Recover Formatted P2?!?! Heelp!! at DVinfo.net

Michael Rapadas · May 2nd, 2007, 10:49 PM

Hey guys. I know this sad sad story has been repeated throughout the forum, but I'm desparate. I accidentally formatted my p2 card when I was about the END my shoot. I need these files desparately. Anyone have any ideas? Any SUCCESS STORIES to keep me going? Thanks

Jeff Kilgroe · May 3rd, 2007, 11:33 AM

I've worked on this a bunch... I wiped a card and then later thought it would be cool to have a certain clip back. I created a raw data image of the card itself as a backup and then proceeded to try various file recovery tools (both PC and Mac). It was possible to rebuild the directory structure, but the actual file data could not be identified. When the card is formatted in camera or by most P2 format tools, the FAT (file allocation table) is essentially just zeroed out, leaving the actual data in place on the card.

A couple applications allow the user to create their own file templates to scan with, however this doesn't work for MXF file data since MXF files don't use typical headers, but rather store much of their identifying information at the end of the file.

Theoretically, it should be possible to write a tool that understands the Op-Atom MXF format and can reconstruct the data files from your card. But that would be rather involved and still no guaranty that it would work every time.

There's a bit more info on this in a thread on DVXuser that you may want to search for. Good luck, but you can probably kiss that data goodbye.

May 2nd, 2007, 10:49 PM	#1
Michael Rapadas Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: South San Francisco, CA Posts: 91	Recover Formatted P2?!?! Heelp!! Hey guys. I know this sad sad story has been repeated throughout the forum, but I'm desparate. I accidentally formatted my p2 card when I was about the END my shoot. I need these files desparately. Anyone have any ideas? Any SUCCESS STORIES to keep me going? Thanks

May 3rd, 2007, 11:33 AM	#2
Jeff Kilgroe Major Player Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Golden, CO Posts: 681	I've worked on this a bunch... I wiped a card and then later thought it would be cool to have a certain clip back. I created a raw data image of the card itself as a backup and then proceeded to try various file recovery tools (both PC and Mac). It was possible to rebuild the directory structure, but the actual file data could not be identified. When the card is formatted in camera or by most P2 format tools, the FAT (file allocation table) is essentially just zeroed out, leaving the actual data in place on the card. A couple applications allow the user to create their own file templates to scan with, however this doesn't work for MXF file data since MXF files don't use typical headers, but rather store much of their identifying information at the end of the file. Theoretically, it should be possible to write a tool that understands the Op-Atom MXF format and can reconstruct the data files from your card. But that would be rather involved and still no guaranty that it would work every time. There's a bit more info on this in a thread on DVXuser that you may want to search for. Good luck, but you can probably kiss that data goodbye. __________________ - Jeff Kilgroe - Applied Visual Technologies \| DarkScience - www.darkscience.com