How to Recover Deleted or Lost Videos from Dash Cam

Is It Possible to Recover Deleted Videos from Dash Cam?

"My vehicle has been with the dealership for the last 4 weeks and yesterday morning a police officer called me saying a tech from the dealer was driving recklessly and speeding. I went to the dealership a few hours later to obtain the SD card so I could see what else has been going on and the last several days of videos are missing. Is there any way to recover deleted videos from Dash Cam?“

Dashcam, also known as driving recorder, car camera, or card DVR, is one of the most essential card accessories. They have gained popularity due to their potential benefits, such as proving innocence in accidents, reporting bad driving behavior, and deterring theft.

However, sometimes your video footage may be accidentally deleted or just disappear due to unknown reasons. Fortunately, in most cases, your data is recoverable. In this article, we will explore more about dashcam, potential reasons, and how to recover deleted or lost videos from it.

How Does a Dashcam Work?

The dashcam is housed on the windshield or dashboard of a vehicle and powered by a cigarette lighter or the car's fuse box. Once you start the car, it will start to record short videos and save them in your memory card. It can be in several formats, such as MP4, AVI, M4V, MOV, and similar formats compatible with most computer video players.

Why Does Your Dashcam Videos or Footages Lost?

As mentioned early, dashcam videos or footage are saved on an inserted memory card. Like any other storage media, it is susceptible to data loss. We collect some common reasons below:

1. Accidental Deletion

One of the primary reasons for video loss is accidental deletion. Users may unintentionally delete videos while navigating through the dash cam's settings or when trying to remove other files.

2. Corruption Issue

Sudden power loss or improper ejection can lead to data corruption, making videos inaccessible. Removing card while it’s still recording also cause corruption.

3. Improper Usage

Your memory card is almost full, but you still use it to record new footage, which will overwrite the old footage. You may also continue recording videos at a low battery.

4. Incompatible or Outdate Drivers

If you don’t update your SD card drivers or it’s not compatible with your camera, your videos may also lost.

5. Bad Sectors

SD card has a limited read/write cycle, and once you exceed it, your card may generate bad sectors.

6. Virus Infection

Your insert your memory card into a virus-infected device and result in a loss of dash cam videos.

7. Physical Damage

Firmware issues or hardware malfunctions might result in video loss or prevent the camera from recording altogether.

Most Effective Way to Recover Deleted Videos from Dash Cam

There are many ways to recover deleted or lost videos from dash cam, but every attempt will reduce the success rate of data recovery. So it’s advisable to use professional data recovery software like MyRecover to scan and recover your videos effortlessly in simple steps. Compared with other manual methods, it usually has a high success rate.

Supports a wide range of file types, surpassing 200+ file formats. So you can use it to recover deleted X3F/HEIF/JPG images, X3D/MXF/MP4 videos, DOC/DOCX/TXT/XLS documents and any common file types.

File filtering: Its Filter feature helps you to quickly narrow down to different file types, such as images, videos, documents, audios, mails, compressed files, etc. You can also set the date modified and size.

Complete recovery: With its two advanced scanning methods, you can find as many files as possible and recover deleted or lost videos from dash cam memory card completely, regardless of your data loss scenarios.

In addition, the software does not require technical expertise and is friendly to novices. You can then download this reliable Windows data recovery software and start data recovery from dash cam memory card.

IMPORTANT NOTE: As soon as you realize your videos are missing, stop using the dash cam immediately. Continuing to record new footage or saving new files could overwrite the deleted videos, making recovery impossible

Step 1. Connect your dash came memory card to Windows PC via a card reader. Launch this reliable data recovery software - MyRecover, hover the mouse over your card and click Scan.

Step 2. It will run Quick Scan and Deep Scan automatically to search and display all the deleted or lost files there. To locate them quickly, use the Filter feature or go to the original location in the left panel.

Step 3. Then, select your desired files and click Recover x files to recover video files from dash came memory card. You will then be asked to select a location. Please select a new location instead of the original location to prevent potential data overwriting.

Notes:  

• The restore button will display the number of selected video files and their full size. You can use it to determine the integrity of the recovered videos.
• You can perform dashcam video recovery for free, up to 30MB each time. To recover all of your videos, please upgrade to the advanced editions.
• In addition, you still can use this software to recover CFast card, xD-Picture card, SDXC card, SDHC card, microSD or mini SD, xD card, CF card, MMC card, etc.

