Aug 2016 11:57:31 GMT

I understand the files are stored on internal memory. I had only asked about the SD card because some camcorders won't recognize the internal memory as a drive if the SD card is inserted. I'm looking into it and wondering if there is some setting that needs to be changed to get the computer to recognize the internal memory as a drive in Explorer.

When you connect the camcorder to the PC are you powering it using the battery only or are you using the power cord connected to a power outlet?

Re: Recovery from Vixia HFR40 INTERNAL memory

VideoGeek — Tue, 02 Aug 2016 12:03:59 GMT

Is this the first time you have connected the camera to the computer? I only ask because according to the manual the first time you connect you need to select the CameraWindow auto-launch setting. More on connecting to the computer can be found on pages 114-115 of the user manual. Let me know if these are things you have already tried.

Re: Recovery from Vixia HFR40 INTERNAL memory

ccm007 — Tue, 02 Aug 2016 13:29:38 GMT

Ah, sorry. Didn't get that. There isn't a card in the camera. I am using the power cord. Also, this was the first time connecting, but I used the procedure in the manual (without the software).

Re: Recovery from Vixia HFR40 INTERNAL memory

VideoGeek — Tue, 02 Aug 2016 14:37:06 GMT

So even with the CameraWindow set to auto-launch nothing appeared? I'm not sure the software referenced in the manual would do much good unless there is some driver included but I doubt a driver is needed for the camcorder to be recognized. I will continue to search and see what, if anything, I can find.

Re: Recovery from Vixia HFR40 INTERNAL memory

ccm007 — Tue, 02 Aug 2016 22:17:13 GMT

It looks like this. The below image is my camera, but they show up the same way. I don't want to connect the camcorder too much in case somehow something gets (more) messed up. 😕

Thanks for your help!

Re: Recovery from Vixia HFR40 INTERNAL memory

VideoGeek — Wed, 03 Aug 2016 02:29:49 GMT

I'm not quite sure where to go from here as far as getting your camcorders internal drive recognized.. I'm thinking it has something to do with no drive letter being assigned to the drive but I could be wrong. I have searched for a solution and come up empty. I'm not giving up yet though.

Re: Recovery from Vixia HFR40 INTERNAL memory

dok407 — Sun, 29 Jan 2017 03:12:37 GMT

Any update/news?!? Sincerely hoping for a solution. I have the R42, but same story... 😞

Re: Recovery from Vixia HFR40 INTERNAL memory

AlenSung — Thu, 18 Jan 2018 02:43:21 GMT

Did you try Jihosoft Photo Recovery? Maybe you can try this one. They say that this picture recovery software support a variety of digital camera. Maybe you can give it a try.

Re: Recovery from Vixia HFR40 INTERNAL memory

Johnhardesty — Wed, 12 Feb 2020 05:24:30 GMT

Did you discover anything that will work? I’ve been trying for over a year

Re: Recovery from Vixia HFR40 INTERNAL memory

Johnhardesty — Wed, 12 Feb 2020 05:25:41 GMT

Did you ever figure this out? I have been trying over a year to find a solution

Re: Recovery from Vixia HFR40 INTERNAL memory

ccm007 — Tue, 18 Feb 2020 01:17:05 GMT

Sorry, it was too long ago. We did find a way to somehow switch the camera over into "drive" mode where it acted more like a hard drive when connected to the computer. From there, we were able to use normal recovery software to get the ghosted files. Unfortunately, most of them were slightly corrupted with header information and other issues. I used a program called recover mp4 coupled with a good video to recover them. It never quite got all the way back to original quality, but it's a lot better. Good luck! I know how stressful and disappointing this is.

Re: Recovery from Vixia HFR40 INTERNAL memory

dok407 — Tue, 18 Feb 2020 01:21:45 GMT

Did you have to change it on the camera or the computer? We spent weeks trying to do that but never did could get it to switch to a "drive". Do you remember what version of Windows/mac/etc and any other details?!? 2 years of my babies videos are trapped on there. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Re: Recovery from Vixia HFR40 INTERNAL memory

ccm007 — Tue, 18 Feb 2020 03:19:02 GMT

It took a few hours, but we figured it out again!!! We remember how painful it was to lose all of those memories and hope this helps both of you too.

Here's what you have to do - at least for the Canon HFR40. You have to trick the camcorder into connecting as a drive by switching to the AVCHD.

With camera plugged into electric outlet but disconnected from USB/computer, press the play button. It is on the left side of the camera body, covered by the view screen.
This will take you to your movies. There may not be any there...they were deleted after all.
At the top, there will be several icons.
1. Home
2. SD/Computer chip
3. MP4/AVCHD
4. Camera Icon
Click button 2/3.
At the top, change the orange slider to AVCHD.
Plug into computer.
A screen will pop up saying "Select the memory for connection".
1. All (for PC only)
2. Built-in Mem.
3. Mem. Card
Select #2, built in mem. Remember, if your lost videos are on a memory card, just get a card reader to do this.
Your computer should recognize the drive connecting.
Browse to "This PC" and see the new Canon Drive. Mine shows up as E:\ but yours could show up as another available drive. It will be called "CANON".
You can browse the folders like DCIM here. But your stuff is most likely gone.
However, now that it is a mapped drive, file recovery software should work. When stuff is deleted on a computer, it often remains behind. There are many software packages out there that can recover it.
Now, safely eject the camcorder by right-clicking on the drive and selecting "Eject". Unplug the camera.
Once you've done that, you may need to repair the files. Often they won't play because they are missing "header" information. You record a new, good file on the same camcorder and use that as the header for the recovered files. For this, I used "Recover MP4".
I'm not sure what the procedure would be on a Mac. But really, you know someone who has a PC.