During a trip, whenever I shut off my Vixia HF S10 video, a message flashed "Task in progress.

[Butch13]

"Task in progress.  Do not disconnect the power source"  

After connecting to my iMac /Final Cut Express, I can only see 5 Gb of the 12 Gb movie file, but I can't access the file.  The other 7 Gb is nowhere to be found. However, the computer shows 12 Gb in the Canon.

Do I have any chance of recovering the remaining 7 Gb?

[Tim]

Hello Butch13,

This message means that the camera is updating the memory.  If the camera was disconnected from the power source or the battery pack removed it can cause errors to occur.  Final Cut is not supported through Canon, and we can recommend that you contact them if you require support on that product.  With regards to "seeing" the remaining footage, we suggest trying to essentially copy and paste the footage from the camera to your hard disk.  If it's not there, or corrupted, the most likely cause was the message you received.  We don't support file recovery software and you may want to run a search online for an applicable program for this need.

[Butch13]

What could be getting updated in the memory?

What is the source of the update?

[Mykolas]

Butch13,

It is difficult to determine exactly what is being done when this message appears.  Either way, the memory is being accessed, whether it is being read or written to.  This message displays in association with the ACCESS light to let you know not to interfere with the camcorder while the memory is being accessed.  It is good to avoid the following during this time:

 1.  Opening the memory card slot

 2.  Disconnecting the power source

 3.  Turning the camcorder off

 4.  Changing the recording mode

Doing either of these may result in permanent loss of data stored in the memory.