Manual Methods to Recover Deleted Dash Cam Footage

Except for data recovery software, you still can try manual methods to recover deleted dash cam footage based on possible reasons, such as outdated or incompatible drivers, file system corruption, etc.

Way 1: Assign a New Drive Letter

If your memory card is not showing up in File Explore, go to Disk Management and check if your card has a drive letter. If not, assign a new one.

Step 1. Press the Win+R key to open the Run dialogue box. Type diskmgmt.msc and press Enter to open Disk Management.

Step 2. Locate and right-click the memory card, then select Change Drive Letter and Paths.

Step 3. Click Change in the dialog box. You will then select a drive letter from Assign the following drive letter box and click OK.

Way 2: Reinstall Memory Card Driver

If your card driver is incompatible or outdated, it will be marked with a red exclamation mark in Device Manager. You can check it and then reinstall the driver.

Step 1. Go to This PC and right-click on it, then select Manage > Device Manager.

Step 2. Expand Disk Drives. Right-click your memory card and select Uninstall Device.

Step 3. Now restart your system. It will automatically install drivers for your memory card.

Way 3: Perform CHKDSK Command

If your card is damaged or ask for reformatting, try chkdsk command to scan and fix any file system error or minor corruption in memory card.

Step 1. Type cmd in the search box and select Run as Administrator.

Step 2. In the command prompt window, type chkdsk *: /f /r /x and press Enter to fix errors in the memory card of your dash cam.

What If Your Dash Cam Memory Card Is Damaged?

If the data recovery software fails to retrieve the deleted videos or you are uncomfortable performing the recovery process yourself, consider seeking professional data recovery services. They have the expertise and tools to handle more complex recovery tasks, such as recover files from corrupted memory card.

Search online, you may find many memory card data recovery services, such as ACE Data Recovery, Secure Data Recovery, etc. But which one should you consider? Please learn them from different aspects and find the most suitable software for your situation. Considering the expensive price, make sure your data is very important. Usually, it depends on the card size and damage severity.

How to Protect Dash Cam Video Recordings Safely

Taking preventive measures can significantly reduce the risk of video loss from your dash cam and be sure your videos are always safe. Here are some useful tips you can follow:

1. Stop using Dash Cam Memory Card Immediately

Once you realize dash cam video loss, please stop using its memory card immediately. Otherwise, your deleted or lost videos will be overwritten.

2. Use the Emergency Lock feature

The emergency lock feature protects your recorded videos from overwritting after a car accident. Push the Lock button to secure your videos and unplug the dash cam. You can then transfer it to your PC.

3. Safely Eject Memory Card

Always power off the dash cam before removing the memory card. Also, be sure your card is parked. Properly ejecting the card reduces the chances of data corruption.

4. Format Memory Card Properly

Formatting memory card regularly using the dash cam's built-in formatting function helps to keep your card always in good condition and prevent potential file system errors.

6. Regularly Backup Videos

Frequently transferring video footage from your dash cam to a computer or external hard drive to prevent accidentally deleted. The best practice is to employ a free Windows backup software like AOMEI Backupper Standard and set a scheduled backup task for your dash cam video recordings.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can I recover deleted videos without software?

In short, if you backup your video files before the accident, the answer is Yes. You can try to restore files from backup created by backup software, such as AOMEI Backupper Standard. If not, using dedicated data recovery software significantly improves the chances of successful recovery.

2. Are all deleted videos recoverable?

Not all deleted videos can be recovered successfully, especially if they have been overwritten or the memory card is severely damaged. In addition, some video files are very large, such as R3D videos, causing it difficult to recover.

3. Will data recovery affect video quality?

In most cases, data recovery does not affect the original video quality. The recovered videos should be as clear as they were before deletion.

4. How long will a dash cam record on an SD card?

Typically, a 16GB SD card is able to hold around 2 hours 1080P recording while 32GB card store about 3-4 hours, more than enough for most drivers.

5. How can I future-proof video storage?

To future-proof video storage, consider investing in high-quality memory cards with larger capacities. Additionally, regularly update your dash cam's firmware to ensure optimal performance and compatibility with newer memory card technologies.

Conclusion

Accidentally deleting videos from your dash cam can be a distressing experience. However, with the right method, you can easily and safely recover deleted videos from dash cam memory card in simple steps. Remember to act quickly, stop using the dash cam, and use reliable data recovery services if needed.